ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT PLAN
SIX STEPS TO CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT OF STUDENT LEARNING
Department/School_______Geography_/ Arts and Sciences___________________
Program (major) Name_______Master of Arts_____________________
Contact Name___________Jay Lee_____________ email address___jlee@kent.edu__
Date Submitted_______April 23, 2004___________________________
Please complete the following for each program (major) in your unit. You may find the
online guide “Continuous Improvement of Student Learning” http://explore.kent.edu/aa
helpful for providing definitions and examples. Please submit a separate form for each
program.
1. Identify the student learning goals of this program. (Due April 16, 2004)
2. Articulate multiple measurable student learning objectives (outcomes) for each
goal. (Due April 16, 2004)
3. List the appropriate methods to assess how well students are meeting the
articulated objectives. (Due October 11, 2004)
4. List appropriate measures that can be administered, analyzed, and interpreted for
evidence of student learning outcomes. Include timeline for implementation.
(Due October 11, 2004)
5. Findings based on data collected. (First report due Fall 2005)
6. Actions taken to continuously improve the quality of student learning. (First
report due Fall 2005)
Submit information electronically to Dr. Stephane Booth, Office of Academic Quality
Improvement (sbooth@kent.edu)
Student Learning Goals of Geography
Master of Arts
Department of Geography
413 McGilvrey Hall
Kent State University
Step One: Identify the Student Learning Goals of the Department of Geography.
The degree of Master of Arts in Geography aims at nurturing students’ broad-based
knowledge in Geography and students’ ability to apply geographic concepts and
technology to solving real world problems. Specifically, the major goals of the MA
program in Geography are:
Goal 1: Acquiring advanced knowledge of the concepts, theories and technology in
Geography.
Goal 2: Develop students’ ability to synthesize concepts and theories in Geography.
Goal 3: Develop students’ ability to formulate research problems and to carry out
independent research projects.
Step Two: Articulate multiple measurable student learning objectives (outcomes)
for each goal
For Goal 1: To achieve the fundamental educational mandate in our MA program,
providing a solid background in the knowledge and developmental history of
geographical theories and related technology is the foremost important goal.
Objective: Geography plans to develop courses of special topics that reflect the
critical and contemporary issues in academic Geography. These courses will have
seminar formats to allow professors and students the opportunities for full
explorations of subject matters studied. The subject matters will cover geographic
concepts, theories, technological and field experiences.
For Goal 2 and Goal 3: Geography plans to encourage MA students to engage in more
independent research projects by means of
Objective 1: Geography will encourage MA students to choose the thesis option over
the two-paper option so that MA students can have the opportunity for conducting
a full scale research project with advice and assistance from faculty members on
the thesis advisory committee.
Objective 2: Geography will encourage MA students to engage research projects with
faculty members’ guidance. By carrying out independent research projects, MA
students will be able to acquire experiences in formulating research problems,
reviewing relevant literature, designing research methodology, analyzing research
data, and formulating results from academic research.