Program: Animal Science (BS)
Degree: Bachelor's
Date: Fri Nov 16, 2018 - 5:55:13 pm
1) Program Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) and Institutional Learning Objectives (ILOs)
1. Know and understand the basic principles of applied animal biology.
(1a. General education, 1b. Specialized study in an academic field)
2. Understand the fundamental tenets of animal science disciplines including genetics, growth and development, meat science and muscle biology, comparative nutrition, feeds and feeding, anatomy, basic and environmental physiology, endocrinology and reproduction.
(1b. Specialized study in an academic field)
3. Apply this knowledge to the basic understanding and application of appropriate husbandry best practices to animals of economic value.
(1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 3c. Stewardship of the natural environment)
4. Read and be able to analyze scientific or technical papers critically.
(2a. Think critically and creatively, 2b. Conduct research)
5. Communicate clearly both orally and in writing.
(1a. General education, 2c. Communicate and report)
6. Develop problem-solving skills for lifetime learning.
(1a. General education, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth)
7. Understand the importance of good citizenship in both personal and professional habits, including the ability to cooperate with others and team orientation.
(3a. Continuous learning and personal growth, 3d. Civic participation)
8. Understand the scientific method and design of experiments to test hypotheses and as such experience the process of discovery.
(2a. Think critically and creatively, 2b. Conduct research)
9. Explore the relationship between applied animal biology and society, including contemporary ethical issues raised by animal research, animal welfare, the interactions of animals and humans, and the role and impact of animal agriculture and applied animal biology on the planet.
(1a. General education, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth, 3b. Respect for people and cultures, in particular Hawaiian culture, 3c. Stewardship of the natural environment, 3d. Civic participation)
10. Recognize and use appropriate technologies, such as computer applications and laboratory methodologies.
(1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth)
2) Your program's SLOs are published as follows. Please update asneeded.
Department Website URL: https://cms.ctahr.hawaii.edu/hnfas/Academics/AnimalSciences
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: https://cms.ctahr.hawaii.edu/hnfas/Academics/COURSES 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.
Capstone course field employer/supervisor evaluations are collected for all seniors every year.
Student comments on strengths and opportunities to improve the curriculum are collected from all seniors.
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.
Supervisor evaluations were available for 59 out of 63 students.
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: 12) 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.
Percent rated Very Good or Excellent on Field supervisor evaluations (note that tasks may differ from academic presentations and papers:
Oral communication: 84%
Written communication: 100%
Ethical behavior: 100%
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 results and student surveys were used to review and adjust frequency of course offerings and to create a stable rotation of courses so that students can plan ahead. We noted that students that take the O focus within the department tend to do better than those that take it outside the department, so are offering our single O course every year instead of every second year. With our assessment results and data that shows our student numbers doubled in the last five years, we have been able to justify new hires, mostly to replace retiring faculty.
We have also discussed the possibility of an organic chemistry for life science majors with the Chem department.
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.
We discovered growing student interest in animal conservation and can explore opportunities to work with other departments, eg NREM, to make courses such as animal conservation available to meet this interest. More on this in the next couple of years.