Program: English (MA)
Degree: Master's
Date: Thu Aug 09, 2018 - 11:02:06 am
1) Program Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) and Institutional Learning Objectives (ILOs)
1. Demonstrate foundational knowledge of the theories and methods of two concentrations within English
(1. Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge in one or more general subject areas related to, but not confined to, a specific area of interest.)
2. Demonstrate understanding of advanced research methods and/or creative techniques in at least two concentrations
(2. Demonstrate understanding of research methodology and techniques specific to one’s field of study.)
3. Utilize one or more theoretical models deployed in the study or production of literature, culture, or rhetoric/composition.
(3. Apply research methodology and/or scholarly inquiry techniques specific to one’s field of study.)
4. Employ close reading skills to analyze a range of texts, engaging with ethical, cultural, esthetic, and political issues salient to the archive they construct.
(4. Critically analyze, synthesize, and utilize information and data related to one’s field of study.)
5. Develop college-level teaching skills. Present research findings to varied audiences, including specialists and non-specialists alike, in oral and written formats.
(5. Proficiently communicate and disseminate information in a manner relevant to the field and intended audience.)
6. Engage in responsible and ethically conducted research through the 625 foundations courses and, if conducting research with interviews, through IRB training. Adopt and develop responsible frameworks and practices for work in English studies from our cultural location in Hawaii and the Pacific.
(6. Conduct research or projects as a responsible and ethical professional, including consideration of and respect for other cultural perspectives.)
7. Demonstrate written and oral ability to place creative and/orscholarly work within broader artistic and/or critical conversations.
(7. Interact professionally with others.)
2) Your program's SLOs are published as follows. Please update asneeded.
Department Website URL: http://english.hawaii.edu/graduate-program/the-ma-program/
Student Handbook. URL, if available online: Information Sheet, Flyer, or Brochure URL, if available online: UHM Catalog. Page Number: Course Syllabi. URL, if available online: Other: Other: 3) Please review, add, replace, or delete the existing curriculum map.
- File (03/16/2020)
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) Does the program have learning achievement results for its program SLOs? (Example of achievement results: "80% of students met expectations on SLO 1.")(check one):
No Yes, on some(1-50%) of the program SLOs Yes, on most(51-99%) of the program SLOs Yes, on all(100%) of the program SLOs6) Did your program engage in any program learning assessment activities between June 1, 2015 and October 31, 2018?
Yes No (skip to question 17)7) What best describes the program-level learning assessment activities that took place for the period June 1, 2015 to October 31, 2018? (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) No (skip to question 17) Investigate other pressing issue related to student learning achievement for the program (explain in question 7) Other: 8) Briefly explain the assessment activities that took place.
Assessment Activity 1: Assessment of SLO #5: Present research findings to varied audiences, including specialists and non-specialists alike, in oral and written formats. (Fall 2015 - Spring 2016)
Faculty serving on MA thesis and project committees were asked to assess students' oral discussions/defenses using a rubric. Students were ranked as Unsatisfactory, Satisfactory, or Exemplary on the following four areas: Content selection, Organization, Delivery (verbal and nonverbal), and Oral ability to place one's own creative and/or scholarly work within broader artistic and/or critical conversations.
Assessment Activity 2: MA Student Exit Survey (Fall 2015 - Summer 2017)
Graduating students were asked for feedback on various aspects of the program as well as how confident they felt in their achievement of each of the SLOs.
Assessment Activity 3: Revised program student learning objectives (Spring 2018)
The Graduate Program Committee revised the program's SLOs based on the newly approved ILOs
Assessment Activity 4: Tracking written and oral student achievements (Fall 2015 - Spring 2017)
Students were asked to report their achievements in the following categories: publications, conference papers and colloquia, readings and events.
9) What types of evidence did the program use as part of the assessment activities checked in question 7? (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: 10) State the number of students (or persons) who submitted evidence that was evaluated. If applicable, please include the sampling technique used.
Assessment Activity 1: Assessment of SLO #5 (Fall 2015 - Spring 2016)
15 faculty members submitted rubrics assessing the oral component of 5 students' MA theses/projects.
Assessment Activity 2: MA Student Exit Survey (Fall 2015 - Summer 2017)
23 graduating MA students responded to the exit surveys.
Assessment Activity 3: Revised program student learning objectives (Spring 2018)
The Graduate Program Committee, Associate Chair, and Department Chair contributed to the revision (7 faculty and one graduate student representative)
Assessment Activity 4: Tracking written and oral student achievements (Fall 2015 - Spring 2017)
17 MA students reported their achievements
11) 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: English Department Graduate Director, Assistant Director12) 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: 13) Summarize the results of the assessment activities checked in question 7. For example, report the percentage of students who achieved each SLO.
Assessment Activity 1: Assessment of SLO #5 (Fall 2015 - Spring 2016)
15 assessment rubrics completed by faculty members showed that an overwhelming majority of students' thesis and project discussions were exemplary:
| Unsatisfactory | Satisfactory | Exemplary | |
| Content Selection | 0 | 3 | 12 (80%) |
| Organization | 0 | 4 | 11 (73%) |
| Delivery (verbal & nonverbal) | 0 | 1 | 14 (93%) |
| Oral ability to place one's own creative and/or scholarly work within broader artistic and/or critical conversations | 0 | 2 | 13 (87%) |
Assessment Activity 2: MA Student Exit Survey (Fall 2015 - Summer 2017)
For each of the SLOs, the majority of the 23 students (22 on #6) indicated they felt "Very well" prepared. Note that these are the superceded SLOs.
|
1 Not at all |
2 |
3 Adequately | 4 |
5 Very well |
|
| 1. Demonstrate foundational knowledge of the theories and methods of two concentrations within English | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 12 (52%) |
| 2. Demonstrate ability to account for continuing relevance of earlier cultural formations and literary and rhetorical practices | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 10 (43%) |
| 3. Demonstrate awareness of the contributions of Oceanic and/or Asian cultures to the formation of the field of English Studies in the 21st Century | 0 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 9 (39%) |
| 4. Understanding advanced research methods and/or creative techniques | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 15 (65%) |
| 5. Demonstrate written and oral ability to place one’s own creative and/or scholarly work within broader artistic and/or critical conversations | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 17 (74%) |
| 6. Conduct independent research (using primary and secondary sources) and/or creative skills | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 16 (73%) |
Assessment Activity 3: Revised program student learning objectives (Spring 2018)
Program SLOs were revised to align with the current ILOs. See the MA SLO chart on the English Department website
Assessment Activity 4: Tracking written and oral student achievements (Fall 2015 - Spring 2017)
17 students reported on their publications, conference papers and colloquia, and readings and events.
14) 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: 15) Please briefly describe how the program used the results.
Assessment Activity 1: Assessment of SLO #5
The results were overwhelmingly positive, and we are putting them to use in our MA program in two ways: 1. Faculty met to discuss the importance of training our graduate students to be articulate, effective, and confident in their oral presentations so as to maximize the communication of their knowledge of the subject. We shared assignments, including those in the foundational ENG 625 courses; strategies to develop our studentsʻ oral skills; and ways to encourage self-reflection and constructive critique of oral presentations. 2. We have confirmation that students graduating with an MA in English are performing well if not very well when asked to discuss their scholarly or creative work orally. While there is no need for big changes in the program to meet the oral component of SLO #5, based on sharing the data along with assignments and coaching strategies, some faculty members indicated they may tweak the "oral presentation" component of their courses.
Assessment Activity 2: MA Student Exit Survey
The surveys were reviewed and discussed by the Graduate Program Committee.
Assessment Activity 3: Revised program student learning objectives (Spring 2018)
The new PSLOs are posted on the department's website. Each semester, faculty teaching graduate classes are referred to these PSLOs when creating their course descriptions and specific SLOs (which are published with the course descriptions on our website).
Assessment Activity 4: Tracking written and oral student achievements (Fall 2015 - Spring 2017)
Achievements are posted on the department's website to celebrate students' success. The number of MA students presenting at conferences and even publishing has increased, also as seen in the 2017-18 Achievements.
16) 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.
Starting in spring 2017, we hold an annual workshop with successful graduates to show what alumni are doing with their degrees and also what their perceptions of the strengths of the program are.