Unit: Tropical Plant & Soil Sciences
Program: Tropical Plant & Soil Sci (PhD)
Degree: Doctorate
Date: Fri Dec 01, 2017 - 1:12:37 pm

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

1. Students will demonstrate proficiency in evaluating and applying technical knowledge of theory and computer applications to advance a field within tropical plant and soil science.

2. Students will demonstrate mastery of an appropriate discipline within the science of tropical plants and soils including the ability to comprehensively synthesize, evaluate, and interpret relevant fundamental knowledge.

3. Students will be able to independently construct scientific hypotheses, define and conduct original research to evaluate them, analyze and synthesize experimental results, and derive appropriate conclusions that help advance the field of tropical plant and soil science.

4. Students will be able to effectively present research and results in written and oral forms to both lay and scientific audiences.

5. Students will be able to conceptualize, perform advanced analysis, and critically evaluate self-identified important issues that contribute to the advancement of tropical plant and soil sciences and/or solutions of societal problems, particularly in the context of tropical regions in the pacific realm.

6. Students will demonstrate personal characteristics in ethics, leadership, management, and human relations appropriate to professional and community-based practice in careers related to tropical plant and soil sciences.

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

Department Website URL: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/ctahr/tpss/
Student Handbook. URL, if available online: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/ctahr/tpss/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/TPSS-Graduate-Study-guidlines-2013.pdf
Information Sheet, Flyer, or Brochure URL, if available online:
UHM Catalog. Page Number: 356-357
Course Syllabi. URL, if available online: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/ctahr/tpss/current-students/graduate-course-listing
Other:
Other:

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

No map submitted.

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, 2015 and October 31, 2017?

Yes
No (skip to question 16)

6) What best describes the program-level learning assessment activities that took place for the period June 1, 2015 to October 31, 2017? (Check all that apply.)

SKIP

7) Briefly explain the assessment activities that took place in the last 28 months.

8) What types of evidence did the program use as part of the assessment activities checked in question 6? (Check all that apply.)

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
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
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.

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:

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.

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.

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

I do not know the answer to this question. I have been the Grad Faculty Chair only since January. I will take this matter of assessment up with the TPSS Graduate Program Committee at a future meeting, and we will do an assessment before the next reporting period deadline.