Program: German (BA)
Degree: Bachelor's
Date: Mon Sep 22, 2014 - 10:09:49 am
1) Institutional Learning Objectives (ILOs) and Program Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
1. Read and comprehend texts written in German from a variety of genres and contexts (e.g., magazine or internet articles, newspapers, literature).
(1a. General education, 1b. Specialized study in an academic field)
2. Analyze and critique texts written in German from a variety of genres and contexts.
(1a. General education, 1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 2c. Communicate and report)
3. Engage in oral communication in German in various communicative contexts (e.g., everyday conversations, ordering in a restaurant, participating in class discussions, making a short presentation).
(1a. General education, 1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2c. Communicate and report)
4. Engage in writing in German in various contexts and for various audiences (e.g., personal letters, emails, essays, etc.).
(1a. General education, 1b. Specialized study in an academic field)
5. Conduct research on German language and/or culture using knowledge and skills learned in the program.
(1a. General education, 1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 2b. Conduct research)
6. Demonstrate a familiarity with the current events, traditional and pop culture, and social structures of the society/societies in which German is spoken.
(1a. General education, 1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth, 3b. Respect for people and cultures, in particular Hawaiian culture)
7. To learn about the role of German-speaking peoples in the context of Hawai'i and the Pacific region.
(1c. Understand Hawaiian culture and history)
2) Your program's SLOs are published as follows. Please update as needed.
Department Website URL: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/llea/?page_id=35
Student Handbook. URL, if available online: Information Sheet, Flyer, or Brochure URL, if available online: UHM Catalog. Page Number: Course Syllabi. URL, if available online: NA Other: http://www.lll.hawaii.edu/eval/resources6_curricmaps.php Other: 3) Select one option:
- File (03/16/2020)
4) For your program, the percentage of courses that have course SLOs explicitly stated on the syllabus, a website, or other publicly available document is as follows. Please update as needed.
0% 1-50% 51-80%
81-99% 100%5) Did your program engage in any program assessment activities between June 1, 2013 and September 30, 2014? (e.g., establishing/revising outcomes, aligning the curriculum to outcomes, collecting evidence, interpreting evidence, using results, revising the assessment plan, creating surveys or tests, etc.)
Yes No (skip to question 14)6) For the period between June 1, 2013 and September 30, 2014: State the assessment question(s) and/or assessment goals. Include the SLOs that were targeted, if applicable.
All program SLOs were assessed in the annual BA Alumni Survey.
Oral proficiency was also assessed via ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interviews.
7) State the type(s) of evidence gathered to answer the assessment question and/or meet the assessment goals that were given in Question #6.
A survey was administered to graduating BA students, and results were collected/reported to the German division by the LLL Dean’s office.
In addition, an ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview was offered to the majors who graduated last year.
8) State how many persons submitted evidence that was evaluated. If applicable, please include the sampling technique used.
Nine students were invited to complete the BA survey between Fall 2013 and Spring 2014. Six completed the survey, representing a 67% response rate.
Seven of seventeen students were invited to take the OPI accepted the offer from Spring 2011 to - Spring 2014, representing a 41% participation rate.
9) Who interpreted or analyzed the evidence that was collected? (Check all that apply.)
Course instructor(s) Faculty committee Ad hoc faculty group Department chairperson Persons or organization outside the university Faculty advisor Advisors (in student support services) Students (graduate or undergraduate) Dean/Director Other: 10) How did they evaluate, analyze, or interpret the evidence? (Check all that apply.)
Used a rubric or scoring guide Scored exams/tests/quizzes Used professional judgment (no rubric or scoring guide used) Compiled survey results Used qualitative methods on interview, focus group, open-ended response data External organization/person analyzed data (e.g., external organization administered and scored the nursing licensing exam) Other: 11) For the assessment question(s) and/or assessment goal(s) stated in Question #6:
Summarize the actual results.
The 2013-2014 BA survey indicated that students were “somewhat satisfied” or “very satisfied” with all aspects of the program. The faculty received very high marks for quality of instruction, with 6 of 6 saying they were "very satisfied". 6 of 6 were also "very satisfied" with faculty mentoring, course availability, and course size.
Students were "somewhat satisfied" or "very satisfied" course sequencing, and the variety of courses offered. 5 of 6 were "very satisfied" with academic standards and expectations, relevance of program to academic and professional goals, appropriateness of degree requirements, the faculty's ability to keep pace with the field, and the frequency of offerings.
The students' self assessment of learning outcomes indicates that students feel fairly confident in their ability to perform the SLOs (1-6), indicating they could do things "adequately" to "very well". Most feel more confident in speaking and listening than reading and writing.
4 of 6 students said that the German BA would "definitley" increase their job prospects; 1 said "maybe yes", and 1 said "maybe not".
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From Spring 2011-Spring 2014 seven graduating majors did the OPI (oral proficiency interview). Two students placed at the Intermediate-Mid level, two placed at the Advanced-Low level and 3 placed at the Advanced-Mid level.
12) State how the program used the results or plans to use the results. Please be specific.
The chair of the German program has been working with our new professor to revitalize and restructure the curriculum and to offer an even broader range of courses. Since enrollments and the number of majors have been increasing, we are able to offer four to five 300- and 400- level courses which count toward the major each semester. This will help students graduate in a timely manner.
We have added several new literature and film courses, as well as writing intensive designations to our courses, and hope this will help students gain confidence in reading and writing.
We will continue to update our courses and expand our extra-curricular activities, and will respond to the feedback we receive from students, both informally, and in these more formal surveys.
13) Beyond the results, were there additional conclusions or discoveries?
This can include insights about assessment procedures, teaching and learning, program aspects and so on.
In direct response to student feedback, the German faculty has made a big effort over the past several years to increase our program's extra-curricular offerings. These offerings (Club activities, film screenings, exhibits, etc.) have increased exponentially, and we've also been networking with the community (e.g., with the German Consul, who now regularly attends German program functions).
We've also been actively supporting students to apply for scholarships. This year, one of our students won the coveted year-long CBYX scholarship to study at a German University and complete an internship in Germany. Another student won a Teach for America scholarship.
One thing we've discovered is that the large increase in our extra-curricular offerings and our active engagement in community outreach is creating a strain on the small number of faculty we have available to oversee and manage such events/efforts. Much of this work has fallen on our sole instructor and our new assistant professor. Our program would benefit tremendously from an additional instructor to help with the increased service demands. (We only have one instructorship in our program, whereas most others in our department have two.) We are also concerned about the German program's heavy reliance on lecturer funds (70%) to cover our basic language classes, as it threatens the quality of instruction and leaves our basic language program disproportionately vulnerable to budget cuts.
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