Student Learning Assessment Program
Response to Summary Form
Undergraduate Program 2013
Department: Sociology/Anthropology
Category
Learning
Objectives
Level 2, B.A.
Sociology
How, Where,
and When
Assessed
Level 1-2, B.A.
Sociology
Expectations
Results
*
Level*
Level 1-2, B.A.
Sociology
Level 2, B.A.
Sociology
Comments
Objectives are clear, measurable, and programmatic.
Three of the undergraduate learning goals have been
adopted by the department: writing, critical thinking,
and global citizenship.
Since you are basically starting over, you are at the
beginning of the assessment process with identifying
where you can assess and you have started with specific
courses and assignments, which is a good start. As your
plan evolves you may want to consider ways to make
data collection, storage, and retrieval as easy as possible.
CATS has worked with several departments to build a
customized storage/assessment on-line process that
departments report being very happy with (CDS, Rec
Admin, PSY), so you may want to consider that.
Multiple points and varied assignments for each
objective are good; you will also want to have data that
you can compare from year to year, so a rubric applied to
selected artifacts or a survey may work well. Some kind
of baseline assignment and/or survey that you can
disseminate in SOC 2000 and gain in SOC 4900 would
work well to show that growth. A survey could assess
attitudes and an assignment could give you a skill basis
(writing/critical thinking—perhaps in the form of a book
review or other kind of paper).
Think about using rubrics or a list of criteria here rather
than grades because grades are often a result of multiple
aspects of an assignment rather than just the objective
you are seeking to assess—unless you are simply looking
for a percent correct. As expectations progress, many
departments have found it useful to have a percentage of
students that meet, exceed and do not exceed
expectations at the various levels.
Results are reported. It is a good idea to report numbers
of students represented by the percentages. What do
your results tell you? As you continue to revise your
plan, this section should offer not only the results
themselves but analysis of the data. What have you
learned about student attainment of learning outcomes?
Levels should not be interpreted as grades or scores; they are stages of implementation based on patterns of
characteristics described by North Central Association/Higher Learning Commission. These levels are
approximations based on the information provided in the summaries. Please refer to the checklist on the assessment
web site (www.eiu.edu/~assess) for the Primary Traits listed for each level.
How Results
Will be Used
Level 2, B.A.
Sociology
What is working well? What could be impved?
The new assessment committee has had a busy year, and
its work on re-evaluating the objectives and the purpose
of assessment of student learning was a good approach to
take. Asking all faculty to contribute through comments
on the objectives, the plan itself, and the artifacts
collected was a good way to involve everyone in the
process and appears to have been effective.