INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAM REVIEW
Anthropology Discipline
Riverside City College
Riverside Community College District
Riverside City Campus
Fall 2009
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Table of Contents
A. Mission and Relationship to the College .......................................................................3
B. History............................................................................................................................4
C. Data and Environmental Scan ........................................................................................7
D. Programs and Curriculum ..............................................................................................9
E. Student Outcomes Assessment ....................................................................................10
F. Collaboration with Other Units ....................................................................................13
G. Outreach .......................................................................................................................14
H. Long Term Major Resource Planning..........................................................................14
I. Summary.......................................................................................................................14
J. Recommendations to the Program Review Committee .................................................15
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A. Mission and Relationship to the College(s)
The discipline of anthropology is an integral part of the social sciences in most
universities and colleges in the United States. By integrating the biological and
cultural components of humankind, anthropology provides students with a
perspective on humanity in all its diversity.
At Riverside Community College, anthropology is aligned with the college
Mission Statement, and meets both transfer and General Education Requirements.
According to the Mission Statement, the District “provides high-quality,
affordable education…and empowers and supports a diverse community of
learners as they work toward individual achievement and life-long learning.”
The discipline of anthropology is an integral part of the social sciences in most
universities and colleges in the United States. By integrating the biological and
cultural components of humankind, anthropology provides students with a
perspective on humanity in all its diversity. In addition, the Riverside City
College Mission Statement states “To help students achieve their goals the
College offers…transferable courses…leading to certificates or associate
degrees”. Anthropology courses are included in the requirements for the
Associates degrees: Anthropology 1 (Physical Anthropology) in Group A
(Natural and Physical Sciences) and all other anthropology courses in Group B
(Social and Behavioral Sciences). They also are included in the California State
University General Education requirements for transfer and in the Intersegmental
General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) for California State University
and the University of California. In addition, Anthropology 2 (Cultural
Anthropology) is one of the required classes for the vocational nursing program.
Anthropology courses are part of the curricular pattern for transfer programs in
many disciplines at numerous universities. For example, Anthropology 2 meets
requirements for Business Administration at CSU Fullerton and for Social Work
at CSU Long Beach.
The Riverside City College Mission Statement also emphasizes a “learnercentered philosophy” that “fosters critical thinking, develops information and
communication skills, expands the breadth and application of knowledge, and
promotes community and global awareness”. As the study of human biological
and cultural diversity, anthropology is uniquely placed for exposing students to
the richness and variety of human life, thus giving them new perspectives and a
greater tolerance for human differences. In addition, the structure of classes in
anthropology emphasize writing skills in essay format examinations and
deductive reasoning skills through in class reasoning assignments and analyses.
Anthropology is integral to the transfer and general education programs in the
RCCD. It responds to the needs of a diverse community. The Anthropology
faculty in the RCCD are deeply involved in our discipline and passionately
committed to excellence in teaching.
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B. History
The discipline of anthropology last underwent Program Review in 2006. At that
time there were two full-time anthropology faculty members, both based at the
Riverside campus, in addition to one full-time faculty member at both Norco and
Moreno Valley. In 2009, the three campuses split and became three distinct
campuses. The resources and development of new courses has been altered by
this event. While we now function as a separate college, all full-time faculty in
anthropology still maintain strong communication in the discipline.
The number of part-time instructors has remained constant. At Riverside City
campus, there are three part-timers maintaining a full load of three classes, plus
another who also works at Norco and two full-time faculty from other
departments, with degrees in anthropology, who teach in the discipline
occasionally.
Anthropology enrollments have increased over the last four years, while the
number of courses has decreased over this time period. The number of
anthropology courses offered at the Riverside City College has been decreasing in
recent years due to budget cuts and restructuring.
Although it is one of the smaller disciplines at RCC, anthropology always has
attracted interested students, some of whom go on to major in the field at a
university.
In recent years, the anthropology faculty members have been active in a number
of professional activities, including:
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Working with a local environmental company, L & L Environmental, on
contract archaeology projects in the local region.
Participating in active fieldwork in Vietnam.
Publishing in professional journals and books.
Participating in professional conferences on anthropology, archaeology, and
teaching.
Sponsoring speakers and forums on campus on anthropological topics.
Mentoring the Anthropology Club.
Developing new curriculum.
Revising Course Outlines of Record.
Developing and implementing assessment strategies.
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1. Planning for the re-opening of the Quad to ensure that the anthropology discipline
has a secure, separate storage room with attached drawers and cabinets within a
classroom, and that anthropology courses have priority in scheduling in that
classroom (especially for Anthropology 1, 3, 6, and 10). We moved back into the
Quad November 2007. Anthropology has priority in scheduling in QD 201, with a
separate, lockable storage room in the back, and two lockable cabinets, a table,
and two filing cabinets. Facilities has completed two shelves in the backroom
also, which hold a portion of educational materials.
2. Submitting the revised course outlines of record, and writing the proposed new
courses. All anthropology courses were revised in 2006, and two new courses
were accepted by the Curriculum Committee: Anthropology 7, Anthropology of
Religion (Fall 2006); and Anthropology 8, Language and Culture. Both courses
are being taught by anthropology faculty.
3. Completing and implementing the assessment plan for Anthropology 1. Faculty
on the Riverside City College campus are currently using a variety of assessment
tools for Anthropology 1, and have completed the assessment cycle.
Anthropology 1 and also anthropology 2 are currently assessed during both fall
and spring semesters by both full time faculty, as well as part-time faculty.
4. Hiring a new anthropology faculty member at Riverside campus within the next
several years, once Dr. Binam retires.
Dr. Laura Greathouse was hired for a one-year temporary position at Riverside in
fall 2008, and then hired for the tenure-track position in fall 2009.
5. Expanding our pool of part-time instructors, particularly focusing on instructors
who can teach Anthropology 1, and instructors who can teach some of the area
courses, such as Anthropology 4 (Native American Cultures) and 21 (Peoples of
Sub-Saharan Africa). We have continued to expand the pool of associate faculty.
However, we still are unable to find qualified instructors for the Africa class. Due
to budget cuts, we have altered our focus to transferable courses, mainly
Anthropology 1, and 2, alternating the other courses to once per year.
6. Continuing outreach with other disciplines, other colleges and universities, and
the community. Anthropology at Riverside City College continues its work with
the Administration of Justice program and certificate in Criminal Investigations.
This certificate program is expanding in its course offerings and will be a strong
future offering. In addition, one faculty member is working with colleagues from
a variety of different disciplines in a newly formed association, Faculty Research
Group, which will conduct research on a variety of topics dealing with Riverside
City College, such as SLO assessment, student attrition rates, and more. Faculty,
including representatives from Anthropology, Psychology, Sociology, Business
and Biology as well as the office of Institutional Effectiveness will work together
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to develop research tools and methods to address concerns of faculty and the
campus as a whole.
7. Expanding our teaching materials and library resources. In 2008-9 Riverside
faculty purchased a number of new items, particularly materials for forensic
anthropology. In addition, a variety of films were purchased and housed in the
storage room of QD201, allowing instant access to classic ethnographies,
documentaries and modern analyses of cultural groups. These additions give
greater access to associate faculty, as well as assist in the development of new
courses. Several new interactive exercises have been purchased for use in both
physical and forensic anthropology, such as artificial blood testing equipment,
bite mark analysis kits, and natural selection kits.
8. Coordinating among the three campuses to ensure a good rotation of anthropology
courses, so that Anthropology 1 and 2 are adequately covered, while other courses
are taught at all campuses but not scheduled so that they compete with each other.
This has been discussed at discipline meetings, and agreements made to
coordinate schedules for some classes. With the increased demand on classes due
to the budget crisis, this has become less necessary, as virtually every
anthropology class on every campus fills, and many course offerings will have to
be altered to deal with current budget crises.
9. Developing a web site for the discipline, allowing us to inform a larger audience
about anthropology, advertise courses, and provide links to course materials. This
has not yet occurred, but is currently under discussion.
10. Arranging for stipends for part-time instructors, so that if they desire they may
participate in curriculum and other professional activities at the college.
Currently, the only stipends that have been arranged have been those to deal with
assessment completion, in which an associate faculty may receive a stipend of up
to 100 dollars for creating, implementing and reporting on assessment activities in
one semester, with a limit of two per year. Several part-time faculty from
Anthropology have participated.
11. Continuing to maintain control at a discipline level in scheduling and hiring
decisions at the Riverside campus, and expand that control at a discipline level at
Norco and Moreno Valley. The separation of the three campuses has
accomplished this. Faculty members in anthropology at RCC maintain control
over scheduling and hiring decisions.
12. Promoting anthropology courses through coordinating with ASRCC organizations
such as Ujima, Puente, and MEChA, and through posters and other forms of
advertisement on campus. The Anthropology Club at RCC has raised awareness
of anthropology courses through its own events, and those events co-sponsored
with other groups. In addition, speakers have been brought to campus to highlight
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Anthropology and its course offerings. The display case in front of the
Administration Building has also been utilized for one month per year in since
2010 to highlight anthropology and its courses to faculty and students.
13. Expanding outreach to minority students, to increase enrollments and encourage
success.
Area courses such as ANT 4 and 5, have both brought a variety of minority
students into these classes and have fostered a stronger sense of success and have
both increased enrollments. The Anthropology Club, a student organization, has
also been a source of advertising for the courses, through on campus events and
field trips.
C. Data Analysis and Environmental Scan
Enrollment at RCCD has been increasing steadily from 2007-10, while within
anthropology at Riverside City College, our enrollment has been less stable. Prior to the
hiring of a second full-time faculty member, enrollment was 583 in 2007. After the
hiring, enrollments moved up to 928 in 2010, with a slight dip in 2009 due to illness of
one faculty member. This movement in enrollment shows the general trend with district
at large.
While enrollments were increasing district wide, retention fell slightly to 85% during the
time period of 2007-2010. This is very different from both the discipline of anthropology
at the three colleges, and Riverside in particular. Discipline-wide, retention went from
84% to 89.1%, while at RCC, retention went from 81.6% to 88%. This trend is one we
hope to see continue, that we are able to retain students in the classroom, however, it may
also reflect a change in availability of classes due to budget cuts.
Student success has held steady at the district level, while increasing at the discipline
level and college level. For the district, student success remained fairly constant at 55%,
while there were substantial increases from 66.8% to 73.4% for the discipline. At the
Riverside College Campus, our success rate increased from 63.6% to 76.4%. We would
also attribute this to the budget cuts. Students who are advanced in their college career
have earlier registration dates than other students with less experience, thus creating a
change in success rates, as well as retention rates.
While budget constraints have caused class cuts and changes in the offering of classes,
but it has also made each class a more concentrated experience for students in terms of
retention and success. As a result of budget cuts, more sections are available in the
IGETC category for transfer, such as Ant 1, while there are fewer sections of nontransferable classes. This has created a higher demand, and with fewer classes overall,
the student population is changing in terms of interest in degree completion and
seriousness of student. The limited supply of classes is having a direct impact on the
student population.
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Anthropology at RCC has remained a very active, student-centered discipline. All faculty
emphasize good teaching and good relationships with students. We have retained contacts
with many transferring students over the years.
At present, the variety of course offerings is somewhat limited. Anthropology 1 and 2 are
the most popular courses, each meeting different transfer requirements. All courses have
been filling at capacity, with waitlists of at least 50% capacity, if not full wait lists.
Among the most popular is Forensic Anthropology (Anthropology 10), which fulfills a
requirement for the certificate program in Criminal Investigations. The course fills each
semester offered and has a full waitlist during each semester offered. Some of the
Administration of Justice faculty members have promoted forensics in their classes, and
this has been highly successful.
Despite the small size of the discipline at RCC, anthropology has remained a vital
part of the campus. Some strengths of the discipline include:
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A strong commitment to excellent teaching and the development of innovative
teaching methods;
 Good relationships with students at RCC and with anthropology students and
faculty at local colleges and universities;
 Continued professional involvement in field and other anthropological
endeavors;
 Good relations and open lines of communication within the discipline;
 Use of discipline funding to continually increase the numbers and update
fossil casts and other anthropological materials so that the students are able to
engage in hands-on assignments and practice, not simply hear about,
anthropological techniques;
 A pool of dynamic and talented part-time instructors, some of whom have
been involved in developing curriculum.
We feel very positive about the strengths of the anthropology discipline and its
faculty, both full-time and part-time. We have recognized a need to be more proactive in this time of change in securing the space and materials vital to our courses
and in raising the profile of anthropology.
We currently have a full spectrum of fossil casts that include Australopithecus
afarensis (skull, femur, and pelvis), africanus, boisei and robustus. In addition we
have updated our collection of Homo fossils to include an updated H. ergaster skull
and femur (Nariokotome Boy), H. erectus (China and Africa), Neanderthalensis, and
three new modern humans that serve to educate in physical as well as forensic
anthropology. We are also currently working to replace the older plaster skulls which
show a great deal of wear and damage with newer, more detailed and sturdier resin
and plastic composite fossils. We also currently have a large collection of samples of
Old and New World monkey and ape mandibles and maxillas to teach comparative
odontology. We have a wide range of archeological tools and artifacts that allow for
students to gain a hands-on approach to understanding archeological methods.
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Forensic anthropology has grown the most since 2006 on the Riverside City College
campus, with the addition of the previously mentioned modern human skulls, but also
a sample of human teeth, gun casings, x-rays showing a variety of osteological
conditions, and non-human bones for comparative analyses.
Weaknesses in the discipline include the following:
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The diversity of course offerings has been limited due to budgetary
constraints.
Certain courses can be offered only by specialists in those fields, and,
therefore, have not been offered recently.
The pool of part-time instructors is limited. They often have several campuses
competing for their time, or they are hired into full-time positions.
The temporary move to Lovekin field left the discipline temporarily with no
secure facility for storing anthropological materials, a situation now rectified
with the addition of the lockable storage room in the back of Quad 201, the
classroom that is dedicated to Anthropology. This storeroom is much smaller
than our storeroom in Quad 111 (our storeroom prior to Quad renovations), so
not all materials fit there. Many materials have to be rotated in and out of the
backroom to allow access to all instructors.
Overall, anthropology at RCC is an active and vital discipline, with instructors who
are enthusiastic about their field and strongly committed to student learning and to
teaching excellence.
D. Programs and Curriculum
Anthropology courses being offered in the Riverside Community College District are:
Courses taught every semester:
 Anthropology 1: Physical Anthropology
 Anthropology 2: Cultural Anthropology
 Anthropology 6: Introduction to Archaeology
Courses taught at least once a year:
 Anthropology 4: Native American Cultures
 Anthropology 5: Native Peoples of Mexico
 Anthropology 7: Anthropology of Religion
 Anthropology 8: Language and Culture
 Anthropology 10: Forensic Anthropology
Courses currently taught, but less frequently:
 Anthropology 21: Peoples of Sub-Saharan Africa
 Anthropology 3: Prehistoric Cultures
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Changes to anthropology courses in the last few years include:
 Two new courses were added:
o Anthropology 7: Anthropology of Religion
o Anthropology 8: Language and Culture
Both courses meet Social Science requirements
 Two new online format Anthropology 2 (Cultural Anthropology) classes have
been added.
 Anthropology 1 and 6 are now being taught by some instructors in the webenhanced format.
 The Course Outlines of Record for all anthropology courses were revised and
approved by the Curriculum Committee during Fall 2010.
 There has been discussion of adding some additional anthropology courses,
including
o Women in Cross-Cultural Perspective
o Gender and Sexuality
Anthropology courses serve a wide portion of the RCC student body, including AA
and AS candidates, transferring students, and certain vocational students. All
anthropology courses meet the requirements for an Associate Degree at RCC.
Anthropology 1 meets the Part A. Natural Sciences requirement, while all other
anthropology courses meet the Part B.2., Social and Behavioral Sciences requirement.
Anthropology courses also are listed under the General Education requirements for
transfer to the California State University. Anthropology 1 (Physical Anthropology)
is included in Group B (Physical Universe and its Life Forms) and Anthropology 2,3,
4,5,6,10, and 21 are included in Group D (Social, Political, and Economic Institutions
and Behavior). Again, the placement of Anthropology 10 (Forensic Anthropology)
needs to be reconsidered. Anthropology also is included in the Intersegmental
General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) for transfer to CSU and UC.
Anthropology 1 meets requirements for Part 5.b., Biological Science, while
Anthropology 1,2,3,4,5,6, and 21 meet the requirements for Part 4, Social and
Behavioral Sciences; Anthropology 10 has not been approved for IGETC. In addition,
Anthropology 2 (Cultural Anthropology) is one of the required classes for the
vocational nursing program at RCC.
All anthropology courses at Riverside Community College are independent; there is
no sequence. No courses have prerequisites or advisories; these were eliminated from
all courses that had them during the last course outline of record revisions in 1998.
E. Student Learning Outcomes Assessment
Anthropology is the study of humankind. The discipline comprises four very
distinctive sub disciplines, integrated by the concept of culture and a focus on human
diversity in all its aspects. Although each course deals with very different content,
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anthropology as a discipline is aimed at several comprehensive student learning
outcomes. A successful student in any anthropology course should be able to:
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distinguish the key terms and concepts relevant to the particular area of
anthropology the course covers;
apply a number of anthropological field and analytical techniques relevant to
the area of anthropology the course covers;
critically assess anthropological evidence in order to make reasonable
inferences, and interpret the results in accordance with accepted theoretical
frameworks;
compare and evaluate major interpretive and theoretical debates in the
discipline;
apply college-level methods of analysis and evaluation of texts through
writing and discussion;
apply critical thinking to problems of interpretation of anthropological
evidence;
demonstrate an appreciation of the range and value of human biological and
cultural diversity.
The last of these SLOs is not truly measurable, but it surely is fundamental to
what anthropology represents. It is an ideal that we all strive for, even if it may
not be possible to assess objectively.
The members of the anthropology discipline are working to clearly define the
outcomes and competencies relevant to our courses. At present, we use selfassessment in our classrooms, using the results of exams and quizzes, papers, and
other projects in order to evaluate how our students are learning. Although the
content of each course differs greatly, we found that we share certain common
goals in our approach to teaching our discipline. In particular, much of
anthropology is based on evaluating evidence, whether it is from fossils, artifacts,
or other sources. Therefore, students are expected to understand how to gather
evidence and how to access that evidence in order to make reasonable inferences.
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Name of
Program
Expected Date
SLOs
Identified
Mapping course
Level SLOs to
Program SLOs
Expected
Assessment
Methods to Be
Employed
Expected Date
Assessment
Data Generated
Expected
Date Data
will be
Analyzed
Timeline for Assessing GE Course SLOs (2008 – 2012)
Course Name and
Number(s)
GE SLO(s) to Be
Assessed
Ant 1
1-6
Ant 2
1-6
Ant 4
4-6
Ant 5
1-6
Ant 6
1-6
Ant 7
1-6
Ant 8
1-6
Ant 10
1-6
Expected
Assessment Methods
to Be Employed
test,
project
test,
project
test,
project
test,
project
test,
project
test,
project
test,
project
test,
project
Expected Date
Assessment Data
Generated
Expected Date
Data will be
Analyzed
essay, ongoing
ongoing
essay, ongoing
ongoing
essay, Fall 2011
Winter 2012
essay, Spring 2012
Summer 12
essay, Spring 2012
Summer 12
essay, Fall 2011
Winter 2012
essay, Spring 2012
Summer 2012
essay, Spring 2012
Summer 2012
.
We have met several times to discuss strategies for implementing assessment of
Student Learning Outcomes. All courses offered have been assessed at least once,
and we have now set up a four year assessment cycle, as indicated by the
Riverside Assessment Committee. All courses will be assessed at least once per
year, with each subsequent offering being altered to reflect the data collected in
the first round. All courses are now in full compliance with the ACCJC
recommendations and are being assessed.
In the fall discipline meeting in August 2006 we began preparing an assessment plan for
Anthropology 1. We decided to assess several of these SLOs through a series of
questions. A short quiz will be given at the beginning of the semester, including material
and potential misconceptions that students might have about the content of physical
anthropology. Some, or all, of these questions will be embedded in the final exam to
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determine how well the students have learned these concepts and overcome these
misconceptions. While this was our starting point, we have developed many other
techniques, unique to individual classes and instructors that deal with assessment, such as
exam questions based on certain SLOs relevant to that course, and then followed
throughout the semester. All SLOs for ANT 1 and 2 have been assessed each semester,
while courses offered less frequently are on a longer assessment schedule.
Documentation
Institutional Research at RCC provides statistics on student diversity, goals,
success, and many other factors. We should obtain data for subsequent years to
determine the success of the assessment plan and other proposed changes for
meeting student needs.
Assessment
Assessment has been completed in all courses currently and is documented in the
design by SurveyMonkey, Curricunet and others submitted directly to the
Riverside Assessment Committee. In addition, one faculty member serves on
Riverside Assessment Committee and has assisted in design, implementation and
collection of data, as well as interpretation and revision as necessary.
F. Collaboration with Other Units including Instructional, Student Services or
Administrative Units
The anthropology discipline is collaborating with Administration of Justice
through the Anthropology 10 (Forensic Anthropology) course. This course is
taught by Dr. Laura Greathouse, who was hired in 2008 as the new full-time
anthropology instructor. She and Michael Joyce, an instructor in ADJ who
teaches the Criminal Investigation courses, have been collaborating on a class
project involving excavating a simulated crime scene. We will also be able to
share facilities and materials with the crime laboratory being developed by ADJ to
be housed in the new Science building at the Riverside campus.
We also are coordinating with the history discipline to arrange for certain
anthropology courses to be part of Ethnic Studies. These courses are:
Anthropology 4 (Native American Cultures); Anthropology 5 (Native Peoples of
Mexico); and Anthropology 21 (Peoples of Sub-Saharan Africa).
We are collaborating with colleagues in American Sign Language and English as
a Second Language who helped to develop the Language and Culture course, in
response to requests from numerous students intending to transfer in
anthropology. The two disciplines collaborate on a semester by semester rotation.
We have discussed with Dr. Jami Brown, Sociology, the possibility of introducing
a Women in Cross-Cultural Perspective course.
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G. Outreach Activities
Since the last Program Review, we have scheduled anthropology courses in a
broad range of formats and times, in order to ensure the greatest possible access
of students to classes, including hybrid and online classes, and evening classes.
We connect with other anthropologists and anthropology departments in the
region through a series of sponsored lectures and activities. These have included
lectures on primate research, a forum on jobs in archaeology, and a variety of
other topics. Two faculty members presented papers in a symposium,
“Anthropology in the Community,” sponsored by the Anthropology Department
at CSU Fullerton.
In addition, Dr. B. Hall of Riverside works intermittently with a local
environmental firm doing contract archaeology, establishing contacts with local
businesses, archaeologists, and the Pechanga Band of Mission Indians.
Dr. Greathouse works with The Gary Center in La Habra, CA in cultural and
language issues with recent immigrants to the United States.
Dr. Greathouse also assists with research in Vietnam and Cambodia, as a
researcher and also as a consultant.
Anthropology faculty members are experts in many different aspects of the
discipline. As such, they are sometimes called on by members of the community
to answer questions and to identify materials, such as bones and artifacts. On
occasion, we also have gone to investigate reported archaeological sites. It is
considered unethical to appraise objects, however, and this is never done.
Informally, the RCC anthropology faculty members maintain strong ties with
local universities, especially through transferring students and part-time faculty.
H. Long Term Major Resource Planning
N/A
I. Summary
The anthropology faculty, both full-time and part-time, are strongly committed to
excellent teaching and to sharing ideas for improving instruction.
The anthropology discipline on the Riverside campus has a single dedicated classroom,
and anthropology courses have priority in reserving that room.
Assistance from Innovation Center staff in developing a discipline website.
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1. Assistance from Institutional Research in planning means of tracking student
success in anthropology courses.
2. Opportunities for the members of the discipline to coordinate in assessment
and course outline revision activities.
J. Recommendations to the Program Review Committee:
Up until this academic year, the discipline has had only two full-time faculty
members, making communication informal. Previously, on FLEX days,
anthropology met together with sociology for discipline meetings, even though
many of our concerns are different. With the growth of the discipline, more faceto-face communication among members of the discipline will be necessary. We
recommend that anthropology meet in separate discipline meetings in the future.
However, the discipline is still small enough that ideas can be shared informally
through email and other means. During Program Review, we recommend that all
discipline members meet as a group with representatives for Program Review,
assessment, and learning outcomes, in order to focus on the specific concerns of
our discipline.
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