Degree Program Assessment Reports

Goal 1: Acquire a knowledge base in human development.

Objective 1. The Family Resources graduate will demonstrate adequate knowledge of stages, processes, and ranges of typical human development.

Goal 2: Acquire a knowledge base in family science and resource management.

Objective 1. The Family Resources graduate will demonstrate adequate knowledge of family diversity in the global community.
Objective 2. The Family Resources graduate will demonstrate adequate knowledge of family resource management processes.

Goal 3: Acquire a knowledge base of the community context in which family functioning and development take place.

Objective 1. The Family Resources graduate will demonstrate adequate knowledge of the effects of context (social, economic, political, historical, and cultural environment) on family functioning and development.

Goal 4: Acquire professional skills

Objective 1. The Family Resources graduate will demonstrate adequate skills in written communication.
Objective 2. The Family Resources graduate will demonstrate adequate skills in oral communication.
Objective 3. The Family Resources graduate will demonstrate a basic level of computer literacy.
Objective 4. The Family Resources graduate will demonstrate basic competence in “helping” skills.
Objective 5. The Family resources graduate will demonstrate basic research skills.

Goal 5: Apply knowledge and professional skills to address issues encountered in professional settings.

Objective 1. The Family Resources graduate will demonstrate critical thinking skills and problem solving abilities.
Objective 2. The Family Resources graduate will demonstrate commitment to professional values and ethical behavior.
Objective 3. The Family Resources graduate will demonstrate a satisfactory level of preparation for the world of work and responsibility for continued professional growth.

Three methodologies were employed and are described below:

a) A course-embedded assessment strategy that uses data from selected courses to assess students’ level of competence in skills and content associated with the SLOs.
b) A survey of graduating seniors’ attitudes and perceptions of their experience in the FamR Program, administered by the department.
c) An external evaluation of students’ competencies completed by their internship supervisors.

The assessment report is based on the performance of students who graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in FamR in Summer 2008, Fall 2008, or Spring 2009. It is important to note that data for some of these graduates may be incomplete for a number of reasons:

a) Students frequently take FamR 230 at other institutions prior to transferring to UH Mānoa.
b) In some instances, faculty did not provide the requested data for their courses.
c) Specific assessment tools for certain objectives are yet to be identified.

Method 1. Course-Embedded Assessment

FamR has concluded the seventh year of using a course-embedded assessment strategy to determine the extent to which the FamR program is meeting the program’s learning goals and objectives for its majors. This strategy relies on selected course-embedded assessment tools in the program’s required courses as sources of assessment data. The required courses were selected because they most closely correspond to the program’s goals and objectives. All students in the major must take the following required courses: 1) FamR 230, Human Development; 2) FamR 340, Intimacy, Marriages and Families; 3) FamR 350 Leadership and Group Process; 4) FamR 352 Community Needs and Resources; 5) FamR 360 Family Resource Management; 6) FamR 380, Research Methods; 7) FamR 482, Senior Seminar; and 8) FamR 492, Internship. In addition to the required courses, FamR 444, Contemporary Family Issues, a W-focus course taken by most FamR majors, has also been included to assess writing skills.

For assessment purposes, faculty teaching the required courses select up to three exams or comparable measurement tools, e.g. projects or papers, but not course grades, that best reflect the SLOs that their respective courses address (see Table 2 for summary of measurement tools). Thus, there is no uniform measure that is used for all courses. The average percentage of each student’s performance on the selected measurement tools is calculated and converted to an assessment rating for the associated SLOs. The rating scale, which has been modified from previous years, is as follows:

0% - 59% = 0 (does not meet expectations)
60% - 69% = 1 (minimally meets expectations)
70% - 79% = 2 (adequately meets expectations)
80% - 89% = 3 (more than adequately meets expectations)
90% - 100% = 4 (exceeds expectations)

To deal with multiple sections taught by different instructors and use of different measurement tools in these sections, the faculty agreed on the following premises:

a) Faculty hired to teach FamR courses are competent and knowledgeable in their subject matter.
b) There is agreement on the basic content to be covered among faculty teaching multi-section courses.
c) Examinations, projects, and/or other measurement tools used by the faculty are designed to assess students’ mastery of this basic content.

Based on the above premises, the faculty agreed that it is acceptable to use data from different exams, projects and/or other measurement tools in different sections of the same course as the basis for assessment. To ensure consistency in the course content in multi-sections, it was also agreed that designated line faculty are responsible for facilitating discussion and collaboration among all faculty who teach multiple sections of a particular course.

Table 2. Course-embedded Measurement Tools Used

The insights provided by the on-going assessment process are being used to inform the FamR faculty’s review and modification of the curriculum and to examine use of appropriate instructional methods to promote the desired student outcomes. Actions include:

• Revisiting goals and objectives to determine their appropriateness for the FamR program and clarifying them as needed.
• Ongoing discussions about how faculty can enhance teaching strategies to strengthen students’ skills, particularly with respect to oral communication, writing, and critical thinking.
• Continued exploration of alternative ways to structure the FamR program’s capstone courses, FamR 482 Senior Seminar and FamR 492 Internship.
• Continued effort to seek new tenure line faculty positions to reduce the heavy reliance on lecturers to teach required and support courses, to increase consistency in the quality of teaching, and to have more advisors available for students.
• Developing/refining strategies/tools for measuring students’ performance on learning objectives, including ways to assess depth of knowledge, beyond that acquired in first-level courses and ways to involve all faculty members, including lecturers, in the on-going assessment and curriculum development processes.
• Ongoing efforts to align this work with CTAHR’s strategic planning.

The insights gained from the on-going assessment process are also being used in a broader context to share curriculum ideas and to exchange successful instructional methods. Actions include:

• Annual participation in the Western Region Teaching Symposium, sponsored by a consortium of land universities.
• Participation in workshops and consultations offered by UHM Center on Teaching Excellence.
• In-service training/feedback provided by faculty that have attended national and international conferences.
• Collaboration with specialty services to promote student equity, excellence, and diversity.
• Contributions to new faculty orientation sessions provided by CTAHR in addition to sessions provided by UHM.