Unit: Public Health Studies
Program: Public Health (MPH, MS)
Degree: Master's
Date: Fri Oct 09, 2015 - 6:42:18 am

1) Below are your program's student learning outcomes (SLOs). Please update as needed.

Epidemiology Competency

1. Identify patterns of disease and injury in human populations and apply epidemiological methods to the identification and control of health problems.

2. Identify key sources of data and apply descriptive techniques commonly used to summarize public health data used to inform scientific, ethical, economic, and political discussion of health issues.

3. Calculate basic epidemiological measures, apply common statistical methods, and interpret results of statistical analyses used in public health studies.

Social and Behavioral Health Sciences Competency

4. Identify basic theories, concepts, and models from a range of social and behavioral disciplines that are used in public health research and practice.

5. Identify the causes of social and behavioral factors that affect health of individual and populations.

6. Describe the merits of social and behavioral science interventions and policies.

7. Apply evidence-based approaches in the development and evaluation of social and behavioral science interventions.

Biostatistics Competency

8. Apply basic statistical methods to address, analyze and solve problems in public health.

Environmental Health Competency

9. Describe how environmental factors (biological, physical, and chemical) affect the health of a community.

Health Policy and Management Competencies

 10. Identify the main components and issues of the organization, financing and delivery of health services and public health systems in the US.

11. Describe the legal and ethical bases for public health and health services.

12. Apply the principles of program planning, development, budgeting, management and evaluation in organizational and community initiatives.

13. Apply “system thinking for resolving organizational problems.

Diversity and Culture Competency

14. Explain why cultural competence alone cannot address health disparities; be able to interact with both diverse individuals and groups on public health issues.

Leadership Competency

15. Organize community partnerships to create and communicate a shared vision for a changing future; discuss solutions to organizational and community challenges; and maximize motivation to reach public health goals.

Public Health Biology Competency

16. Discuss how public health biology – the biological and molecular context of public health – impacts public health practice.

Systems Thinking Competency

17. Recognize system-level properties that result from dynamic interactions among human and social systems and how they affect the relationships among individuals, groups, organizations, communities, and environments.

Program Planning Competency

18. Plan for the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of strategies to improve individual and community health.

Ethics and Professionalism Competency

19. Demonstrate ethical choices, values and professional practices implicit in public health decisions; consider the effect of choices on community stewardship, equity, social justice and accountability; and to commit to personal and institutional development.

Communication and Informatics Competency

20. Collect, manage and organize data to produce information and demonstrate ability to present this information in meaningful ways to different audiences.

1) Institutional Learning Objectives (ILOs) and Program Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

2) Your program's SLOs are published as follows. Please update as needed.

Department Website URL: www.manoa.hawaii.edu/publichealth
Student Handbook. URL, if available online: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/publichealth/sites/manoa.hawaii.edu.publichealth/files/downloads/student-handbook.pdf
Information Sheet, Flyer, or Brochure URL, if available online:
UHM Catalog. Page Number: http://www.catalog.hawaii.edu/schoolscolleges/medicine/phse.htm
Course Syllabi. URL, if available online: www.manoa.hawaii.edu/publichealth/academics/courses.html
Other: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/publichealth/sites/manoa.hawaii.edu.publichealth/files/downloads/masterdegree_competencies_2014-15.pdf
Other:

3) Please review, add, replace, or delete the existing curriculum map.

Curriculum Map File(s) from 2015:

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.

Activities

1) MPH students are required to complete the 6 MPH core courses and 7 specialization courses with a passing grade of an “A”, “B”, or “C”.  The SLOs competencies are linked to a range of required courses in the MPH degree program.  The specific selected competencies are listed in each syllabus by the teaching faculty members that show which competencies were obtained upon completion of course by the student and through assessment of specific course assignment plus their participation and attendance.

2) MPH students must submit MPH e-portfolios including all their major completed assignments, projects, and papers.

3) MPH students must submit final competency matrix matching how the where/when the student attained the competency during certain courses, assignment, practicum or papers.  From the strength of the product from the student, then faculty advisor and 2nd committee member can evaluate the attainment of specific competencies.

4) MPH student complete a final paper during PH 789: integrated Seminar course before being cleared for degree completion.  In this PH 789 course, all of the competencies are reviewed in class as a group discussion to see where students felt they had full attainment of MPH/MS competencies and were they did not.

5) MPH student complete a final oral examination in public before being cleared for MPH degree completiong. 

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: MPH must pass all public health courses with A, B, or C with lowest level allowed C-.
Other 2: MPH Students must completed competency matrix to "map" out how and where in the curriculum they had competency attainment for each specific competency.

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: Specific agenda is addressed with UH-OPHS community advisor panel about new MPH graduates' preparedness for the workforce and skills needs on the job.
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.

The number persons included both:

1) Twenty-two (22) public health faculty members who either submitted grades for their courses (with SLOs identified within the syllabi) and/or were MPH students' MPH committee members: and

2) The 30 graduating MPH students for 2014-2015 school year.

All MPH students submitted the following: 1) their MPH portfolio of papers and completed assignments, 2) SLOs completed by the student with use of the tool of OPHS competency-course linking table to assess their attainment of each specific competency, 3) their final paper as part of their capstone outcomes and 4) their final oral examination presentation with approved signed off on Form 19 by committee members in the student's OPHS student file. 

The MPH student is not allow to complete graduation until adequate evidence is received, reviewed, and approved for degree check by PH 789 (MPH Integrated Seminar) faculty instructor, by the student service specialist, and the student's MPH committee advisor and second committee members.

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: Submission of both integrated e-portfolio and SLOs attainment matrix by the MPH/MS student

12) Summarize the results of the assessment activities checked in question 6. For example, report the percent of students who achieved each SLO.

Summary of the results produced positive results of graduating MPH students for total of 30 MPH students for school year 2014-2015. All 30 students at 100% completed and were approved all five pieces of evidence for SLOs (MPH competencies) for those graduating at December 2014 and May 2015 graduation.  This was necessary in order for each student to be cleared for degree check and allowed to graduate.

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: Revision of SLOs during October 2014-May 2015 due to CEPH accreditation visit for UH-OPHS program.

14) Please briefly describe how the program used the results.

The results were reviewed and approved for completeness and adequateness by each student's academic committee members. Then the assessment results are shared with the OPHS Department’s Curriculum Committee and these members use the results to refine courses, improve assessment tools, and help any troubled students. 

The results were recently used to complete the Accreditation self-study report for our Office of Public Health Studies and assessed by the site visitors on September 29 and 30, 2014. In June 2015, the Council for Evaluation of Public Health (CEPH) issued re-accreditation as a public health program for UH-OPHS for seven (7) more years. 

UH-OPHS was required to revamp their competencies (SLOs) for all public health degree programs include MPH and MS.  These steps were completed with new competencies, using competencies code number, creating a new tracking checklist, and re-aligning the competencies in all MPH/MS courses.

The use and application of new competencies is currently being implemented for the first time in school year 2015-2016 and will be report in next year's 2016 Assessment report.

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.

Until something as major as re-accreditation visit occured in our department, it was more challenging to get all faculty members to really pariticipate and actively engage in revamp the SLOs.  The new forms and competencies are now so much aligned with MPH curriculum and involve new checklist that does use level of attainment with MPH/MS competencies.  These new forms, competencies, and evaluation are being implemented for the first time this new school year 2015-2016 and will reported upon in October 2016 report.  Important changes are getting accomplished.

16) If the program did not engage in assessment activities, please explain.

UH-OPHS engages in assessment activities.