COMPREHENSIVE INSTRUCTIONAL
PROGRAM REVIEW
Unit:
Anthropology
Norco College
Contact Person:
Alexis Gray
Due: Fall 2009
Submitted: Fall 2011
Riverside Community College District
Office of Institutional Effectiveness
Web Resources: http://www.rcc.edu/administration/academicaffairs/effectiveness/review.cfm
Anthropology Comprehensive Program Review, Round 2
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Norco College Comprehensive Program Review Anthropology
2011
A. Mission and relationship to the College.
Anthropology as a discipline does not have a program per se but is part of several programs at
the college. The discipline is an integral part of the social sciences in most universities and
colleges in the United States. By integrating the biological and cultural components of
humankind, anthropology provides students with a perspective on humanity in all its diversity.
At Norco College, anthropology is aligned with the District Mission statement and the college
Mission Statement, and meets both transfer and General Education Requirements. According
to the District Mission Statement, the District “provides transfer programs paralleling the first
two years of university offerings…and…programs leading to the associate of arts degree (and)
the associate of science degree….” Anthropology courses are included in the requirements for
the Associates degrees: Anthropology 1 (Physical Anthropology) in Group A (Natural and
Physical Sciences) and all other anthropology courses in Group B (Social and Behavioral
Sciences). They also are included in the California State University General Education
requirements for transfer and in the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum
(IGETC) for California State University and the University of California. Norco College’s
Mission statement states “ Norco College provides educational programs, services, and
learning environments for a diverse community. We equip our students with the knowledge
and skills to attain their goals in higher, career/technical, and continuing education; workforce
development; and personal enrichment. To meet the evolving community needs, Norco
College emphasizes the development of technological programs. As a continuing process we
listen to our community and respond to its needs while engaging in self-examination, learning
outcomes assessment, ongoing dialogue, planning, and improvement.” Anthropology provides
training in diversity, personal enrichment and is strongly focuses towards civil engagement and
community involvement. In addition, Anthropology 2 (Cultural Anthropology) is one of the
required classes for the vocational nursing program. Anthropology courses are part of the
curricular pattern for transfer programs in many disciplines at numerous universities. For
example, Anthropology 2 meets requirements for Business Administration at CSU Fullerton
and for Social Work at CSU Long Beach.
The District Mission Statement also places emphasis on preparing students for “intellectual and
cultural awareness, critical and independent thought, and self-reliance.” As the study of human
biological and cultural diversity, anthropology is uniquely placed for exposing students to the
richness and variety of human life, thus giving them new perspectives and a greater tolerance
for human differences.
B. History
The discipline of anthropology last underwent program review in 2006. At that time, there
were four full-time faculty members, two at Riverside, One at Moreno Valley and one at Norco
Anthropology Comprehensive Program Review, Round 2
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College. The two faculty members at Moreno Valley and Norco were hired in 2005 and 2006
respectively. In 2009, due to a retirement at Riverside College, a new full-time faculty
member was hired (which kept the number of full-time faculty at four). In 2011, one of the
full-time faculty members at Riverside retired (effective December 1001) which will bring the
total number of full-time faculty to three, one for each college. In 2010, Norco and Moreno
Valley changed in status from campus to independent colleges.
The number of part-time instructors at Norco College has increased by two individuals since
the last program review (although the specific individuals are all different people with
complete turn over in the part-time staff).
The number of part time instructors at Norco is 6, although only four work during any given
semester.
There have not been significant changes in the number of sections offered during the Fall and
Spring semesters, with Anthropology losing only two sections in the Fall and one in the Spring
but the Winter and Summer sessions have been cut quite a bit, with Anthropology being
allowed one section of Physical anthropology in the Winter and one section of Cultural
anthropology in the Summer. This has artificially changed our ratio of part time to full time
instruction as fewer sections are available to associate faculty. This does not mean that our
need at Norco for another tenure-track faculty member is less as none of the statistics above
reflect the discipline’s approach to section cuts.
In 2008, when the section cuts began across the college (then campus), a conscious decision on
the part of the faculty members camps-wide, and particularly in anthropology was made to
over-enroll classes in order to help students graduate or transfer in a timely manner despite the
cuts. This has resulted in class sizes that are doubled. In other words, anthropology is
attempting to service more students as before, with fewer sections. While the part time ratios
have gone down slightly, this does not mean that Norco College does not need another full
time faculty member as we are actually servicing almost twice the number of students as
before with fewer sections. In other words, we are growing rapidly as a discipline while Norco
grows as a new college. This type of growth is not sustainable in the long term. In addition,
the one full-time faculty member in the discipline is also very active in committee work (four
committee positions plus Assistant Chair) as this kind of involvement is necessary in building
a new college.
In recent years our anthropology faculty member has:


Worked as a professional Forensic Anthropology Consultant for the San Bernardino
County Sheriff’s Department, Coroner’s Division. This position brings media attention
and new students to the College.
Participated in a DNA recovery project, recovering remains from unidentified
individuals for DNA submission. Between 2007 and 2011, 78 individuals have been
recovered, 65 of which were recovered with the help of current and now former Norco
Students. The former students have parlayed this experience into upper division
honor’s thesis’s and four of our former students have now entered graduate school in
Anthropology.
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
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Participated in professional conferences on biological anthropology, cultural
anthropology, archaeology and teaching including the American Anthropological
Association, The American Academy of Forensic Sciences, The American Association
of Physical Anthropology, The National Youth Service Learning Conference and the
Society for American Archaeology.
Participated in law-enforcement teaching workshops (POST Certification) for San
Bernardino County Sheriff, The San Bernardino County District Attorney, and UCR
extension.
Developed new curriculum and created an outdoor classroom.
Consulted for the television show “Bones”
Appeared in several media including Newspapers, Inland Empire Magazine and on
television in several capacities.
Started a thriving Anthropology club, fostering civil engagement, and diversity
awareness. Since 2006, we have had 358 members in the club. The club also provides
emotional support to former students as they begin their new lives at new schools. The
club has taken many trips to museums and zoos and started a program to allow them to
visit potential transfer universities so that they can make the most informed choices
when transferring.
Been awarded “Best Teacher of the Year” and “Best Club Advisor” twice.
Volunteered in the AAUW (American Association of University Women) “Interesting
Girls in Math and Science” program. This program is designed to engage eighth grade
female students in Math and Science.
Been an invited speaker to multiple Inland Empire community events including the San
Bernardino Natural History Museum.
All of the above activities have increased interest and awareness of the discipline. This, in
turn, spurs enrollment.
C. Data Analysis and Environmental Scan
Anthropology enrollments have increased over the last five years, while the number of sections has
decreased. While this has helped our efficiency rates, we have had a steady decline in success rates.
We are typically running classes at twice the number of students we used to (45 students a term, per
course in 2006 compared to 68 per course with that majority actually over 90 students per class.). The
discipline has grown with college growth rates but this kind of growth is unsustainable with only one
full-time faculty member. Below find the data for the discipline.
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DATA SUPPORT- ANTHROPOLOGY – NORCO
NOR Anthropology Studies,
Retention and Success Rates, Fall 2000 - 2010
700
100%
630
90%
560
80%
490
70%
420
60%
350
50%
280
40%
210
30%
140
20%
70
10%
Enrollments
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2009
2010
285
324
380
375
290
236
365
463
577
646
695
Retention
88.8%
90.7%
88.7%
93.3%
92.8%
82.2%
92.1%
86.6%
87.0%
87.9%
89.8%
Success
73.0%
67.9%
77.4%
82.7%
78.3%
64.0%
76.2%
63.7%
55.3%
64.9%
66.6%
0%
NOR Anthropology FTEF and WSCH,
Fall Terms 2005 -2010
NOR Anthropology Efficiencies,
Fall Terms 2005 -2010
1250
2008
3.0
2500
1125
2.7
2250
1000
2.4
2000
875
2.1
1750
1.8
1500
1.5
1250
1.2
1000
0.9
750
0.6
500
0.3
250
FTEF
750
625
500
375
250
125
0
Efficiency
0.0
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
500.20
706.38
949.57
1057.74
1167.59
940.99
FTEF
Discipline WSCH
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
1.80
2.00
1.80
2.00
2.03
2.5
900.36
1,412.76
1,709.22
2,115.48
2,364.36
2,352.48
0
The Data for the college as a whole reflects the general growth, but when compared with the
discipline, we can see that the discipline is on par or above the averages of the campus as a
whole
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WSCH
0
COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM REVIEW
DATA SUPPORT- NOR - BASELINE
NOR Enrollments,
Retention and Success Rates, Fall 2000 - 2009
25,000
100%
90%
20,000
80%
70%
15,000
60%
50%
10,000
40%
30%
5,000
20%
10%
-
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Enrollments 13,751
15,694
16,399
16,402
17,417
16,989
17,489
19,949
21,094
22,852
Retention
88.5%
90.1%
89.2%
89.3%
88.1%
86.9%
88.0%
86.3%
86.5%
85.8%
Success
65.2%
68.5%
69.4%
69.9%
69.1%
66.4%
68.1%
64.9%
66.9%
66.9%
NOR FTEF and WSCH,
Fall Terms 2005 -2009
NOR Efficiencies,
Fall Terms 2005 -2009
800
0%
200
100,000
160
80,000
120
60,000
80
40,000
40
20,000
700
FTEF
500
WSCH
600
400
300
200
100
0
0
Efficiency
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
504.81
533.14
597.33
621.05
718.46
FTEF
Discipline WSCH
2005
2006
2007
2008
143.44
153.05
147.33
147.79
138.58
72409.81
81597.56
88004.49
91784.32
99564.55
D. Programs and Curriculum:
Anthropology courses being offered at Norco College:
Courses taught every semester:
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0


Anthropology 1: Physical Anthropology (also taught in Winter)
Anthropology 2: Cultural Anthropology (also taught in Summer)
Courses taught on a three-semester rotation:
 Anthropology 7: Anthropology of Religion
 Anthropology 8: Language and Culture
 Anthropology 10: Forensic Anthropology
Courses currently on a four-semester rotation:
 Anthropology 3: Prehistoric Cultures
 Anthropology 4: Native American Cultures (Moreno Valley and Norco campuses)
 Anthropology 5: Native Peoples of Mexico (Riverside campus)
 Anthropology 6: Introduction to Archaeology (fall and spring only) (Norco and Riverside
campuses
Changes to anthropology courses in the last few years include:
 All courses are Web-enhanced and Anth 1 and Anth 2 are available online in a yearly
rotation.
 The Course Outlines of Record for all anthropology courses have been re-visited since their
approval in 2006 and are currently undergoing adjustments to the SLO’s.
 A new course, Anthropology 1H, Honors Biological Anthropology has been written and is
awaiting submission to the curriculum committee in Fall 0f 2011.
All anthropology courses at Norco College are independent; there is no sequence. No courses have
prerequisites or advisories; these were eliminated from all courses that had them during the last
course outline of record revisions in 1998.
Anthropology courses serve a wide portion of the Norco student body, including AA and AS
candidates, transferring students, and certain vocational students. All anthropology courses meet
the requirements for an Associates Degree at RCC. Anthropology 1 meets the Part A. Natural
Sciences requirement, while all other anthropology courses meet the Part B.2., Social and
Behavioral Sciences requirement. We are participating in the revision of the General Education
requirements. We are recommending that Anthropology 10 (Forensic Anthropology) be moved to
meeting the Natural Sciences requirement, as that is a much more appropriate placement for that
course than is Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Anthropology courses also are listed under the General Education requirements for transfer to the
California State University. Anthropology 1 (Physical Anthropology) is included in Group B
(Physical Universe and its Life Forms) and Anthropology 2,3, 4,5,6,10, and 21 are included in
Group D (Social, Political, and Economic Institutions and Behavior). Again, the placement of
Anthropology 10 (Forensic Anthropology) needs to be reconsidered. Anthropology also is
included in the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) for transfer to
CSU and UC. Anthropology 1 meets requirements for Part 5.b., Biological Science, while
Anthropology 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and 21 meet the requirements for Part 4, Social and Behavioral
Sciences; Anthropology 10 has not been approved for IGETC. In addition, Anthropology 2
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(Cultural Anthropology) is one of the required classes for the vocational nursing program within
the Riverside Community College District.
E. Student Learning Outcomes Assessment:
Anthropology is the study of humankind. The discipline comprises four very distinctive sub
disciplines, integrated by the concept of culture and a focus on human diversity in all its aspects.
Although each course deals with very different content, anthropology as a discipline is aimed at
several comprehensive student learning outcomes. In preparation for participation in GE level
Assessment, we believe that a successful student in any anthropology course should be able to:
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distinguish the key terms and concepts relevant to the particular area of anthropology the
course covers;
apply a number of anthropological field and analytical techniques relevant to the area of
anthropology the course covers;
critically assess anthropological evidence in order to make reasonable inferences, and
interpret the results in accordance with accepted theoretical frameworks;
compare and evaluate major interpretive and theoretical debates in the discipline;
apply college-level methods of analysis and evaluation of texts through writing and
discussion;
apply critical thinking to problems of interpretation of anthropological evidence;
demonstrate an appreciation of the range and value of human biological and cultural
diversity.
The members of the anthropology discipline district-wide are working to revisit clearly define
the outcomes and competencies relevant to our courses. At present, we use self-assessment in
our classrooms, using the results of exams and quizzes, papers, and other projects in order to
evaluate how our students are learning. Although the content of each course differs greatly, we
found that we share certain common goals in our approach to teaching our discipline. In
particular, much of anthropology is based on evaluating evidence, whether it is from fossils,
artifacts, or other sources. Therefore, students are expected to understand how to gather
evidence and how to access that evidence in order to make reasonable inferences.
We have met several times to discuss strategies for implementing assessment of Student
Learning Outcomes. We have common SLO’s but not common assessment. Each college has
decided to remain independent in how we assess our SlO’s but each college is in compliance.
At Norco College, we have 100% participation in annual assessment at the minimum, and in
reality, we assess each semester. There is no common form of assessment, each faculty
member is free to assess as they see fit but each year in the spring the numbers are considered
and aggregated for the Annual Program review. Assessment is integrated into our pedagogy
and the majority of the faculty (including the part-time faculty) assesses outcomes at least three
times during a semester. This has required a coordinating effort on behalf of our one full-time
faculty member and some adjustments to methodology were made in 2009, when it was
discovered that the part-time faculty were often assessing Class Level Outcomes (by keeping
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the assessment anonymous and measuring overall class gain, if any). In 2009, the full-time
faculty member contacted each associate faculty member and discussed the differences
between SLO’s and CLO’s. This explanation is now part of discipline new faculty orientation.
At that orientation, suggestions for SLO assessment, including potential shared questions and
assessments are offered but they are not required.
Anthropology has been commended at Norco College by the Norco Assessment Committee
(NAC), which replaced DAC in 2010. and has been offered as a model to other disciplines
struggling with developing assessment.
F. Collaboration with Other Units:
Anthropology 10 (Introduction to Forensic Anthropology) is part of the ADJ program for the
Crime Scene Certificate. As there is no full-time faculty member in ADJ, the Anthropology
Faculty member chairs this division. Anthropology provides much of the theoretical
groundwork for Crime Scene Investigation. It is our intention to create a buried body recovery
area to teach Archaeological techniques (though not at the level of a field school), and Forensic
evidence recovery. This collaboration would strengthen both units.
Anthropology 7 (Anthropology of Religion) is now structured at Norco College to coordinate
with English 8 (Introduction to Mythology). There is no sequence to the courses, however, and
they van be taken in either order.
Anthropology will participate in the “One Book, One College” program in 2012 which will
allow collaboration with Math, English and Philosophy.
G. Outreach:
Anthropology courses are taught at varying times to ensure access to the entire community of
learners.
Through the club, we connect with other anthropologists in the Inland Empire, visiting other
campuses and attending symposia.
The students of Anthropology 10 (Introduction to Forensic Anthropology) have participated in
a massive excavation recovery project for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
This opportunity allowed several students to acquire employment previously closed to them.
Anthropology faculty members are experts in many different aspects of the discipline. As such,
they are sometimes called on by members of the community to answer questions and to
identify materials, such as bones and artifacts. On occasion, we also have gone to investigate
reported archaeological sites. It is considered unethical to appraise objects, however, and this is
never done.
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Informally, the Norco anthropology faculty member maintains strong ties with local
universities, especially through transferring students and part-time faculty.
The anthropology club has additionally become very focused on Service Learning (Coupled
with their anthropology curriculum) and have participated in several community based
volunteer efforts. They are strong members of the ASNC. They are also assisting in
organizing a Service Learning based colloquium for Spring 2012.
H. Long Term Major Resource Planning
The anthropology department is in dire need of a new faculty member, or barring that, a
dedicated Supplemental Instructional aide would stem the success hemorrhage.
Our long term goals, include building a field research facility for the archaeological, forensic
anthropological and Administration of Justice courses. We require a field lab for the applied
aspects of these fields. However, we as a discipline recognize that the funds are not available
at this time so we cannot reasonably put it into our three-year plan. It is however, in our sixyear plan to make the request.
I. Summary
Our previous goals from our last comprehensive program review were all met.
Our goals for the next four years are:
 Hire a new full-time faculty member.
 Develop a certificate program for Administration of Justice that would include heavy
Anthropological Discipline involvement.
 Bring three new courses through curriculum process (Anthropology 1H, Anthropology
1 with a Lab, and Women in Cross Cultural Perspectives).
 Establish firm PLO’s for all of our courses that fulfill a GE or Area of Interest.
 Begin assessing these courses for overall effectiveness within the framework of the GE
revamping.
J. Recommendations to the Program Review Committee:
None.
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