graduate level

Cross-Cultural Classroom: Assessing Student Opinion of Online, Case-Based Learning Modules, Utilizing MRI and XR Technology, in American and Turkish Medical Students

The objective of this study was to develop online case-based anatomy learning modules and assess student perceptions of …

Introduction to Program Learning Assessment for Graduate Students

This workshop is collaboratively presented by the Assessment Office and Graduate Education Office. Graduate students have a great …

The Ocean and Resources Engineering (ORE) Department at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM) is a small, highly specialized graduate department within the School of Ocean and Earth Sciences and Technology. Historically it has had 7-8 faculty and approximately 35 students, about one third pursuing a PhD degree and two thirds pursuing a Master’s degree. At the present time, numbers are down slightly because of a general downturn in the field. ORE is accredited by ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology). This rigorous accreditation occurs once every 6 years, requiring a 250-page comprehensive self-study report, a series of fully documented supporting rubrics and a site visit. ORE went through this process in Fall 2015 and received an unprecedented perfect score (the only department at UH to get this). This stellar level of accomplishment is attributed to strong rubrics measuring well-developed assessment procedures and very good support from the Department’s dedicated hands-on external advisory committees. The department has a very high level of satisfaction among its graduates, with virtually 100% of graduates having found good paying positions in the field upon graduation. Our poster highlights some of the department’s efforts to further enhance our procedures. Included is a sample rubric and assessment methods utilized by ORE, along with program outcomes and conclusions drawn from ABET success.

Developing Additionally Improved Rubrics Following a Very Successful ABET Accreditation of the Ocean and Resources Engineering Department

The Ocean and Resources Engineering (ORE) Department at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM) is a small, …

The Communication Department’s mission is to meet the challenges and opportunities of communication in the emerging technological, multicultural, and global context of the twenty-first century. Our Master’s Program aims to build and exchange knowledge in the broad field of communication and our specific foci in organizational and intercultural communication, global communication, information and communication technologies, social media, and communication policy. This poster presents our first formal MA assessment using a new rubric. We note our seven program SLOs, linked to draft institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs). In 2015, seven graduating students’ work was assessed (n=7). The Graduate Chair used evidence of successful course completion to assess SLO1, and the remaining SLOs were assessed shortly after the final thesis defense, based on the written document and oral defense. Committee members for each student assessed their work using the rubric. Results for each SLO are presented below. Overall, our graduates are meeting or exceeding our expectations. However, the small sample size dictates that we need to accumulate more evidence over time to document progress and accomplishments. We describe how we used our results and we outline our intended next steps.

Communication MA Curriculum Assessment

The Communication Department’s mission is to meet the challenges and opportunities of communication in the emerging technological, multicultural, …

The Public Administration Program offers a Master’s of Public Administration (MPA) degree. Currently our program is 30 credits, but after using assessment our program will be 39 credits starting in Fall 2015. Using curriculum mapping, the PUBA was able to align our program learning outcomes with our student learning outcomes. We revised our student learning outcomes to include content areas and skills the curriculum was not covering. In addition, we mapped out three degree pathways and identified learning opportunities and assignments that we can use to assess outcomes. After using these assessment tools, in addition to adding an additional 9 credits to PUBA, we have added 3 new courses, and revised individual course student learning outcomes and opportunities.

Leading The Way To Accreditation With Assessment

The Public Administration Program offers a Master’s of Public Administration (MPA) degree. Currently our program is 30 credits, …

This poster describes the program's project to develop doctoral level program learning outcomes mapped to required courses and evidence of student learning that are defined by direct measures using signature assignments. The program aims to monitor and support on-time graduation using milestones identified as integral to the development of a nurse scholar that are mapped to the program completion timeline.

Direct Measures of Doctoral Student Learning Supporting On-time Graduation

This poster describes the program’s project to develop doctoral level program learning outcomes mapped to required courses and …

The Master of Early Childhood Education Program is a 2-1/2 year, 30 credit hybrid program is primarily delivered through intensive summer sessions and once a month hybrid seminars. It was conceived in 2003 to meet a statewide need for a graduate level leadership degree in the field. This interdisciplinary collaboration between faculty across three departments in the COE and the CTAHR has graduated four cohorts (90 students). The culminating assessment for the program is a Plan B Portfolio that demonstrates competency in light of five mandatory standards and two student chosen elective standards. The context surrounding ECE has changed dramatically in the past few years as has our student demographics. Our first cohort was composed primarily of long-time practitioners leaders statewide. In contrast, current students are a diverse group ranging from earlier career professionals to "second chancers" with limited involvement in the broader profession. The program also attracts more applicants from non-resident students and has seen decreasing applications from disadvantaged minorities and neighbor island residents. This poster looks at the faculty steering team's process of revisiting program documents, standards, SLOs and Key Assessments in light of our current student demographics. Multiple data sources were used to identify barriers and to develop supports that scaffold student transitions into graduate level academic writing and to more intentionally support the Plan B Capstone. Proposed revisions to the overall program promote opportunities for active involvement in the profession and broader community and place-based experiential learning to inform community specific Plan B professional contributions.

Revisiting the Plan B Capstone of the MEd ECE Program

The Master of Early Childhood Education Program is a 2-1/2 year, 30 credit hybrid program is primarily delivered …

This poster will present the results of efforts to develop a robust program for assessment of the graduate degree programs in Civil Engineering (CE) at UHM. Prior to the start of this project, CE had outdated program outcomes for MS and PhD programs that were difficult to assess and a very simple and inadequate assessment system. This project involved creation of new program-level student learning outcomes (SLOs) for both MS and PhD using better descriptions and Bloom’s taxonomy verbs and then finalization in an interactive faculty department meeting. This was followed by development of rubrics for the SLOs to be used for assessment of graduate student work. The rubrics were worked on in an interactive CE Assessment Committee meeting followed by presentation/modification in a CE Department meeting. This was followed by development and adoption of a plan for analysis of results, determination of necessary program changes and implementation of changes. The products of this project will be presented as well as lessons learned regarding the process.

MS/PhD Outcome Assessment Program Development

This poster will present the results of efforts to develop a robust program for assessment of the graduate …

This study was intrigued by the needs to assess oral performance more systematically and to motivate students to take assessment more seriously. The participants of the study were students and faculty of Korean Language Flagship Center (KLFC) MA program in the department of East Asian Languages and Literatures. There was a brief criterion for oral assessment in the program, but it was not enough to meet the aforementioned needs. Therefore, the researcher with the help of faculty in the program and center developed a detailed rubric, Flagship Rubric. Utilizing assessment evidences such as video recordings and student feedback sheets, development phases were as follows: 1) rough version, 2) revision, 3) pilot test, 4) second revision, and 5) ‘Flagship Rubric.’ The poster session will show this process and the product, and how it will be incorporated in the program with a dissemination plan.

Flagship Rubric for Oral Performance

This study was intrigued by the needs to assess oral performance more systematically and to motivate students to …

In Spring 2013, the Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (MIPCR) began a program review process by completing a curriculum map of the Graduate Certificate in Conflict Resolution (GCCR). The 15-credit interdisciplinary certificate is designed to address a set of program-level student learning outcomes (SLO). A curriculum assessment would determine if the GCCR’s Peace and Conflict Education (PACE) courses, as well as GCCR-approved courses from other programs, aligned with these outcomes. It would also reveal whether students had adequate opportunities to achieve the outcomes. This initiative would open dialogue among faculty, administrators, and students to discuss student success and program improvement. Instructors of PACE and GCCR-approved courses received a survey listing each program-level SLO and were asked to indicate the degree to which their course addressed each outcome. Responses to the surveys were recorded in a curriculum map and presented to a volunteer review committee for interpretation and discussion. This committee made recommendations for the program, including clarifying program goals and positioning to guide program-level SLOs, and further clarifying SLOs to ensure collective understanding by faculty members. Committee members also noted that there are limited opportunities for students to focus on professional ethics. It was further recommended that faculty and staff ownership of the review process be fostered through transparency and collaboration. Challenges of meeting SLOs through interdisciplinary programming were also revealed. The MIPCR Curriculum Committee discussed the results and recommendations and concluded that a more complete curriculum map and continued discussion was needed before making any curricular decisions.

Starting the Curricular Conversation through Mapping: A Curriculum Review of the Graduate Certificate in Conflict Resolution

In Spring 2013, the Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (MIPCR) began a program review process by …

This poster features the development and use of a rubric for program assessment. The Nursing PhD program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM) developed program learning outcomes via best practices of doctoral programs and national documents featuring hallmarks of PhD in Nursing education. The core competencies for Nursing PhD students were developed from the program learning outcomes. This poster profiles the development of three rubrics based on the program learning outcomes and core competencies for the dissertation defense, dissertation proposal defense and the student comprehensive examination. The decision/action process undertaken by the PhD curriculum committee is also illustrated.

Evidence-Based Rubric Development for the Nursing PhD Program

This poster features the development and use of a rubric for program assessment. The Nursing PhD program at …

Automation of Student Learning Assessment for the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)

The MS program in the Ocean and Resources Engineering Department (ORE) is certified by the Accreditation Board for …

Graduate Program Learning Assessment: Processes, Tools, and Resources

This workshop is co-sponsored by the Assessment and Curriculum Support Center, Graduate Division, and the Graduate Council. Wondering …

Assessing the Planning Practicum: Lessons for Engaged Scholarship

The planning practicum is a required course in the Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) program in …

Graduate Program Assessment-for-Learning-Improvement Showcase

In collaboration with the Graduate Division, the Assessment and Curriculum Support Center hosted this workshop: Graduate Program Assessment-for-Learning-Improvement Showcase. …

Wayfinding Our ‘North Stars’: Arriving at One Department’s Values and Vision

For a Department serving approximately 120 graduate and 40 undergraduate students, our curriculum had remained stable for the …

Assessing Students’ Professional Readiness in MS-TIM Program

Driven by the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the global travel industry and the emergence of new job …

E Hoʻoulu Kākou: Teacher Education and Professional Dispositions

The College of Education (COE) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s teaching licensure programs aim to prepare …

Evaluating Supports for MEd Early Childhood Education (ECED) Student Capstone Work: Moving Forward Together

In this poster, we present the results of our assessment project aimed at improving the capstone experience and …

Developing Pilina: Introducing New Social Sciences Faculty to Kuleana

For the past two years, Hui ʻĀina Pilipili: Native Hawaiian Initiative, ACCESS Engagement, and the Mālama i Nā …

A process to conduct an overhaul of the JABSOM curriculum map of the medical education program was conducted, in part, to address a recent accreditation citation. The curriculum map was revised by faculty, reviewed by the Curriculum Committee, and will be utilized at the upcoming annual Curriculum Committee retreat.

JABSOM Medical Education: A Systematic Review Process for a Medical Education Curriculum

A process to conduct an overhaul of the JABSOM curriculum map of the medical education program was conducted, …

Assessing Graduate Student Theses/Dissertations for Program Improvement

This workshop will provide considerations, rubrics, and strategies on how to best utilize faculty’s evaluation of thesis/dissertation work …

From Evaluation of Individual Students to Program Level Assessment of Learning – Implications for Graduate Programs

In this workshop, participants will learn program learning outcome assessment practices in graduate programs; tools and strategies to …

Assessing Learning in Graduate Programs

This workshop aims to support improvement of graduate program assessment of student learning and help participants develop assessment …

The Department of Linguistics Comprehensive Exam consists of two Qualifying Papers. In recent years the QPs have fallen out of step with trends in the field, resulting in students struggling to pass. We describe our actions to overhaul our Comprehensive Exams, including clarifying procedures, realigning SLOs, and developing better rubrics.

Overhauling the comprehensive exam in the Department of Linguistics: First steps

The Department of Linguistics Comprehensive Exam consists of two Qualifying Papers. In recent years the QPs have fallen …

The poster describes the content mapping process that aligned the learning priorities in the problem-based-learning pre-clerkship medical curriculum to accreditation standards and JABSOM’s graduation objectives. The resulting map serves as a resource for course directors to monitor content themes, determine curriculum gaps and redundancies, and address accreditation requirements.

Content Maps of Health Care Problems in the Pre-clerkship Curriculum: Monitoring Themes, Gaps, Redundancies and Accreditation Requirements

The poster describes the content mapping process that aligned the learning priorities in the problem-based-learning pre-clerkship medical curriculum …

This poster describes a systematic process of developing the assessment of student professionalism in Speech-Language Pathology. The process highlights: (1) developing professionalism indicators using the core values of the University and Department; (2) validating the indicators through reviewing professionalism described in peer programs and professional organizations, and (3) systematic data collection, tracking, and analysis.

Using a Systematic Process to Develop a Method for Assessment of Professionalism in Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Students

This poster describes a systematic process of developing the assessment of student professionalism in Speech-Language Pathology. The process …

This poster describes the effort of the Ph.D. Committee in Social Welfare in investigating and improving students’ performance in the qualifying exam. Motivated by an analysis of students’ (cohorts Fall 2010 – 2014) pass rate, faculty reviewed the exam questions, analyzed the course syllabi and exam questions. The committee changed the exam timeline and revised the exam questions so that the exam better reflected the curriculum.

Improving Qualifying Exam Performance—From Assessment Data to Curriculum Alignment

This poster describes the effort of the Ph.D. Committee in Social Welfare in investigating and improving students’ performance …

The poster describes the steps and resulting standardized student admission procedure for the Communication Sciences and Disorders’ Master program. The process features: (1) admission interview questions crafted based on agreed-on desirable student qualities and (2) the evaluation rubric stemmed from the department core values.

Standardizing admission process to defy the “crystal ball” in student selection to Communication Sciences and Disorders’ Master Program

The poster describes the steps and resulting standardized student admission procedure for the Communication Sciences and Disorders’ Master …

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM) Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) offers a two-year clinical Master’s Degree in CSD. Graduates of the program become certified as speech language pathologists (speech therapists) by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). This poster outlines the methods thorough which students’ clinical progress is tracked and struggling students are identified. The development and components of departmental remediation plans for such students is discussed along with follow up and determination results are presented.

Clinical Remediation Plan Processes in CSD

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM) Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) offers a two-year clinical …

Graduate Program Assessment: From Student- to Program-level Assessment

In this workshop, participants will learn how to extract assessment data from student evaluations such as oral exams, …

Curriculum Mapping for Graduate Programs

This workshop will explain how to develop a graduate program curriculum map, including strategies for programs that tailor …

The Marine Biology Graduate Program has established an ad-hoc committee to review existing protocols of the comprehensive exam and is collating the most effective elements and best practices from each of academic units across the program. This committee will make recommendations to the MBGP faculty at large for discussion, consideration, and ultimately implementation.

Revising the oral comprehensive exam in the UHM Marine Biology Graduate Program

The Marine Biology Graduate Program has established an ad-hoc committee to review existing protocols of the comprehensive exam …

Faculty and doctoral students of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning (DURP) initiated a review of their PhD program requirements and curriculum. This poster highlights the usefulness of faculty-student collaboration for program assessment to enable program improvement. The assessment coordinator organized a colloquium in which PhD candidates presented their dissertation research. Faculty evaluated the presentations based on the PhD program student learning outcomes (SLOs). Written comments from faculty evaluators were then coded as strengths and weaknesses corresponding to each SLO component to generate a preliminary qualitative assessment. At a subsequent meeting, faculty and doctoral students reviewed the preliminary qualitative assessment, PhD curriculum, core course syllabi, and PhD guidelines. They identified shortcomings in the existing curriculum, mapped degree requirements and program SLOs, and proposed revisions to better align the curriculum with program SLOs. They also outlined next steps toward improving the curriculum such as increasing the number of core course credits and providing more teaching opportunities for PhD candidates through summer school and online courses.

An Assessment-Informed Collaborative Initiative: Curriculum Mapping for PhD Program Improvement

Faculty and doctoral students of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning (DURP) initiated a review of their …

Given the complex nature of the requirements for the 6 degree programs offered by the department of East Asian Languages and Literatures (EALL), the issue of student and advisor concern over the accessibility of accurate information regarding these requirements is addressed. This poster describes the strategies and effort taken by the EALL graduate chair and faculty to merge the 6 graduate programs into two: one MA and one Ph.D. program in EALL through powerful program assessment processes: consolidating student learning outcomes (SLOs) and unifying curricula through curriculum mapping (CM) activity. The poster first highlights the enormous challenges in the merge process: consolidating 13 sets of SLOs and unifying 13 sets of courses/degree requirements while leveraging diverse input and preferences of graduate faculty. SLOs consolidation and CM development process are then detailed along with how faculty were aided in seeing the big program picture and focusing on program commonality instead of individual differences. Faculty engagement strategies, such as meeting with senior faculty individually, SLO content analysis, research of peer institution, and developing mock products first are provided. With the unified degree programs and revised assessment tools, EALL is becoming a unified department sharing common educational goals across different languages and tracks.

Merging graduate degree programs with the Program Assessment tool set

Given the complex nature of the requirements for the 6 degree programs offered by the department of East …

The UH Manoa Anthropology Program, established in 1934, is the leading department of anthropology in Hawai'i, the Pacific, and Asia with full subfield offerings in archaeology, cultural anthropology, and biological anthropology. Presently, it offers BA, MA and PhD degree programs. In 2016, twenty-six (26) students were enrolled in the doctoral program. This poster describes the processes by which assessment procedure/tools were selected and/or developed to measure SLO achievements of these doctoral students. Building on the assessment activities conducted during 2014-2015, specific efforts that led to programmatic improvements and enhanced student learning outcomes are outlined, including faculty engagement strategies that were employed. Faculty expectations of students were better clarified in the newly developed PhD dissertation defense rubrics. Next steps involving close-the-loop strategies to further enhance student learning are also described.

The Anthropology PhD Dissertation Defense Rubric: Enhancing Student Learning

The UH Manoa Anthropology Program, established in 1934, is the leading department of anthropology in Hawai’i, the Pacific, …

Establishing Signature Assessment For Graduate Programs: The use of the MS. and PhD. proposal as a tool for evaluating Graduate Program performance

Establishing Signature Assessment For Graduate Programs: The use of the MS. and PhD. proposal as a tool for evaluating Graduate Program performance

It is often hard to gauge the performance of a graduate student in a timely manner, or provide …

Fostering Grant Writing Skills: A Student Learning Objective of the Intercollege Nutrition PhD Program

Fostering Grant Writing Skills: A Student Learning Objective of the Intercollege Nutrition PhD Program

The Intercollege Nutrition PhD Program has seven student learning objectives (SLO). One SLO is to foster grant writing …

The Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work (SW) PhD program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa currently has 16 students and 10 graduate faculty members. Developing and implementing sustainable PhD assessment plans are necessary to reflect student learning and curriculum improvements. Articulating the PhD program rubrics into a program-level assessment plan is imperative. The SW PhD program has developed seven Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs), assessable outcomes, and a curriculum map. In Fall of 2015, the PhD program committee revisited the SLOs and made revisions in alignment with the sustainable assessment plan for the program as a foundational step for creating program rubrics. The committee developed program rubrics for benchmarks—(a) specialization, (b) comprehensive examination (i.e., dissertation proposal), and (c) final exam (i.e., dissertation defense)—that are tied to the SLOs. The committee began collecting data using developed rubrics in Spring 2016 as a pilot to gain additional clarity on the rubrics in order to make them efficient and manageable as key parts of PhD program curriculum. During the process of developing the rubrics, the PhD committee collaborated to facilitate the assessment planning process. During this assessment process, the committee has utilized existing materials and sources, such as student products (e.g., dissertation proposal), evaluation criteria (e.g., dissertation evaluation), yearly advising sessions, and student reviews materials. This poster presents the strategies utilized in the pilot project as well as lessons learned through the project.

Articulating Social Work PhD program rubrics into a sustainable assessment

The Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work (SW) PhD program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa …

Workshop Recording Now Available! Using Program Assessment to Support Learning: Graduate Program Showcase

Enhance graduate students’ learning environment through the tools of program learning assessment. Hear from and share with our …