Degree Program Assessment Reports : View Reports

Unit: Quantitative Health Sciences
Program: Clinical and Translational Research (MS)
Degree: Master's
Date: Thu Nov 08, 2018 - 9:46:19 am

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

1. Students are expected to have developed the following competencies upon completion of the graduate program: Knowledge of the process of clinical and translational research, including familiarity with techniques for searching the literature, principles of measurements, and practical experience in the design and conduct of scientific experiments, collection of data, and interpretation of data in the context of the scientific literature, and to embark upon the development of a research and research support career.

(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 research methodology and techniques specific to one’s field of study., 3. Apply research methodology and/or scholarly inquiry techniques specific to one’s field of study., 4. Critically analyze, synthesize, and utilize information and data related to one’s field of study.)

2. Specific to Clinical Research (CR) Concentration: I). Demonstrate a knowledge based in various disciplines of clinical and translational research.

(1. Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge in one or more general subject areas related to, but not confined to, a specific area of interest.)

3. II). Develop knowledge and skills to form a foundation upon which to function in an ethical and professional manner through their research careers.

(3. Apply research methodology and/or scholarly inquiry techniques specific to one’s field of study., 4. Critically analyze, synthesize, and utilize information and data related to one’s field of study., 6. Conduct research or projects as a responsible and ethical professional, including consideration of and respect for other cultural perspectives., 7. Interact professionally with others.)

4. III).Demonstrate skills and knowledge required for clinical and translational research design and critical evaluation of data collection methodologies.

5. Specific to Quantitative Health Sciences (QHS) Track: I). Demonstrate the knowledge and skills in quantitative health sciences, including biostatistics and bioinformatics.

(1. Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge in one or more general subject areas related to, but not confined to, a specific area of interest., 3. Apply research methodology and/or scholarly inquiry techniques specific to one’s field of study.)

6. II). Demonstrate sufficient mastery and scientific maturity to assess the analytic work of peers in related fields.

(4. Critically analyze, synthesize, and utilize information and data related to one’s field of study., 6. Conduct research or projects as a responsible and ethical professional, including consideration of and respect for other cultural perspectives., 7. Interact professionally with others.)

7. III). Demonstrate a mastery of experimental, clinical, clinical trial, and translational research design and data analysis methodologies.

8. Experience with and proficiency in written and verbal communication skills as required in various professional duties including manuscript preparation for publication, grant applications, and conference presentations.

(5. Proficiently communicate and disseminate information in a manner relevant to the field and intended audience., 7. Interact professionally with others.)

9. Clinical research ethics competency and culturally sensitive conduct in interactions with others.

(6. Conduct research or projects as a responsible and ethical professional, including consideration of and respect for other cultural perspectives., 7. Interact professionally with others.)

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

Department Website URL: https://jabsom.hawaii.edu/departments/cim/

Student Handbook. URL, if available online: http://msctr.jabsom.hawaii.edu

Information Sheet, Flyer, or Brochure URL, if available online: http://msctr.jabsom.hawaii.edu

UHM Catalog. Page Number:

Course Syllabi. URL, if available online: http://msctr.jabsom.hawaii.edu

Other:

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

Curriculum Map File(s) from 2015:

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.

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):

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 SLOs

6) 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.

In 2017, in response to a program evaluation by the Office of Graduate Education and the Graduate Council's Program Review Team, we have carried out a major revision of the program with Clinical and Translational Research track and a new Quantitative Health Sciences track including revised and new curricula. During the revision period, no students were admitted. The assessment activities involved planning the new curricula, new student learning outcomes, and considering elements of student learning evidence such as course exams, qualifying exams, capstone projects, and theses. From the fall of 2018, with the first group of students entering the new MS program, we will be able to collect learning evidence including course exam results, capstone projects, research projects, grant proposals, publications, and oral and poster presentations.

Both in the Clinical Research subspecialty and in the Quantitative Health Sciences subspeciality, the exam results will be a significant portion of the course grades. Both Plan A and Plan B students will have a comprehensive qualifying examination at the beginning of year 2. Students in the Plan A program, in both subspecialties, will also have a thesis exam (i.e., a proposal defense) before they submit their Form 1, as well as an oral defense of their thesis before submitting Forms 3 and 4. Students in Plan B will submit and present a Capstone Project before submitting the Graduate Program Memorandum to the Office of Graduate Student Services.

A student exit survey will be requested at the time of graduation and data will be used to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the program for Plans A and B within the Clinical Research and the Quantitative Health Sciences subspecialties.

To improve documentation of program outcomes, the CVs for both graduated and current students will be collected and kept on records. The list of publications for current students and program graduates will be collected and updated on a regular basis. An online student database is being developed using an electronic data capture database SQL (with further considerations for student privacy) to document students’ progress towards learning outcomes. Data collection will continue post-graduation. The regularly updated database will include student contact information and data for students’ publications, employments, and grant funding. The data collected will be used to assess short- and long-term outcomes and the effectiveness of the program.

[INSERT HERE: parts of the program proposal document such as learning outcomes, curriculum map]

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.

At this stage of the revised program, evidence provided by students is not available.

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.

During the revision of the MSCTR program, including revised curriculum for the Clinical and Translational Research and the development of the new Quantitative Health Sciences tracks with track specific courses, our goal was to align the curriculum with both institutional learning objectives (ILOs) and student learning outcomes (SLOs). In addition, we aimed to provide specific skills development opportunities for students in alignment with career options. The Quantitative Health Sciences track and quantitative courses available for both tracks, together with plan A and plan B options, and a flexible curriculum are anticipated to address the needs of our learners, some of whom already with advanced degrees and in various professions, and promote improved SLOs. During this period, we have been planning for assessment measures that are suitable to capture both the overall program progress and progress within track-specific areas.

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.

In our plans for improvement of the revised program, we could not incorporate prior self-assessment report results as these data were no longer available. A valuable assessment was provided, however, by the Office of Graduate Education and the Graduate Council's Program Review Team. In response to the Review Team's critiques a major revision and significant improvement of the Master’s in Biomedical Sciences: Clinical Research Program was undertaken.

Based on the Review Team's recommendations and feedback from faculty and students, we have revised the Clinical Research Program, developed a new Quantitative Health Sciences track, revised the curriculum, the admission criteria, and revised the student and faculty performance evaluation methods. We have also developed Plan A (thesis) and Plan B (capstone project) options for both tracks and designed a flexible program to better serve various types of learners the program attracts including UH and mainland graduates, professionals with advanced degrees, and clinicians committed to research.

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.

As the program started admitting recruiting students in spring 2018 and these students matriculated in fall 2018, we expect to have learning outcome results in a year for the first year coursework and in subsequent years for capstone and thesis projects.

17) If the program did not engage in assessment activities, please justify.

During the development and preparation of the revised program, we did engage in program assessment planning and evaluated data collection methods and use of results. The assessment activities that took place involve planning the new curriculum, new student learning outcomes, and considering pieces of student learning evidence such as course exams, qualifying exams, capstone projects, and theses for the Plan A and Plan B programs of the Clinical Research subspecialty and the Quantitative Health Sciences subspeciality.