Annual Report, 2005-2006
Department/Division:
Philosophy, Religious Studies and Interdisciplinary Humanities
College:
CAS
Part I-SP, Summary Report on Status of Strategic Planning Goals/Objectives
Strategic Goal/Objective
1. Complete a successful search for
replacement tenure-track position
in Religious Studies (to start in Fall
06)
2. Secure funding for a replacement
position in Philosophy (Ethics) to
start in Fall 07.
3. Implement assessment plans in
all BA Programs.
Met
X
Status of Goal
Not met
In progress
X
X
4. Design assessment plan in MA
Humanities Program
X
5. Redesign Degree Requirements
and Core courses in Religious
Studies Specialization.
6. Redesign Admission
Requirements and restrict further
the available areas of concentration
in Humanities MA Program.
X
X
7. Revise Departmental By-Laws.
X
8. Develop orientation packets for
new graduate students.
Comments
X
Interdisciplinary programs are
being assessed by Greg Lanier;
we are awaiting his
recommendations
We met with Richard Podemski,
who has concerns about the
program’s curriculum, and is
considering our wish to suspend
this program, but again, we are
awaiting recommendations.
Awaiting arrival and input
From new hire in Religious
Studies
Informally, via advising and
admission decisions, we are
severely restricting the proposed
areas of concentrations of
incoming graduate students.
New merit and annual evaluation
criteria are in effect.
We are hoping the program gets
radically revised and or
suspended, so we held off on
Assessment Information
(if applicable)
this.
Annual Report, 2005-2006
Department/Division:
Philosophy, Religious Studies and Interdisciplinary Humanities
College:
CAS
Part I-ALC/ALP/AFP, Summary Report on Assessment of Student Learning
Undergraduate Programs:
Graduate Programs:
General Education:
Academic Learning Compacts (ALC)
Academic Learning Plans (ALP)
Academic Foundation Plans (AFP)
To be completed by academic units offering degree programs or general education.
I.
Undergraduate Programs: For Each Program
I. Undergraduate Programs - To be completed by academic units offering degree programs.
Department/Division:
Philosophy, Religious Studies and Interdisciplinary Humanities
College:
CAS
Part I-ALC, Summary Report on Assessment, Academic Learning Compacts (ALC)
Program Title:: Philosophy/Religious Studies
Domain
(check one)
Degree: BA
CIP Code: 38.0101/38.0201
__Content
__Critical Thinking
__Communication
_x_Integrity/Values __Project Management __Discipline-specific ALC
Student Learning Outcome: Engage
with others, and contribute to the ongoing and open-ended
discussion that is philosophy in an honest, responsible, and respectful manner
Method(s) of Assessment
In all of our required courses, students must engage the history of philosophy and prepare
scholarly, carefully researched original papers that respond to that history. They learn to avoid
fallacious means of dismissing views alternative to their own. In many classes students are required
to present their work to the class and be prepared to defend their arguments. Students in advanced
courses are encouraged to submit papers to academic conferences, including the Florida
Philosophy Association’s Undergraduate Essay Prize (and a student of claimed that prize for the
first time last year) and the Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics. In our gateway course, student papers are
peer-reviewed.
Summary of Assessment Results
Most student research papers that are assessed for their grasp of ethical values merit letter grades
of C+ or higher. The incidence of plagiarism in all written work is very low. More specific data is not
yet available.
Use of Assessment Results to Improve Program
We have designed a reporting mechanism to evaluate what percentage of our Capstone Course
students exceed, meet, or fail to meet this and other learning outcomes. We will then revise our Exit
Survey and Syllabi for the Gateway and Capstone courses to provide more explicit information and
elicit more informative responses about each of the Domains.
Evaluation of Assessment Plan
We have not had the plan in place long enough to do a meaningful evaluation.
Domain(s) to Be Examined in Assessment Plan in Following Year
We will evaluate Ethical Reasoning
Assessment Questions to Be Addressed in Following Year
What is the nature of an ethical dilemma? Can we evaluate the quality of ethical decisions based on welldefined criteria?
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URL – ALC website: http://uwf.edu/cutla/CUTLA/ALC/newer/PHILOSOPHY.pdf
Department/Division:
Philosophy, Religious Studies and Interdisciplinary Humanities
College:
CAS
Part I-ALC, Summary Report on Assessment, Academic Learning Compacts (ALC)
Program Title: Interdisciplinary Humanities
Degree BA/MA
CIP Code: 24.0101
Though we have an academic learning compact in place for the undergraduate program, at
http://uwf.edu/cutla/CUTLA/ALC/newer/IH.doc we have not yet an assessment plan
designed for these programs. We are awaiting recommendations from a formal
assessment group looking into all of CAS’s interdisciplinary programs, headed up by Greg
Lanier.
II. Graduate Programs: For Each Program
A.
Submit an electronic copy of the Academic Learning Plan, including assessment strategy,
identifying programs by Title, Degree, and CIP Code.
Again, our graduate program, Humanities, Interdisciplinary, MA,CIP code we have not yet
an assessment plan designed for these programs. We are awaiting recommendations from
a formal assessment group looking into all of CAS’s interdisciplinary programs, headed
up by Greg Lanier.
III. Academic Foundations: General Education Status
A. Describe the two domains that your department has agreed to measure as the contribution to
Academic Foundations.
Both of our sub-domains fall under the Values/integrity Domain, to wit, Academic Integrity and Ethical
Reasoning.
B. Speculate about how the department will begin gathering data on those outcomes in the fall
semester.
We have already met with our regular and adjunct faculty that teach in General Studies, and solicited
some feedback on embedding assessment measures in their respective courses, which include
Introduction to Logic, Introduction to Philosophy , Intro to Religion, and Ethics and Contemporary
Society. We have decided to begin with the Introduction to Logic sections in the Fall, and will work
with those faculty to develop a specific assignment or two which measures student success in ethical
reasoning.
IV. All Programs: Institutional Support
Based on the department’s experiences in assessment this year,
 What feedback would you give the Center for University Teaching, Learning, and
Assessment (CUTLA) about faculty development activities?
5
Be patient; faculty are over-stretched.

What kinds of assistance would you like from CUTLA with next year’s faculty development
needs?
Assistance is organizing adjunct faculty orientations to the assessment initiative. Incentives for
active participation in this movement.
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Annual Report, 2005-2006
Department/Division:
Philosophy, Religious Studies and Interdisciplinary Humanities
College:
CAS
Part II-A, Major Unit Accomplishments and Changes in Programs and Services
List major department/division accomplishments and changes in programs and services for 2005-2006.
(Add lines as needed.)
1. Successfully completed a national and open search in Religious Studies with the hiring of Wilson
Maina, a Kenyan native recently graduated from Fordham University. He will be joining us in August of
2006.
2. Successfully lobbied to have a new hire in Ethics become a top CAS priority, even if later financial
straits shifted it off its final budget request.
3. Successfully lobbied to have our interdisciplinary programs critically assessed from the Dean’s-eye
level. They are in dire need of substantial reform.
4. Successfully overhauled our annual evaluation and merit criteria in order to bring them more in line with
Dean’s proposed ones.
5. Hired an adjunct to teach Intro to Logic online, completing our goal to have all general studies courses
offered fully online (as well as traditionally)
6. Successfully organized a trip for six student leaders (and philosophy majors) to accompany faculty to
the annual Florida Philosophical Association’s conference in Cocoa Beach.
7. Successfully solicited marketing funds to purchase T-shirts for meritorious philosophy majors.
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Annual Report, 2005-2006
Department/Division:
Philosophy, Religious Studies and Interdisciplinary Humanities
College:
CAS
Part II-B, Distinguished Individual (Faculty, Staff, and Student) Accomplishments
List college/departmental distinctions earned by faculty, staff, and students during 2005-2006.
(University- and Academic Affairs-level recognitions—such as promotion, tenure, Distinguished Teaching
Award—need not be listed. This information is already available in the Provost’s Office.)
A. Faculty: 1. Sally Ferguson has an article, “Evolutionary Psychology: Theory and Practice”,
forthcoming in Biology and Philosophy
She refereed two papers for the journal Biology and Philosophy and one paper for the journal The
Australasian Journal of Philosophy
She also served as an officer for a professional organization: Secretary/Treasurer of the Executive
Committee of the Florida Philosophical Association.
2. Nick Power had two entries (Evolutionary Psychology, The Freudian Left) appear in Alan Soble, ed.,
Sex fromPlato to Paglia: A Philosophical Encyclopedia_, 2vols. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press,
2006.
He was an invited speaker to Jacksonville University’s monthly “Philosophy Slam.” He spoke, to over 150
people, on the topic: “Does Pornography Harm Women?”
3. Toby Howe has had two articles accepted for Publication and In Press. “Henri Bergson,” The New
Encyclopedia of Unbelief (Prometheus Books) and “Conflating Erotica and Pornography: A Brief Reassessment of Applying and Old Themes to a Contemporary Problem,” in the peer-reviewed journal
Contemporary Philosophy.
He read a paper on “Pornography and the Aesthetic Attitude,” at the national meetings of the American
Semiotic Society in October 2005.
He was also and Invited discussant for “Religion in the Public Square” on WUWF TV; this aired 4 times in
January.
B. Staff: Jo Garber received training on the new Banner acquisitions training, attending two workshops
on the program.
C. Students: The Socratic Society planned and raised funds (from SGA and CAS as well as the
department) for 6 majors to travel to the Florida Philosophical Association’s Annual Meeting in Cocoa
Beach.
8
Annual Report, 2005-2006
Department/Division:
Philosophy, Religious Studies and Interdisciplinary Humanities
College:
CAS
Part III-A, Strategic Planning Goals/Objectives for 2006-2007
List strategic plan goals/objectives for 2006-2007 and planned method of assessment (if applicable).
Strategic Goal/Objective
Streamline Online offerings (assign adjuncts two
sections of their respective General Studies course)
Increase online offerings (namely, June Watkins) at
the upper-division level.
Increase course offerings and increase headcount in
Religious Studies
Increase course offerings in FWB area.
Method of Assessment
n/a
n/a
RS Majors headcount increases from current level
of 30 to 35.
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Annual Report, 2005-2006
Department/Division:
Philosophy, Religious Studies and Interdisciplinary Humanities
College:
CAS
Part III-B, Strategic Planning Goals/Objectives for 2006-2010
List strategic plan goals/objectives for 2006-2010 and planned method of assessment (if applicable).
Strategic Goal/Objective
Redesign Interdisciplinary programs.
Hire an ethicist.
Increase headcounts in all majors.
Method of Assessment
Submitted CCRs
Job search approval.
Headcount increaseds.
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Annual Report, 2005-2006
Department/Division:
Philosophy, Religious Studies and Interdisciplinary Humanities
College:
CAS
Part III-C, New Degree Program Projections
No new degree programs or specializations are under consideration at this time, given depleted faculty
resources.