Unit: Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace
Program: Peace Studies (Undergrad Cert)
Degree: Certificate, Undergraduate
Date: Wed Oct 28, 2009 - 8:10:28 am

1) List your program's student learning outcomes (SLOs).

Students should demonstrate:

(1) Knowledge of the major theoretical foundations of the fields of peace studies and conflict resolution.

(2) Critical thinking related to issues of peace, justice, conflict resolution, human rights, and security.

(3) Knowledge of the creation and evaluation of policies relevant to peace and conflict resolution.

(4) Knowledge of ways to effect desired outcomes and goals through strategies and skills for peacemaking and conflict resolution at all levels, local to international.

2) Where are your program's SLOs published?

Department Website URL: www.peaceinstitute.hawaii.edu
Student Handbook. URL, if available online:
Information Sheet, Flyer, or Brochure URL, if available online: Certificate in Peace Studies Brochure, www.peaceinstitute.hawaii.edu
UHM Catalog. Page Number:
Course Syllabi. URL, if available online: The syllabi should have SLOs for the respective courses. However, as this program is inherently interdisciplinary (and includes electives taught by teachers from outside the Matsunaga Institute) course syllabi may not necessarily contain the SLOs for the entire Certificate in Peace Studies.
Other:
Other:

3) Upload your program's current curriculum map(s) as a PDF.

No map submitted.

4) What percentage of courses have the course SLOs explicitly stated on the course syllabus, department website, or other publicly available document? (Check one)

0%
1-50%
51-80%
81-99%
100%

5) State the SLO(s) that was Assessed, Targeted, or Studied

All students who wish to obtain the Certificate in Peace Studies must complete three required courses (PACE 310, 447, and 495), as well as two electives that can be chosen from a broad list of PACE and non-PACE courses. While two of these courses (PACE 310 and PACE 447) are also taken by many non-Certificate students, PACE 495 is designed for students who are pursuing a qualification in Peace Studies. Thus the Practicum reports are an effective assessment tool for the program SLOs and particularly enlightening for members of the Curriculum Committee. As our faculty is very tiny (only two and one-half internal faculty), all internal faculty serve on the Curriculum Committee and are engaged in the overall assessment of SLOs for the Certificate in Peace Studies. However, the faculty member in charge of advising undergradates in the program necessarily plays the leading role in this process.

6) State the Assessment Question(s) and/or Goal(s) of Assessment Activity

The Curriculum Committee for the Certiificate in Peace Studies seeks to measure the extent to which students who acquire the Certificate are achieving all four of the SLOs (see earlier response to Question 1) and also the extent to which students believe that the Certificate has been a significant educational experience, one that has influenced the approach that each student takes to his/her major field of study and career plans.

7) State the Type(s) of Evidence Gathered

As noted above, PACE 495 (the Practicum course) was designed for students who are pursuing a qualification in Peace Studies (as opposed to the many students who take one or more PACE courses out of interest). Students who are pursuing the Certificate in Peace Studies generally take PACE 495 as the "final step" in their curriculum for the Certificate, making it an ideal vehicle to collect evidence of their achievement of the SLOs for the program. The course challenges students to apply the concepts and skills they have learned in earlier courses, in order to design and execute their own practicum project to promote peace in a particular context or community. With advice and supervision from a faculty member, students create or locate a volunteer opportunity, draft a coherent proposal that demonstrates their service and learning outcomes, and devote no less than 100 hours of volunteer time to the project. They are also required to keep a detailed journal and to write a formal final paper reflecting upon the practicum experience, including the extent to which the learning and service outcomes stated in the proposal were accomplished, the extent to which they were able to apply what they learned in previous courses, and the lessons learned from the project. We also collect additional evidence of students' achievements of the program SLOs in our exit survey.

8) State How the Evidence was Interpreted, Evaluated, or Analyzed

The student journals and practicum reports are all read and evaluated by the faculty member in charge of undergraduate advising. Normally this person is Professor Brien Hallett, who has been in charge of undergraduate advising for some years. However, in the Fall 2009 semester, Professor Hallet is on sabatical and Professor Carole Petersen (Director of the Matsunaga Institute) is overseeing undergraduate advising and serving as the instructor for the Practicum course. The data from the Practicum reports is further shared with members of the Curriculum Commitee and will be used in the curriculum review of the Certificate that is taking place in 2009-10.

9) State How Many Pieces of Evidence Were Collected

As the Certificate in Peace Studies is a relatively small program, we can collect and evaluate all reports from the Practicum course.

10) Summarize the Actual Results

In general, we have been exceedingly pleased by the students' Practicum proposals, reports, and journals, which demonstrate that they are acquiring the knowledge and skills stated in the SLOs for the Certificate in Peace Studies and that the Certificate is a significant educational experience, one that will have an impact on their graduate studies or career plans. However, we are concerned that some of our students do not all demonstrate the writing skills that we would hope to find in students nearing the end of their undergraduate studies.

11) Briefly Describe the Distribution and Discussion of Results

The student journals and practicum reports are initially received, read and evaluated by the faculty member who teaches the Practicum course, who is also in charge of undergraduate advising. Normally this person is Professor Brien Hallett, who has been in charge of undergraduate advising for some years. However, in the Fall 2009 semester, Professor Hallet is on sabatical and Professor Carole Petersen (Director of the Matsunaga Institute) is overseeing undergraduate advising and serving as the instructor for the Practicum course. The data from the Practicum reports is further shared with members of the Curriculum Commitee and will be used in the curriculum review of the Certificate that is taking place in 2009-10.

12) Describe Conclusions and Discoveries

In general, we have been exceedingly pleased by the students' Practicum proposals, reports and journals, which demonstrate that they are acquiring the knowledge and skills stated in the SLOs for the Certificate in Peace Studies. However, we are concerned that some of our students do not demonstrate adequate writing skills in these documents. Although writing skills are not expressly stated in the SLOs for our Certificate we are considering ways to strengthen these skills in our current curriculum review.

13) Use of Results/Program Modifications: State How the Program Used the Results --or-- Explain Planned Use of Results

The Matsunaga Institue is conducting an undergraduate curriculum review in 2009-10. The review includes possible changes to the SLOs for the Certificate in Peace Studies. As noted earlier, we are concerned that some of our students do not demonstrate adequate writing skills. Writing skills are not expressly stated in the SLOs for our Certificate at this time. In our current curriculum review, we are considering adding writing skills to the list of SLOs, together with other ways to strengthen these skills.

One of our chief challenges is that it is difficult to provide a comprehensive curriculum with very limited faculty (only 2 and one-half faculty spread between our undergraduate and graduate programs). We necessarily depend heavily upon courses from other departments and on courses taught by affiliate faculty hired though Outreach College. While this enhances the interdisciplinary nature of the Peace Studies program, it also raises some difficult questions relating to consistency of approach in assessment. We are discussing this as part of the current curriculum review and updating our list of courses that students can count toward the Certificate in Peace Studies. We are also exploring ways to take better advantage of the Institute's placement within the College of Social Sciences Public Policy Center (PPC). In Spring 2010, a faculty member from PPC will teach a new course in the undergraduate peace studies program. Since PPC faculty are in our same departmental unit, this is an ideal way to expand our course offerings while maintaining consistency in assessment. We hope to identify additional opportunities for collaboration with PPC faculty, so as to better develop the inherent links among peace studies, good governance, and the making and implementation of public policies.

14) Reflect on the Assessment Process

As noted earlier, our small department necessarily depends heavily upon courses taught by affiliate faculty, who are often hired though Outreach College. While this approach enhances the interdisciplinary nature of the Peace Studies program and provides peace studies courses to the broader community, it also raises some difficult questions relating to consistency of approach in assessment. We are discussing this as part of the current curriculum review and updating our list of courses that students can count toward the Certificate in Peace Studies.

15) Other Important Information

We do not offer a full Distance Learning Program (and thus we are not responding to Qs 16 and 17).  However, we are offering selected courses on an on-line basis, primarily through UH Manoa's Outreach College.  We are carefully monitoring the student evaluations and instructors' assessent methods for these courses.

16) FOR DISTANCE PROGRAMS ONLY: Explain how your program/department has adapted its assessment of student learning in the on-campus program to assess student learning in the distance education program.

17) FOR DISTANCE PROGRAMS ONLY: Summarize the actual student learning assessment results that compare the achievement of students in the on-campus program to students in the distance education program.