Program: Interdisciplinary Studies (BA)
Degree: Bachelor's
Date: Mon Nov 16, 2015 - 10:10:25 am
1) Institutional Learning Objectives (ILOs) and Program Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)
1. To acquire knowledge and understanding in students' chosen interdisciplinary field of study
(1a. General education, 1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 1c. Understand Hawaiian culture and history, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 2b. Conduct research, 2c. Communicate and report, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth, 3b. Respect for people and cultures, in particular Hawaiian culture, 3c. Stewardship of the natural environment, 3d. Civic participation)
2. To develop skills in exploring interdisciplinary relationships
(1a. General education, 1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 1c. Understand Hawaiian culture and history, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 2b. Conduct research, 2c. Communicate and report, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth, 3b. Respect for people and cultures, in particular Hawaiian culture, 3c. Stewardship of the natural environment, 3d. Civic participation)
3. To develop critical thinking skills through comparing, contrasting, and synthesizing a variety of perspectives
(1a. General education, 1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 1c. Understand Hawaiian culture and history, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 2b. Conduct research, 2c. Communicate and report, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth, 3b. Respect for people and cultures, in particular Hawaiian culture, 3c. Stewardship of the natural environment, 3d. Civic participation)
4. To communicate clearly both orally and in writing
(1a. General education, 1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 1c. Understand Hawaiian culture and history, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 2b. Conduct research, 2c. Communicate and report, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth, 3b. Respect for people and cultures, in particular Hawaiian culture, 3c. Stewardship of the natural environment, 3d. Civic participation)
5. To develop problem-solving and life-long learning skills
(1a. General education, 1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 1c. Understand Hawaiian culture and history, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 2b. Conduct research, 2c. Communicate and report, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth, 3b. Respect for people and cultures, in particular Hawaiian culture, 3c. Stewardship of the natural environment, 3d. Civic participation)
2) Your program's SLOs are published as follows. Please update as needed.
Department Website URL: 
Student Handbook. URL, if available online: Information Sheet, Flyer, or Brochure URL, if available online: UHM Catalog. Page Number: http://www.catalog.hawaii.edu/courses/departments/is.htm Course Syllabi. URL, if available online: https://manoa.hawaii.edu/undergrad/is/program-overview/ Other: Other: 3) Please review, add, replace, or delete the existing curriculum map.
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 learning assessment activities between June 1, 2014 and September 30, 2015?
Yes No (skip to question 16)6) What best describes the program-level learning assessment activities that took place for the period June 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015? (Check all that apply.)
Create/modify/discuss program learning assessment procedures (e.g., SLOs, curriculum map, mechanism to collect student work, rubric, survey) Collect/evaluate student work/performance to determine SLO achievement Collect/analyze student self-reports of SLO achievement via surveys, interviews, or focus groups Use assessment results to make programmatic decisions (e.g., change course content or pedagogy, design new course, hiring) Investigate curriculum coherence. This includes investigating how well courses address the SLOs, course sequencing and adequacy, the effect of pre-requisites on learning achievement. Investigate other pressing issue related to student learning achievement for the program (explain in question 7) Other: 7) Briefly explain the assessment activities that took place in the last 18 months.
1. Current Student Survey
2. Grad Exit Survey
3. IS Proposal Review
8) What types of evidence did the program use as part of the assessment activities checked in question 6? (Check all that apply.)
Direct evidence of student learning (student work products)
Artistic exhibition/performance Assignment/exam/paper completed as part of regular coursework and used for program-level assessment Capstone work product (e.g., written project or non-thesis paper) Exam created by an external organization (e.g., professional association for licensure) Exit exam created by the program IRB approval of research Oral performance (oral defense, oral presentation, conference presentation) Portfolio of student work Publication or grant proposal Qualifying exam or comprehensive exam for program-level assessment in addition to individual student evaluation (graduate level only) Supervisor or employer evaluation of student performance outside the classroom (internship, clinical, practicum) Thesis or dissertation used for program-level assessment in addition to individual student evaluation Other 1: IS Proposal Other 2: Indirect evidence of student learning
Alumni survey that contains self-reports of SLO achievement Employer meetings/discussions/survey/interview of student SLO achievement Interviews or focus groups that contain self-reports of SLO achievement Student reflective writing assignment (essay, journal entry, self-assessment) on their SLO achievement. Student surveys that contain self-reports of SLO achievement Other 1: Other 2: Program evidence related to learning and assessment
(more applicable when the program focused on the use of results or assessment procedure/tools in this reporting period instead of data collection)
Assessment-related such as assessment plan, SLOs, curriculum map, etc. Program or course materials (syllabi, assignments, requirements, etc.) Other 1: Other 2: 9) State the number of students (or persons) who submitted evidence that was evaluated. If applicable, please include the sampling technique used.
1. Current IS Student Survey (Fall 2014) was sent electornically to 106 current students using Survey Monkey. 40 Current students completed the survey.
2. Graduating Seniors' Exit Survey using Survey Monkety was completed by 62 students between June 2014 and May 2015.
3. IS Proposal Review and Monitoring: Each prospective IS major submits an IS proposal before he/she can officially decale IS as a major. Student progress is monitored throughout their IS degree
4. Student Evaluation of IS courses: We reviewed the course evaluations completed by students to get their impressions of how the teaching-learning process contributed to achivement of various relevant SLOs.
10) 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: 11) 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: Reviewed the course evaluations completed by students taking IS courses.12) Summarize the results of the assessment activities checked in question 6. For example, report the percent of students who achieved each SLO.
13) What best describes how the program used the results? (Check all that apply.)
Assessment procedure changes (SLOs, curriculum map, rubrics, evidence collected, sampling, communications with faculty, etc.) Course changes (course content, pedagogy, courses offered, new course, pre-requisites, requirements) Personnel or resource allocation changes Program policy changes (e.g., admissions requirements, student probation policies, common course evaluation form) Students' out-of-course experience changes (advising, co-curricular experiences, program website, program handbook, brown-bag lunches, workshops) Celebration of student success! Results indicated no action needed because students met expectations Use is pending (typical reasons: insufficient number of students in population, evidence not evaluated or interpreted yet, faculty discussions continue) Other: 14) Please briefly describe how the program used the results.
Students' qualitative responses in the 2014 Current Student Survey and the 2014-2015 IS Graduating Seniors Survey were overwhelmingly positive. We used the responses as a monitor of what aspects of the program needed attention as well as an indication of the success of the interdisicplinary Studies Program. As in our previous major assessment study, students commented on the benefits of their interdisciplinary program. It helped them get a broader knowledge of many disciplines and thus prepared them better for their desired career goals.
15) Beyond the results, were there additional conclusions or discoveries? This can include insights about assessment procedures, teaching and learning, and great achievements regarding program assessment in this reporting period.
- think critically and creatively, applying questioning and reasoning, generating and exploring new questions (SLO 2; ILO 2a: IS 322, IS 331 & IS 340)
- conceptualize problems and ask research questions, analyze research data, engage in self-directed inquiry (SLO 2; ILO 2b: IS 322 & IS 414)
- communicate clearly in writing (SLO 3 & 4; ILO 2a, 2c)
- demonstrate continuous learning and personal growth through self-assessment and reflection, intellectual curiosity, personal and social responsibility (SLO 5; ILO 3a: IS 322, IS 331, 340)
- to show respect for cultural differences or stewardship of natural environment and ethical responsibility (SLO 5; ILO 3b, 3c: IS 322 & IS 340)
The course evalautions for these courses demonstrate that we achieve the above goals to a great extent.
16) If the program did not engage in assessment activities, please explain.
Nothing more to add.