Yearly Assessment Report
Chemistry Program
Program Director: Dr. Ganesh Naik
Assessment Report written by Dr. Ganesh Naik
Academic Year 2011-12
Executive Summary
Chemistry program’s accomplishments over the past three years:
Academic Year
Accomplishments
2008-09
Defined its mission statement and identified its four goals and objectives
2009-10
Developed assessment tools and collected data in support of previously
defined goals and objectives.
2010-11
Emphasis was on collecting data using previously developed assessment
tools and monitoring the trend in the data to improve the student learning
goals. However we did two major updates in the assessment tools which
are as follows.
Non- science majorsIntroduced pre and post-test as an assessment tool, in addition to
previously developed attitude survey and implemented a uniform course
syllabus and grading rubrics in multiple sections of the same
Fundamentals of Chemistry (CHM 100) course, CHM 100L lab and
CHM 101 recitation.
Science majorsIntegrated the standardized American Chemical Society (ACS) exam as
comprehensive final in first year- General Chemistry and second yearOrganic Chemistry course and collected data.
Changed the graduating seniors chemistry knowledge assessment testPreviously we used the Major field Test from Education Testing Service
(ETS) to assess the chemistry knowledge of graduating seniors, but their
syllabus was not in alignment with the chemistry program course
offerings. Therefore in spring 2011 we replaced it with the ACS
comprehensive knowledge test- undergraduate diagnostic test (ACSDUCK exam).
Mission and Purposes
The Chemistry Program is committed to the work, aspirations and values of the College of Saint Mary. The
purpose of the program is to educate women in the area of chemical sciences by providing an environment
which fosters scientific curiosity and intellectual creativity. The Chemistry Program seeks to develop the
analytical thinking and problem solving abilities of our students. Faculty in the Chemistry program is
committed to developing high quality instructional methods and to increasing the academic abilities of our
students for higher education and employment in the area of chemical and biomedical sciences. Students will be
prepared for careers in the pharmaceutical industry, food industry, health care laboratories, forensic science and
education. The Chemistry program also provides support courses to Biology majors, Health care professionals,
and Education majors.
Stakeholders
Identify your Program’s Stakeholders here and how your Program impacts or is impacted by them:
Possible Stakeholders
(check the ones that apply)
How Stakeholder Impacts or is Impacted by Your
Program
_X__ Undergraduate students
Chemistry Program provides required courses for Majors
and supporting courses for non majors.
___
graduate students
__X_ other Programs (Biology, Nursing, Non majors taking Chemistry to fulfill supporting course
Occupational Therapy, Education)
requirements will gain science knowledge and critical
thinking skills in the pursuit of a broad education and will
increase their confidence in their ability to understand and
evaluate scientific information.
__X_ community constituents (name them Prospective employers will benefit from the thorough and
here)
well-rounded education of our graduates.
___accrediting bodies (name them here)
___ Other
___ Other
Goals and Objectives
Goal 1: Graduates with a BS in Chemistry will possess a broad knowledge in Chemistry, specifically
Analytical Chemistry, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physical Chemistry.
Link: Supports the College’s purpose of educating women for professional careers and lifelong learning
Objective 1: 80% of the students will achieve percentile of 50 or better on the ACS or
equivalent standardized test as the comprehensive final exam of each Chemistry course.
Objective 2: 80% of the senior students will achieve percentile of 50 or better on ACS
comprehensive knowledge test.
Goal 2: Students will understand and be able to apply the scientific method and research skills including the
ability to read and evaluate statistical results and to effectively communicate research findings.
Link: Supports the College’s purpose of educating women for professional careers and lifelong learning
Objective 1: Given a survey after reading assignment on original research article or chemical
review article, students will indicate 80% increase in understanding and comfort with scientific
findings.
Objective 2: At the completion of a research project graduates will score 75% or higher score on
faculty evaluation forms of their research presentations.
Goal 3: Students will demonstrate confidence in their leadership abilities and knowledge
Link: Prepare women to assume leadership roles and to interact successfully in a diverse and global
society and create an awareness of ethical issues and encourage commitment to responsible social action
for justice and to encourage intellectual development
Objective 1: When participating in science service learning projects, students will indicate that
they have gained new insight or knowledge as expressed in their reflective papers and final
surveys.
Goal 4: Non majors taking Chemistry to fulfill program requirements will gain science knowledge and critical
thinking skills in the pursuit of a broad education and will increase their confidence in their ability to understand
and evaluate scientific information.
Link: To educate women for lifelong learning and to encourage intellectual development
Objective 1: Given an attitude survey at the completion of a Chemistry course, students will
indicate agreement that they feel increased knowledge of and comfort with science concepts.
Assessment Matrix
ACS OR
Equivalent
Chemistry Test
as the final exam
for the chemistry
course
Chemistry
Knowledge
Scientific
Methods &
Research Skills
Service
learning
projects
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Leadership skills
Science
knowledge and
critical thinking
skills for Non
Majors
ACS DUCK
Research
Exam
Chemistry
For Chemistry (CHM 473)
Seniors
X
X
Attitude
survey
Pre- and PostTest in
Fundamentals
of Chemistry
Course
X
X
X
X
Assessment Tools
Fill in this chart regarding the assessment tools your Program uses. Insert the names of the tools and then either
check the boxes (where indicated) or insert the information requested.
Tool Name
Tool 1
Chemistry
Knowledge
Test
Who
Collects
Data?
(Position
Title)
Course
Instructor
Program
Tool 2
ACS
Director
comprehensive
knowledge
Test For
Chemistry
Seniors
Course
Tool 3
Research
Instructor
Chemistry
(CHM 473)
Course
Tool 4
Service
Instructor
learning
projects
Who is
Assessment
Evaluated? Procedure
(Brief
description)
All
Students
enrolled in
the
particular
Chemistry
Course
All
Chemistry
Seniors
All
Chemistry
Seniors
Standardized
ACS
OR
Equivalent
Chemistry Test
as the final exam
for the chemistry
course
Students
will
take the Major
Field Test in
their Senior year
Students will do
the
research
presentation on
scholars day
All
Project
Students
assessment
enrolled
survey after the
in Service Completion of
learning
Project
projects
Course
All
Attitude survey
Tool 5
Attitude
Instructor Students
after
the
Survey
enrolled in completion
of
Chemistry
Chemistry
Course
Course
Course
All
At beginning of
Tool 6
Pre and post Instructor Students
the semester
Test
enrolled in and after the
assessment
Fundament completion
of
al’s
of Chemistry
Chemistry
Course
Course
Direct
Measure?
(check
box)
Indirect
Measure?
(check
box)
Qualitative Quantitative
Measure? Measure?
(check
(check box)
box)
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Data Collection Timeline
12/10
Standardized ACS OR Equivalent Chemistry test as the
final exam for chemistry course
4/11
5/11
x
ACS comprehensive knowledge test
For Chemistry Seniors
7/11
x
x
Research Chemistry (CHM 473)
x
Service learning projects
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Attitude survey for majors and non majors
Pre and post test survey for non majors
Results of Assessment and Resulting Actions
Goal 1: Graduates with a BS in Chemistry will possess a broad knowledge in Chemistry, specifically Analytical
Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Inorganic Chemistry and Physical Chemistry.
.
Assessment Data Related to Goal 1
In spring 2010, the standardized ACS exam was incorporated into the first year general chemistry and second
year organic chemistry course curriculum as a comprehensive final exam. Last year we collected the data and
compared the students’ exam scores with the ACS data and the average results were shown following table
Semester*
General Chemistry Organic Chemistry
(I and II ) course
(I and II ) course
th
Spring 2010 35 Percentile
40th percentile
Fall 2010
--------------47th percentile
Spring 2011 27th percentile
48th percentile
*(Fall semester: General/Organic Chemistry I and Spring semester: General/Organic Chemistry II)
The ACS has not yet collected enough data to normalize the exam used in Fall 2010 therefore no
percentile scores can be reported.
In spring 2011, to test the chemistry knowledge of graduating seniors new assessment tool was introduced.
Previously used Major field Test was replaced by ACS comprehensive knowledge test- undergraduate
diagnostic test. The two graduating chemistry seniors scored 52% and 38% and these scores are better than
major field test scores. Last year two graduating seniors scored 15th and 20th Percentile in the Major Field Test.
How do these compare to national standards?
Discussion of Assessment Data Related to Goal 1
In fall 2010 the first time ACS standardized exam was introduced in General Chemistry I and Organic
Chemistry I course. So there is no previous data to compare the results. However in spring 2011, the data from
the previous year’s exam were compared for General Chemistry II and organic chemistry II course. The
student performances in the exams in both semesters were lower than the program’s expectations because of the
following two reasons
 In the course exams only 20% of the questions were multiple choice questions while in the final exam
all the questions were multiple choice questions.
 Course content was not in 100% alignment with the standardized ACS exam and faculty in the
chemistry program still working on revising the course content.
The primary reason for replacing is changing Major Field Test as it was not in alignment with the chemistry
program course offerings. Further we are integrating ACS standardized exam in our course curriculum, so the
data collected from ACS comprehensive knowledge test will truly reflect the chemistry knowledge of the
graduating students. The data collected from ACS comprehensive knowledge test- undergraduate diagnostic test
shows improved student performance but multiyear trend in data will help us to draw any significant
conclusions.
Especially due to so few of students to look at year to year.
Actions


In the year 2010-11 the faculty in the chemistry program started working on multiple choice based
question banks in ANGEL on various topics in chemistry. This year we will continue to work on it and
next year we will integrate it into the course curriculum which may improve students’ understanding of
fundamental concepts of chemistry and help them to better perform on the standardized ACS exams.
In fall 2011, the text book for General Chemistry course has been changed and the new book organizes
the chapter content using ‘Atoms First’ approach and explains modern theories in chemical bonding.
Goal 2: Students will understand and be able to apply the scientific method and research skills including the
ability to read and evaluate statistical results and to effectively communicate research findings
Assessment Data Related to Goal 2
The two graduating majors received INBRE summer research scholarships in their junior year to work at
University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and Creighton Medical Center. One of the graduating students
presented her research work at INBRE conference, so assessment data on her presentation was not available.
But the other student presented her work on Scholar’s Day in spring 2010. The research presentations were
evaluated by science and non-science faculty and the evaluations were based on clarity of presentation, level of
scientific sophistication, the use of statistics, and overall competency. The data collected are summarized in the
following table.
Survey item
Average
faculty
evaluationStudent 1
Statement of hypothesis or problem
Excellent
Project background
Above average
Project Methods
Above average
Data Analysis
Above average
Presentation of results
Above average
Conclusion
Excellent
Organization of presentation
Excellent
Professionalism of presentation
Excellent
Use of visuals and color
Above average
Use of time
Excellent
Handling of questions
Excellent
In the year 2009-10, the chemistry program purchased High performance liquid chromatographic system with
photo diode array detector to enhance student’s experience with modern analytical instruments. Last year one of
the graduating student received NASA Nebraska fellowship to learn the operating aspects of Breeze software in
the HPLC instrument and develop methods to estimate Ascorbic acids in Orange juices. The students are
encouraged to work on the projects like these to improve their understanding of method development using
modern instruments and quantitative analysis.
Since last two years, chemistry program started collecting information on the career path of the graduates which
is summarized in the following table.
Graduates
Juana Acosta
Jami Mitchell
Chelsea Dean
Emali Chaidez
Graduating Year
May 2010
May 2010
May 2011
May 2011
Current status
Master’s in Clinical nutrition at
Loma Linda University
Lab
Chemist
at
Marianna
Industries
Master’s in Public Health at
UNMC
Office Assistant at Pediatrics
’clinic.
Discussion of Assessment Data Related to Goal 2
The Faculty evaluation data on research presentations clearly demonstrates that students have acquired
scientific knowledge and research skills. This is in agreement with the program expectations. The career path of
graduating seniors indicates that the chemistry program is working towards supporting the College’s mission of
educating women for professional careers and lifelong learning.
Actions
To improve students’ understanding of scientific research methods, proposals and findings the chemistry
program will revise the chemistry seminar CHM 495 course curriculum in spring 2012 into following four
sections
 Section 1: reading assignment on original research article or chemical review article followed by
presentation on their understanding and comfort with scientific findings.
 Section 2: Writing mock research grant proposal for funding
 Section 3: Writing an article for journal of chemical education or science journal
 Section 4: Students’ will prepare for the comprehensive knowledge test- ACS undergraduate diagnostic
test.
To improve students’ scientific and research skills, they will be encouraged to participate in off-campus summer
research internships through REU scholarships or the INBRE program. Upon successfully completing this
program, students are required to present their work on CSM Scholar’s Day to get the research and honors
credits.
Goal 3: Students will demonstrate confidence in their leadership abilities and knowledge
Assessment Data
 Students in the science program annually host the Science Day event and last year 30 high school
students and 2 science teachers participated. During the event CSM students were able to demonstrate
and explain their science projects with confidence and the visitors were visibly impressed and inspired
to pursue higher education in the sciences. The event participants also appreciated the student’s
organizing and leadership skills. CSM students took the initiative in gathering feedback from the
participants which was overwhelmingly positive.

The graduating chemistry majors in the last two years were founding members of the Green Team and
Students Against Violence and these are successful student organizations on campus which have clarly
demonstrated their leadership abilities and expertise.
Good leadership opportunities but do need to have a way to gather feedback from science teachers
participating in the Science Day which may be different than a leadership survey for the students.
Actions
The Chemistry program will collaborate with the other campus programs and develop an assessment tool such
as a Leadership survey document.
Goal 4: Non majors taking Chemistry to fulfill program requirements will gain science knowledge and critical
thinking skills in the pursuit of a broad education and will increase their confidence in their ability to understand
and evaluate scientific information.
Assessment Data
In the year 2010-11 the chemistry program successfully implemented the uniform course syllabus and grading
rubrics in multiple sections of the same fundamentals of chemistry course and pre and post-test assessment in
Fundamentals of Chemistry (CHM 100) course has been initiated. The results of the pre and post-test are as
follows Are you looking at just having a gain or a certain percentage of gain in knowledge? How did the
syllabus and grading impact this data?
Pre and Post Test Percentile Data
85
F2010 (2)
F2010 (1)
S2011 (1)
80
75
Percentage
70
65
60
S2011 (2)
F2010 (1)
S2011 (1)
F2010 (2)
55
50
S2011 (2)
45
40
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
Last year, the Chemistry program conducted the attitude survey for non-majors to evaluate how the students’
attitudes have changed and how their chemistry knowledge has increased. The survey results are summarized in
the table
Non Science major survey
Survey item
Students
satisfaction
% 2009-10
The course was taught at an appropriate level for 63%
my needs
After taking this course I have a greater 75%
understanding of chemical concepts
After taking this course I can better understand 69%
science based news articles
After having this course I now see why chemistry 58 %
is important for health professionals
Students
satisfaction
% 2010-11
75%
78%
71%
65%
I would recommend this course to others
72%
Science major survey
Survey item
81%
Students
satisfaction
% 2009-10
Communicate effectively the theories of chemistry 78%
learned in the course to other students
Solve
chemical
problems
by
analyzing 78%
experimental results
Organize and maintain a properly formatted 84%
laboratory notebook in a clearly communicable
manner
I am interested in learning more about the 92%
chemistry and I now see why chemistry is
important
The scientific method that I learned will be helpful 72%
for me in the future
The course instructors are available when needed
91%
Students
satisfaction
% 2010-11
81%
81%
I would recommend this course to others
Students received adequate opportunities to show 84%
their critical thinking in the chemistry program
81%
79%
81%
90%
75%
92%
85%
For each survey item student satisfaction % was determined in a scale of 1-10, (1- Strongly disagree, 5 – neutral
and 10- Strongly agree).
Discussion of Assessment Data Related to Goal 4
The pre and post test data in Fundamentals of Chemistry course as a progress assessment tool was introduced
for the first time. The data clearly indicates a gain in students ‘knowledge at the end of the semester. However
we contend that the actual improvement in knowledge is significantly higher than the apparent gain the data
shows. The students’ average score of 50th percentage in the pretest is much higher than their performance in
the classroom discussion. This is due to the fact that incoming students tend to make wild yet correct guesses
on the multiple choice format of the pretest. This year chemistry program will work on developing more
effective evaluation format for the pretest so that the comparative test data will reflects the students’ true gains
that the students would have made.
The second year survey reflects a reasonable improvement in students’ attitude and gain of scientific knowledge
and critical thinking skills. However trend in multiyear data will help us draw any significant conclusions.
What has improved in your program based upon previous assessments?

Implemented uniform course syllabus and grading rubrics in multiple sections of the non-chemistry
majors courses, Fundamentals of Chemistry (CHM 100 Lecture, CHM 100L lab and CHM 101
recitation). Analysis of the pre and post-test assessment data (which was collected for the first time)
clearly indicates the gain in students ‘knowledge at the end of the semester.
 Introducing the standardized ACS exam as comprehensive final in first year- General Chemistry and
second year-Organic Chemistry course necessitated appropriate modifications to the syllabus and to the
instructional design. Since the students’ performance on the ACS test was lower than program’s
expectations, the faculty has identified the area that need further focus.
 Previously used Major Field Test was replaced by ACS comprehensive undergraduate diagnostic test as
a tool to assess the chemistry knowledge of graduating seniors. It showed significant improvement in
graduating student’s performance.
 Started working on creating an assessment question bank in Angel on various topics in chemistry such
as intermolecular forces, the periodic table, chemical bonding, chemical equilibrium, acid base
chemistry, kinetics and thermodynamics of chemical reactions, electrochemistry, and spectroscopy. Next
year we will integrate the assessment question bank as a practice assignments in the course curriculum
to better prepare the students’ for the standardized exams.
Response to Previous Years’ Assessment (Optional)
Future Goals
For the next two years the chemistry program will focus on the same four goals and objectives and work on
collecting data using previously developed assessment tools. The emphasis will be on analyzing multiyear
trends in the collected data. In addition, we will explore new assessment tools in support of goal number 3,
to measure improvement in students’ leadership skills. This will be done in collaboration with other
programs as suggested by one of the reviewers of the past assessment report.
Division Chair
Feedback on the 2010-2011 Assessment Report for the Chemistry Program
This form was developed as a template for Division Chairs to provide feedback on assessment reports
within their units. Please read your Division’s Assessment reports and use this feedback form to
comment on particular strengths of the report, to make suggestions for future assessments of the
program and to help the assessment authors link assessment with strategic planning and resource
allocation.
Division Chairs need not respond to every item included here.
1. What are the significant strengths of this Program and its Assessment Report?
The chemistry department is pursuing multiple ways of assessing their students for knowledge, skills, and
attitudes. Furthermore they are refining the methods that they’ve already incorporated (more representative field
test, standardizing CHM 100, offering pre/post tests) and are trying to find ways to improve student learning
(developing question bank, encouraging summer research). Data on post-graduate activities gives evidence of
student professional success.
2. What are your recommendations/suggestions for next year’s Report, including any other factors
the Program should consider?
The Chemistry program is moving in a very positive direction in their assessment efforts. My main
recommendations are clarifying the language and agreement between stated objectives and data
collected. Goal 2 Objective 1 mentions a research attitude survey, and a majors’ survey is presented, but
it doesn’t seem to be the one described in the goals. I don’t know if the objective changed or the
description just needs clarification. The results for Goal 2 Objective 2 indicate levels (good, excellent)
but the objective indicates students will score 75% or better. There is some discrepancy in the way the
objective says students will be assessed and the actual assessment. The wording may just need to be
changed to agree with the practice. Also Goal 3 Objective 1 talks about collecting information from
surveys and/or reflections, but those data are not included in the results section. The data from Goal 4
may be better presented as a bar graph, and the pre/post assessment should be represented in a second
objective under Goal 4. Goal 4 relates to non-science majors but includes data for both non-majors and
majors. As mentioned earlier, that data may relate to Goal 2 objective 1.
Hopefully, use of the review test bank will improve ACS comprehensive final scores.
3. Are there observations regarding how this Program’s Assessment Report relates to other
Programs or Divisions at CSM?
4. Are there observations regarding resource issues (both human and financial)?
None at this time.
5. Are there observations regarding other issues (such as workload or other initiatives at CSM)?
The chemistry program wants to collaborate with other programs to develop tools to assess gains in student
leadership. This is a great idea as women’s leadership is a strategic goal for the College.
Academic Assessment Committee
Feedback on 2010-2011 Assessment Process for the Chemistry Program
Assessment is always a developmental process, so the main purpose of this constructive peer feedback is
continuous improvement of our assessment processes at CSM. The first part of this form is simply a
checklist, and the second part responds to specific criteria.
Primary reviewer: Please type name and date completed here Anna Fuder-Boehm
Secondary reviewer: Please type name and date completed here Susan Joslin
Checklist: A check indicates that the criterion is met.
__x__ 1. Assessment Report clearly states the program’s mission and purposes, which relate directly to CSM’s
mission.
_x___ 2. Assessment Report states goals that flow directly from the mission and purposes of the program, as
well as from the data collected from previous assessment efforts.
_x___ 3. Assessment tools measure the achievement of the objectives and are as objective as possible.
_x___ 4. Assessment methods are multi-dimensional, measuring attainment of goals in different ways.
_x___ 5. The report is well-organized and formatted correctly
Directions to Reviewers: Please provide comments and feedback on any sections of the report within that
section using a blue for primary reviewer and green for the secondary reviewer. After completing those
comments please provide a summary below that addresses strengths or areas of improvement.
Topic that should be addressed either within the assessment report or in the summary include the
following:
1. Program objectives are specific and measurable. They relate to the goal statements.
2. Are there any multi-year trends documented? If not, what multi-year trends might be examined in the
future?
3. Data collected and assessment results reflect critical examination of information from the previous
assessment report.
4. Assessment addresses the extent to which goals and objectives are being met.
5. Has improvement of quality resulting from past assessment activities been documented?
6. How are decision-making and future actions supported by evidence documented in the report?
SUMMARY COMMENTS
Primary reviewer:
Significant Strengths: Great job of using past work to keep building a stronger program. Identified need to keep
working on data gathering due to needing to look for trends as data only spans 2 years. Great way to use
assessment as a way to improve the strength of your program.
Recommendations:
May want to look at national trends in your standardized tests and include in your assessment report to lend a
comparison for your program. Also may want to look at clarifying how you are looking at pre and post
assessments.
Additional Comments (optional):
Secondary reviewer:
Significant Strengths:
The faculty are using the assessment process for its intended purposes of program improvement and increasing
student success. Kudos to you!
Recommendations:
I don’t have any others in addition to those of the primary reviewer, but do support those comments.
Additional Comments (optional)
VPAA Comments: