AY 2010-2011
Degree and
Program Name:
Submitted By:
M.A. in History
Dr. Edmund Wehrle
Program Coordinator
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PART ONE
What are the learning objectives?
How, where, and when are they assessed?
1. 1. Students will demonstrate critical mastery of the established narratives in their chosen area of concentration (i.e., European,
Modern World, or US history)
2. Students will demonstrate mastery of the basic methodological and
1) In coursework and/or thesis preparation – non-thesis option candidates submit a revised, research paper which becomes part of their permanent file and the examination process; 2) In class participation and writing assignments in coursework; 3) In comprehensive written and oral examinations upon completion of all coursework; comprehensive exams are measured against “Oral and
Comprehensive Examination
Grading Rubric”; 4) and in an exit interview with the graduate program coordinator, exit interviews allow students to assess own progress/sense of mastery of historical narrative.
1) In required course, HIS 5000
(Historiography) in which all students complete a detailed
Please complete a separate worksheet for each academic program
(major, minor) at each level (undergraduate, graduate) in your department. Worksheets are due to CASA this year by June
15, 2011 . Worksheets should be sent electronically to kjsanders@eiu.edu
and should also be submitted to your college dean. For information about assessment or help with your assessment plans, visit the Assessment webpage at http://www.eiu.edu/~assess/ or contact Karla Sanders in CASA at
581-6056.
What are the expectations?
1) All students maintain strong standing in their coursework/program based on grades and instructor comments; all coursework assignments reflect developing mastery of historical narrative
2) All students will receive pass, high pass, or pass with distinction on the comprehensive written and oral examinations as measured against comprehensive exams rubric; 3) All students satisfied or highly satisfied with own assessment of mastery of established historical narratives.
1) Students are expected to successfully complete HIS
5000, including preparation of
What are the results?
Last year, 90% of students maintained strong standing in coursework/program; eight students took comprehensive exams since summer 2009—7 (of 8) received “pass” or better;
100% of students reported they were satisfied or highly satisfied with their program experience during the exit interview.
Last year, 100% of students successfully completed HIS
5000; eight students took
Committee/ person responsible? How are results shared?
There is 1) an annual review of the curriculum by the Graduate
Coordinator, in consultation with the department graduate committee; 2) student and coordinator consultation with the student’s faculty mentor, a process documented in reports submitted to coordinator.
Coordinator collects all results and shares with the
Graduate Committee, department faculty, and chair.
There is 1) an annual review of the curriculum by the Graduate

substantive issues involved in the research, communicating, and writing of history, or what is commonly called historiography.
3. Students will demonstrate skills of critical thinking and independent analysis of historical problems in area of concentration paper analyzing historiography in a field of their choosing, applying tools and methods introduced in historiography seminar; 2) Through a combination of class participation (frequently evaluated as a separate component of class grade) and discussion of assigned readings, and historiographical writing assignments throughout the student’s course work; 3) Upon completion of all coursework, all students must successfully pass comprehensive written and oral examinations that test competency especially in regard to mastery of historiography; 4)
In an exit interview with the
Graduate Coordinator; exit interviews allow students to assess own progress/sense of mastery of historiography; 5)
Through reports/updates from instructor assigned to HIS 5000 to Graduate Committee and graduate coordinator.
1) Successful completion and defense of thesis; 2) In coursework, students design and execute numerous research projects and seminar papers; 3)
Non-thesis option students submit a substantial revised research paper completed in coursework, which becomes part of their file and is assessed by the student’s examination committee (measured against
“Oral and Comprehensive
Examination Grading Rubric”) a substantial historiographical paper reflecting mastery of one sub-field chosen by student and completed in conjunction with faculty member with expertise in that field; 2) All students will receive pass, high pass, or pass with distinction on written and oral examinations as measured against comprehensive grading rubric; 3) All students will be satisfied or highly satisfied with their own assessment of progress/sense of mastery of historiographical issues.
1) Seminar paper of substantial quality filed with graduate coordinator prior to written and oral examinations and evaluated by examination committee; paper should reflect excellence and some originality in research and in critical thinking and independent analysis of historical problems, 2) or thesis successfully defended before thesis committee; thesis reflects should reflect comprehensive exams in the past calendar year—7 received “pass” or better; in exit interviews, student indicted an appreciation for the structure and organization of HIS 5000— as well as for how the skills and knowledge imparted helped in subsequent coursework and exams preparation.
Coordinator, in consultation with the
Graduate Studies
Committee; 2) Student and Coordinator consultation with the student’s faculty mentor, a process now documented in reports submitted to coordinator.
Coordinator collects all results and shares with the
Graduate Committee department faculty and chair; committee headed by student’s faculty mentor assess comprehensive exams; 3) instructor assigned to HIS
5000 provides informal and formal progress reports to coordinator and graduate committee
1) Last academic year, 100% of graduating students filed a paper of substantial quality with the graduate committee prior to exams; 2) or successfully defended a thesis.
There is 1) an annual review of the curriculum by the Graduate
Coordinator, in consultation with the department graduate committee; 2) student and coordinator consultation with the student’s faculty mentor, a process now documented in reports submitted to coordinator. coordinator collects all results and shares with the

4. Students will demonstrate competency in formulating, conducting, and presenting
(communicating) advanced scholarship through original research
1) Successful completion and defense of Thesis; 2) In coursework, students design and execute numerous research projects and seminar papers; 3)
In lieu of Thesis, student submits a substantial research paper completed in coursework, which becomes part of their file and the examination process (and are assessed in the aggregate); 4)
Students encouraged (not required) to present superior work at regional academic conferences excellence and some originality in critical thinking and independent analysis of historical problems
1) Seminar paper of substantial quality filed with graduate coordinator prior to written and oral examinations and evaluated by examination committee; paper should reflect excellence and some originality in critical thinking and independent analysis of historical problems; 2) or thesis successfully defended before thesis committee; thesis reflects should reflect excellence and some originality in critical thinking and independent analysis of historical problems; 3) 75% of candidates will present original research to at least one academic conference, and/or to the EIU community.
1) Last year, 100% of graduating students filed a paper of substantial quality with the graduate committee prior to exams; 2) or successfully defended a thesis; 3) This past year, 7 students gave papers at scholarly conferences, 2 students presented work at the EIU-Indiana State
History Symposium, and one student presented at EIU’s
Graduate Expo; nine students published articles in
Historia (the History
Department’s annual, peerreviewed journal. The EIU
Graduate School awarded history master’s candidates the University Distinguished
Thesis Award and the A&H
King Mertz Research
Award. graduate committee, department faculty, and chair.
There is 1) an annual review of the curriculum by the Graduate
Coordinator, in consultation with the
Graduate Studies
Committee; 2) student and coordinator consultation with the student’s faculty mentor, a process now documented in reports submitted to coordinator.
Coordinator collects all results and shares with the department graduate committee, faculty and department chair.
(Continue objectives as needed. Cells will expand to accommodate your text.)
PART TWO
Describe your program’s assessment accomplishments since your last report was submitted. Discuss ways in which you have responded to the
CASA Director’s comments on last year’s report or simply describe what assessment work was initiated, continued, or completed.

This year much of our assessment energies have been focused on a continuing overhaul of the Historigraphy seminar (HIS 5000), an introductory course required of all History graduate students. Based on student and faculty concerns, we initiated the review in the fall of 2008. Data, including student feedback and faculty recommendations, were gathered and shared with the graduate committee and chair. Based on the information gathered, the graduate committee issued a series of recommendations. In consultation with myself, Dr.
Newton Key, who led the Fall 2009 and Fall 2010 HIS 5000 seminars, redesigned the seminar with an eye toward unifying disparate elements and clarifying material presented and the overall course goals.
The first students having taken the revised HIS 5000 (premiering in the Fall of 2009) have now moved through the program. This provided us with the opportunity to assess the impact of the new HIS 5000 over the course of an entire graduate career. In exit interviews, graduating students expressed appreciation and understanding of the organization and aims of the course (something that had previously been a problem). They also indicated that the course provided crucial knowledge and skills that helped them throughout their graduate experience. Meanwhile, we continue to gather and analyze data related to the seminar. In the spring of 2011
I organized a special graduate committee meeting in which Dr. Key (who taught the course the previous two years) discussed his experience with the committee and Dr. Mark Hubbard who will oversee the 2011 Historiography seminar.
Additionally, based on student and faculty recommendations, the graduate committee also initiated discussions aimed at incorporating professional development into a capstone course to be taken at the end of a graduate student’s studies.
The CASA director’s concern expressed in the response to last year’s summary report about a “set of criteria against which” to evaluate papers submitted as part of our comprehensive exam is well taken. Our stated understanding that the papers should be of
“publishable quality” needs clarification. The coordinator and graduate committee have therefore begun work on a supplemental rubric to be applied to the papers.
PART THREE
Summarize changes and improvements in curriculum, instruction, and learning that have resulted from the implementation of your assessment program. How have you used the data? What have you learned? In light of what you have learned through your assessment efforts this year and in past years, what are your plans for the future?
The History M.A. program has established a series of channels, both informal and formal, for sharing and assessing data, and promoting program improvements as guided by our learning objectives. The coordinator monitors and reviews course syllabi, student progress, exam results, and other relevant data and shares them with the graduate committee and faculty at large. A recent slew of

honors awarded our program by the EIU Graduate School—including University Distinguished Thesis, the Arts and Humanities King-
Mertz Research Award, and the Ranes Distinguished Faculty Mentor Award—confirm our sense that we are on the right track.
As outlined above, we have continued the important work of assessing and revising HIS 5000, in particular with an aim to provide more structure and clarity to the course. Much of our recent initiatives are aimed at introducing students not only to theories increasingly utilized by historians but also concrete examples of the application of theory.
Additionally, the graduate committee, spurred by concerns that we lack a capstone course that reinforces material introduced in the
Historiography and other courses, initiated plans for a 2-3 credit course to serve both as a “bookend” to Historiography and an introduction to professional options after graduate school. Students for instance would prepare sample syllabi for community college courses, prepare professional vitas, and learn about public history opportunities. Additionally, students will prepare comprehensive exam bibliographies and revise research papers in such a course.
At the same time, discussion of the future of our Modern World History concentration continues. With dim prospects for future hires in the field of World History, we are investigating revisions allowing us to bridge Modern World with our American and European concentrations: e.g. introducing an Atlantic World or Asia diaspora concentration.