Program: Graduate Academic Advising (MSW)
Date: Fri Oct 11, 2013 - 9:14:12 am
1) Below are your program's student outcomes (SOs). Please add or update as needed.
Outcome 1: Students will be able to design and achieve a reasonable and timely academic plan that leads to a Master of Social Work degree.
Outcome 2: Students will be able to identify academic and professional goals that incorporate his/her personal values, interests, aptitudes and skills.
Outcome 3: Students will be able to identify and utilize resources to support them in achieving their academic and professional goals.
2) Your program's SOs are published as follows. Please update as needed.
Program's Website. URL: 
Student Handbook. URL, if available online: http://www.hawaii.edu/sswork/forms/msw/MSW_Handbook_2013.pdf Information Sheet, Flyer, or Brochure. URL, if available online: UHM Catalog. Page Number: Other: MSW New Student Orientation Presentation Other: FACULTY & STUDENT MANDATORY ADVISING MEMOS3) Provide the program's activity map or other graphic that illustrates how program activities/services align with program student outcomes. Please upload it as a PDF.
- File (10/11/2013)
4) Did your program engage in any program assessment activities between June 1, 2012 and September 30, 2013? (e.g., establishing/revising outcomes, aligning activities to outcomes, collecting evidence, interpreting evidence, using results, revising the assessment plan, creating surveys, etc.)
Yes
No (skip to question 14)5) For the period June 1, 2012 to September 30, 2013: State the assessment question(s) and/or assessment goals. Include the student outcomes that were targeted, if applicable.
A. 100% of new students* will attend a mandatory orientation session where they will receive training on how to use STAR, the UHM catalog, Credit Check form, and the Student Handbook to identify and understand program requirements. (* amended activity to measure only new entering students)
B. 100% of student files will have an academic plan form that is updated every semester by the student and a faculty advisor.
C. In the MSW Self Assessment Surveys**, 90% of respondents will indicate that they received assistance, if requested, in examining academic and professional goals for themselves.
D. In the MSW Self Assessment Surveys**, 90% of respondents will indicate that they received assistance in identifying and utilizing appropriate resources to support them in achieving their academic and professional goals when they requested such assistance.
** MSW Self Assessment Surveys are comprised of the Exit Survey for graduating students, and the Mid-Program survey for those students finishing their foundation year. Current data is presented in aggregate.
6) State the type(s) of evidence gathered to answer the assessment question and/or meet the assessment goals that were given in Question #5.
Evidence for Measurement A (New Student Orientation):
- Orientation sign-in sheets
- Individual Orientation appointments were scheduled w/ Director of Student Services if students could not/ did not attend mandatory Orientation sessions.
Evidence for Measurement B (Academic Plan Form):
- Student files reviewed for presence of updated forms
Evidence for Measurement C & D (MSW Self Assessment Surveys):
- Individual responses from MSW Self Assessment Surveys
7) State how many persons submitted evidence that was evaluated. If applicable, please include the sampling technique used.
Measurement A: All new students signed-in for orientation sessions and received related written materials (e.g. New Student Orientation Manual, PowerPoint handout, Student Rights & Responsibilities, academic advising forms). New MSW students in 2013 = 126
Measurement B: All student files were reviewed for academic forms completed w/ both student & academic advisor. (230 total MSW students; 15 faculty advisors; 4 Distance Education site coordinators; 3 Practicum Office faculty; 1 Admissions Administrative Support)
Measurement C & D: 132 students have completed MSW Self Assessment Surveys.
8) Who interpreted or analyzed the evidence that was collected? Check all that apply.
Program faculty/staff member(s) Faculty/staff committee Ad hoc faculty/staff group Director or department chairperson Persons or organization outside the university Students (graduate or undergraduate) Dean or Associate Dean Advisory Board Other: 9) How did he/she/they evaluate, analyze, or interpret the evidence? Check all that apply.
Compiled survey results Used quantitative methods on student data (e.g., grades, participation rates) or other numeric data Used qualitative methods on interview, focus group, or other open-ended response data Scored exams/tests/quizzes Used a rubric or scoring guide Used professional judgment (no rubric or scoring guide used) External organization/person analyzed data (e.g., Social Science Research Institute) Other: 10) For the assessment questions/goals stated in Question #5, summarize the actual results.
Measurement A: Orientation
100% of new students will attend a mandatory orientation session where students will receive training on how to use STAR, the UHM catalog, Credit Check form, and the Student Handbook to identify and understand program requirements.
126/126 = 100% of new students entering the MSW Program in 2013 attended an orientation session.
Measurement B: Academic Plan Form
100% of student files will have an academic plan form that is updated every semester by the student and a faculty advisor.
Starting from 11/2011 (for advising for Spring 2012), we instituted the requirement for all student files to have an academic plan form.
187/230 = 81.3% of student files had an academic plan form.
- DE Option achieved 46/46 = 100% because these students have prescribed academic plans that are automatically placed in their files.
- 74.8% of MSW student files have an academic plan that appears to be current.
Measurement C & D: MSW Self Assessment Surveys
C: In the MSW Self Assessment Surveys, 90% of respondents will indicate that they received assistance, if requested, in examining academic and professional goals for themselves.
D. In the MSW Self Assessment Surveys, 90% of respondents will indicate that they received assistance in identifying and utilizing appropriate resources to support them in achieving their academic and professional goals when they requested such assistance
Assigned Academic Advisor:
C. Among 132 respondents, 64 students reported that they requested assistance from their assigned academic advisor in examining academic goals, and 95.3% (61 students) reported that they received assistance; and 33 students reported that they requested assistance in examining professional goals, and 84.8% (28 students) reported that they received assistance.
D. 31 students reported that they requested assistance from their assigned academic advisor in identifying and utilizing appropriate resources, and 83.9% (26 students) reported that they received assistance.
Other Advisor or Sources:
C. Among 132 respondents, 29 students reported that they requested assistance from other advisors or sources in examining academic goals, and 93.1% (27 students) reported that they received assistance; and 21 students reported that they requested assistance in examining professional goals, and 95.2% (20 students) reported that they received assistance.
D. 21 students reported that they requested assistance from other advisors or sources in identifying and utilizing appropriate resources, and 90.5% (19 students) reported that they received assistance.
11) What was learned from the results?
Not all faculty advisors are utilizing the academic plan form and even fewer are keeping academic plan forms updated.
MSW Student Self Assessment Surveys indicate that fewer than half (~48%) of the respondents sought assistance from their assigned academic advisors in examining their academic goals and even fewer requested assistance in examining professional goals (~25% of respondents) or indentifying and utilizing appropriate resources to achieve their goals (~23.5%). Of the students who did seek assistance from their assigned academic advisor, more than 90% (95%) reported that they received assistance with examining academic goals, but less than 90% received assistance with examining professional goals (~85%) or in identifying and utilizing appropriate resources to achieve their goals (~84%).
12) State how the program used the results or plans to use the results. Please be specific.
Plans continue to develop strategies to improve on faculty advisor trainings to broaden knowledge of graduate education and requisite courses for the program. This year, we tracked faculty participation in the annual training review on academic advising. Those who did not participate in this training were sent the PowerPoint presentation and given a quiz to return to the Student Services Director. Corrections were sent to each faculty for missed questions. We eventually attained 100% compliance on this training & intend to modify the presentation based upon the types of questions faculty were incorrectly answering.
Secondly, it will be important to develop an improved method of tracking advisement documentation. We will need to develop strategies to improve faculty compliance with documentation updates and accuracy in advisement of students.
Student Self Assessment surveys results suggest that students either are not fully utilizing their assigned academic advisors or do not feel they need assistance in examining and achieving their academic and professional goals. While we are meeting our benchmark in assisting students seeking to examine their academic goals, we are falling slightly short on providing assistance to students examining professional goals or seeking resources to achieve their goals. In the upcoming year, we will work towards helping students (and advisors) recognize their advisors as resources and that academic advising is more than listing the next semester’s courses. Faculty trainings described above will help towards assuring that students receive the assistance they need.
13) Reflect on the assessment process. Is there anything related to assessment procedures your program would do differently next time? What went well?
Measurement B: This is the area in which most improvement is still needed, as not all student files contain an academic plan form and not all academic plan forms are updated regularly. We did not successfully address the completion of a system to determine a clear yes/no on whether the academic plan was updated appropriately. This made it very laborious and time-consuming to determine outcomes related to Measurement B. We intend to work toward improving on this in the next year.
Measurement C & D: The method of conducting and collecting the MSW Self Assessment Surveys was modified to increase student response rates. The surveys were disseminated and collected in classrooms rather than mailed or emailed to students. Also, Distance Education students took the survey via SurveyShare (online surveys). These included, (1) students who were graduating, and (2) students who were entering their concentration year (starting from this semester, Fall 2013). These focused efforts resulted in a much higher response rate and more detailed qualitative feedback by students. At some point in the future, we may want to conduct additional analyses using stratified samples.
14) If the program did not engage in assessment activities, please explain.
Or, if the program did engage in assessment activities, please add any other important information here.
N/A