STUDENT LEARNING ASSESSMENT PROGRAM
SUMMARY FORM AY 200-2004
Degree and
Program Name:
Submitted By:
BA Speech Communication
Please complete a separate worksheet for each academic program (major,
minor) at each level (undergraduate, graduate) in your department.
Worksheets are due to CASA annually by June 15. Worksheets should be
sent electronically to cskjs@eiu.edu. For information about assessment,
visit the Assessment webpage at http://www.eiu.edu/~assess/.
Mark Borzi
PART ONE:
What are the learning
objectives?
1. Students will develop
critical thinking skills
How, where, and when are they
assessed? Committee/person
responsible?
Assessment of student writing
and presentations as submitted in
a Student Portfolio
Annual survey of majors
Tri-annual survey of alumni
Department Assessment
Committee
What are the expectations?
What are the results?
Cognitive: understand
structure of argument; ability
to analyze situations and
identify appropriate courses of
action; identify fallacies in the
arguments of others;
demonstrate higher order
problem solving and decision
making; use nonlinear thinking
For all Goals:
Skill: conduct effective
research; evaluate evidence;
construct organized, clear
arguments
Attitude: students will
demonstrate higher order
thinking through more
complex world views
New Student Orientation –
The new student orientation
program will be hosted each
Fall and Spring. The first
orientation will be
September 24th and 25th,
2003. As part of the
orientation, baseline data for
that cohort will be collected
utilizing a series of
standardized instruments.
Senor Portfolio Course– The
course was approved by
CAA and will go into effect
Fall 2004.
Senior portfolios were
collected this year for those
graduating in the FA 2003 or
later catalog. Assessment
How will/have the results
be used? Committee/
person responsible?
For all Goals:
The department
assessment committee is
responsible for
administering and
evaluating assessment
data and distributing it to
appropriate committees
and individuals as well as
the faculty as a whole at
the annual Fall retreat In
general, the data is used
in a number of ways as
outlined below.
Department Curriculum
Committees – The
undergraduate and
graduate committees use
the assessment data to
frame the discussion of
departmental mission,
will review in the Fall
utilizing departmental
rubrics
Annual Surveys – The
annual undergraduate
student survey was revised
Fall 2002 and administered
Spring 2003. The data will
be summarized and
presented to the Faculty at
the Fall retreat on August
22, 2003. The survey will
again be administered
November 11, 2003 and
summarized and reported at
the following Fall retreat.
This cycle will continue in
subsequent years.
Alumni Assessment – The
last alumni assessment was
conducted Spring 2000.
Because of the revisions in
the program, the next survey
will be Spring 2004. The
first meeting of the Alumni
Advisory Board is planned
for Fall 2004. The plan is to
have the board meet two
times a year in the following
years.
Course and sequence
articulation. Faculty met
this year to address
consistency across multi
section courses and in
organizational
communication and
scope, and focus. The
data also is informative in
identifying curriculum
revisions.
Course Coordinators –
All of the department
multi-section classes have
course coordinators as of
Fall 2003. These course
coordinators are charged
with providing
assessment data to the
faculty teaching the
different sections and to
facilitate discussion
related to course
objectives, assignments,
evaluation, and
assessment.
Program Area Faculty –
The department chair is
responsible for calling
meetings of faculty that
teach a common
curriculum. The purpose
of these meetings is to
work to define consistent
course objectives,
assignments, evaluation
systems, progression
between courses, and
assessment.
Individual Faculty –
Assessment data is also
provided to faculty on a
regular basis. The
summary data is provided
production course
sequences. Learning
objectives and
measurements were defined
for measurement in
subsequent years.
2. Students will cultivate a
sense of social and ethical
responsibility
Assessment of student writing
and presentations as submitted in
a Student Portfolio
Cognitive: students will
understand the role of the
individual in society
Service Learning Involvement
Measure administered at start of
program and at end of program
Skill: students will be able to
evaluate and develop
constructive communication
approaches to addressing
social and ethical issues
Annual survey of majors
Tri-annual survey of alumni
Department Assessment
Committee
3. Students will effectively
create and implement message
strategies
Assessment of student writing
and presentations as submitted in
a Student Portfolio
Personal Report of
Communication Apprehension
and Communication Style
Measure administered at start of
program and at end of program
Annual survey of majors
Tri-annual survey of alumni
Attitude: students will
demonstrate a more
sophisticated sense of
responsibility and be more
engaged in community
activities
Cognitive: understand theories
of communication and their
role in creating message
strategies; identify different
message strategies and their
strengths and weaknesses;
identify strengths and
weaknesses of various
communication channels
Skill: effectively analyze
rhetorical situations; identify
effective message strategies;
identify appropriate content,
at the Fall retreat This
data, along with the
course and program
meetings, provide the
faculty member with
guidance and direction in
reviewing course content
in achieving course and
program objectives.
Department Assessment
Committee
4. Students will develop the
skills essential to successful
life within complex social
environments
Assessment of student writing
and presentations as submitted in
a Student Portfolio
Communication Flexibility Scale
Administered at start of program
and at end of program
tone, channel, and structure of
messages; measure impact of
messages
Attitude: students will
demonstrate greater
communication competency
and speaking ability
Cognitive: understand
multiple world views and
perspective taking;
demonstrate the ability to
analyze and act within multiple
social contexts; demonstrate
greater tolerance for
differences
Annual survey of majors
Tri-annual survey of alumni
Department Assessment
Committee
Skill: engage in effective
communication behaviors in
multiple contexts; demonstrate
successful communication
strategies for working through
differences especially in
situations involving multiple
world views
Attitude: students will show
greater role flexibility
(Continue objectives as needed.)
PART TWO: Summarize changes and improvements in curriculum, instruction, and learning that have resulted from the implementation of your assessment
program. While this section should focus on the current academic year, some departments may find it useful to discuss trends in longitudinal data.
Faculty met this year to to address course consistency, measurement, and sequencing. The courses examined were SPC 1310, 2010, 2030 and the organizational
communication sequence (SPC 2030, 2650, 3650, 4650) as well as the production sequence and its interface with the radio TV center. For each area, learning
objectives, course content, and measures were clarified and agreed to as a means to address course consistency and provide a means to assess the courses in
future years.