Program: American Studies (BA)
Degree: Bachelor's
Date: Sun Oct 12, 2014 - 9:11:06 pm
1) Institutional Learning Objectives (ILOs) and Program Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
1. Substantial knowledge of American history, society, and culture, as well as a basic appreciation of different scholarly approaches to American Studies
(1a. General education, 3b. Respect for people and cultures, in particular Hawaiian culture)
2. Critical thinking skills necessary to analyze a variety of cultural artifacts (literature, primary documents, film, music, etc.), as well as historical and present-day sociopolitical issues.
(2a. Think critically and creatively, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth, 3b. Respect for people and cultures, in particular Hawaiian culture)
3. Competence in scholarly writing and oral communication
(2c. Communicate and report)
4. Basic research skills, including advanced research skills in one area of specialization (majors only).
(1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2b. Conduct research, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth)
2) Your program's SLOs are published as follows. Please update as needed.
Department Website URL: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/amst/undergraduate-program/program-overview/
Student Handbook. URL, if available online: Information Sheet, Flyer, or Brochure URL, if available online: NA UHM Catalog. Page Number: Course Syllabi. URL, if available online: NA Other: 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.
While the department did not undertake formal assessment during AY 2013-2014, ongoing assessment activities circulate around the following questions:
- How well does the AMST undergraduate curriculum meet the goals stated in the departmental SLOs?
- How well does the AMST major prepare students to meet their current educational goals?
- What is the general preparedness of our majors for higher education and/or career goals beyond the BA degree?
In addition, we are currently evaluating the following more specifiic question as part of a larger conversation about the core curriculum of the undergraduate major:
- How well does the department's Junior Seminar (AMST 381 & 382) prepare students to successfully complete their Senior Capstone Projects (AMST 480 & 481) in keeping with the research methods of the field?
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.
Ongoing evaluation activities include:
- The evaluation of Senior Captsone Projects in the required core sequence AMST 480/AMST 481, including a review of students' strength and preparation in critical thinking, research, and writing skills, as well as their competence in the methods and materials of the field.
- The evaluation of majors and minors in the required core sequence AMST 381/AMST 382, which builds and assesses competence in American Studies materials and methods, alongside evaluation of oral communication, critical thinking, and writing skills.
- A minimum of two indiividual annual advising sessions with all majors and the majority of minors, which assess on a qualitative basis the success of our students in meeting their current educational goals, the preparedness of seniors to successfully complete their capstone projects, and the general preparedness of our majors for higher education and/or career goals beyond the BA degree.
8) State how many persons submitted evidence that was evaluated. If applicable, please include the sampling technique used.
4 total: three instructors for AMST 381, 382, 480 , and 481; 1 undergraduate advisor
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.
- How well does the AMST undergraduate curriculum meet the goals stated in the departmental SLOs?
The AMST major continues to have strong success in meeting the departmental SLOs, as evidenced by the successful design and completion of strong senior capstone projects by the majority of our majors in the AMST 480/481 sequence. For our weaker students in particular, however, we have evaluated that more time and attention paid to developing strong research and writing skills is needed to prepare them to successfully undertake and complete the capstone. This result was reflected and evaluated by the AMST 480/481 instructor in regards to a small minority of students who struggled to successfully complete capstone projects. We are in the process of making revisions to the course syllabi for all four courses in the major core sequence to assure that all students are adequately prepared to produce the strongest capstone projects of which they are capable.
- How well does the AMST major prepare students to meet their current educational goals?
AMST students continue to be very well prepared to meet their current educational goals, as reflected anecdotally in conversations with the undergraduate advisor, as well in the strong average GPA amongst our majors.
- What is the general preparedness of our majors for higher education and/or career goals beyond the BA degree?
We are in the process of creating an updated alumni database with the hopes of gaining greater insight into the general preparedness of our majors in meeting their career and education goals beyond the BA degree.
- How well does the department's Junior Seminar (AMST 381 & 382) prepare students to successfully complete their Senior Capstone Projects (AMST 480 & 481) in keeping with the research methods of the field?
A faculty committee has been convened, consisting of current and past instructors in the department's undergraduate core, to continue our ongoing evaluation of this question, and to consider revisions to our core curriculum as necessary. To date, it has become evident that greater preparation in the 381 and 382 semesters, with additional attention to close reading, critical writing, and preliminary research skills, will better serve our students in the 480 and 481 semesters.
12) State how the program used the results or plans to use the results. Please be specific.
The program has implemented results through the following activities:
- As noted above, changes have been and are continuing to be implemented to the 381/382 and 480/481 core course sequences, with the express goal of strengthening student preparedess for the successful completion of the Senior Capstone Project.
- In addition, based upon ongoing meetings of the faculty committee convened for this purpose, further conversation will consider whether other changes are indicated in the structure of the undergraduate major, for instance, whether breaking down the 381/381 sequence into two sections would better serve our students; the possibiity of relegating majors and minors to different sections is also being considered, with the idea that the major section might then focus more on capstone preparedness (as the minors are not required to produce capstone projects).
- We have continued to strengthen the emphasis on research and critical reading skills, in addition to writing skills, in AMST 381 and 382, as well as AMST 480, since Spring 2014.
- We have continued to conduct a series of informational Coffee Talks on a variety of issues pertinent to education and career choices after graduation, including sessions focused around careers in education and law (which evidence gathered through previous assessments has suggested are dominant paths for our majors), media, government, and public relations.
- We continue to move toward a more systematic surveying of our undergraduate alumni, to evaluate how well and in what ways their AMST major has served them in pursuing their educational and career goals. It is anticipated that this survey will also help lay the foundation for a more robust alumni network, help to cultivate resources for our current students, and provide valuable information on the career paths of our majors, which will help us to serve our students better into the future. This project has been delayed past our original timeline due to bureaucratic impediments to collecting up-to-date information on UHM graduates; and the loss of a key support position. We have continued to update our in-house database, however, in the hopes of getting our initial alumni mailing out in Spring 2015.
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 addition to the stated activities, we continue in the ongoing evaluation of the AMST Honors Track, now in its third year. Goals and activities in regards to this evaluation--which has included both a formal information gathering session with Honors Track students, in additional to regular advisee meetings--include efforts to strengthen and better coordinate the relationship between AMST and the Honors Program, to streamline communications with our Honors students around important deadlines, alternate curricular paths, upcoming events, and support services. So far, qualitative assessment activities have resulted in the prefered honors thesis completion track of AMST 480/AMST 481/HON 496 for students on the AMST Honors Track (as opposed to the sequence HON 495/HON 496/HON 496, for which these students are also eligible). Evaluation has continued to suggest that the former sequence better prepares our Honors students in the successful completion of their theses.
The curriculum committee, which includes the undergraduate chair, has also undertaken an assessment of our Outreach course offerings, working to bring these into line with student needs and interests, and to ensure the rigorous and consistent instruction of online teaching in particular. In Spring 2014, these results were shared with the faculty. We are now in the process of appointing a faculty member to the responsibility of Outreach oversight, including the solicitation of proposals, reviewing of syllabi, coordination of online training, and monitoring of the success of online classes.