Unit: Languages & Literatures of Europe and the Americas
Program: German (BA)
Degree: Bachelor's
Date: Thu Nov 12, 2020 - 4:52:37 pm

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

1. Read and comprehend texts written in German from a variety of genres and contexts (e.g., magazine or internet articles, newspapers, literature).

(1a. General education, 1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth)

2. Analyze and critique texts written in German from a variety of genres and contexts.

(1a. General education, 1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2a. Think critically and creatively)

3. Engage in oral communication in German in various communicative contexts (e.g., everyday conversations, ordering in a restaurant, participating in class discussions, making a short presentation).

(1a. General education, 1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2c. Communicate and report)

4. Engage in writing in German in various contexts and for various audiences (e.g., personal letters, emails, essays, etc.).

(1a. General education, 1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2c. Communicate and report)

5. Conduct research on German language and/or culture using knowledge and skills learned in the program.

(1a. General education, 1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 2b. Conduct research, 3b. Respect for people and cultures, in particular Hawaiian culture)

6. Demonstrate a familiarity with the current events, traditional and pop culture, and social structures of the society/societies in which German is spoken.

(1a. General education, 1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 2c. Communicate and report, 3a. Continuous learning and personal growth, 3b. Respect for people and cultures, in particular Hawaiian culture)

7. To learn about the role of German-speaking peoples in the context of Hawai'i and the Pacific region.

(1a. General education, 1b. Specialized study in an academic field, 1c. Understand Hawaiian culture and history, 2a. Think critically and creatively, 3b. Respect for people and cultures, in particular Hawaiian culture)

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

Department Website URL:
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:

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

Curriculum Map File(s) from 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 SLOs

6) Did your program engage in any program learning assessment activities between November 1, 2018 and October 31, 2020?

Yes
No (skip to question 17)

7) What best describes the program-level learning assessment activities that took place for the period November 1, 2018 and October 31, 2020? (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)
Investigate other pressing issue related to student learning achievement for the program (explain in question 8)
Other:

8) Briefly explain the assessment activities that took place since November 2018.

All program SLOs are assessed in the BA student exit survey. Additional questions about the student experience are also included in the survey.

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.

The following numbers of students participated in the BA exit survey conducted by the LLL deans' office:

August 2020: No report until number of respondents reeaches 5 or more

August 2019: 5 (100% response rate)

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 from the evaluation, analysis, interpretation of evidence (checked in question 12). For example, report the percentage of students who achieved each SLO.

Based on the self-assessment of learning outcomes in exit surveys (Fall 2018-Summer 2019), which asked "To what extent can you do the following?"

               Total #students/Not at all/Not very well/Adequately/Well/Very well

SLO 1:    5/0/0/1/1/3

SLO 2:   5/0/0/1/2/2

SLO 3:   5/0/0/0/2/3

SLO 4:    5/0/0/1/3/1

SLO 5:    5/0/0/0/3/2

SLO 6:    5/0/0/0/3/2

SLO 7:   (not on exit survey; exit survey needs to be modified to include this item)

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 its findings/results.

Since Fall 2018, we have done the following in respone to assessment results:

Course changes: In Spring 2018, we added an "ETH" focus designation to our LLEA 371 course, and since Fall 2018 this course has counted toward the German certificate or BA. This course also carries an "HAP" focus, making it especially helpful to students trying to satisfy focus requirements whicle completing their BA degree requirements. 

Program change: Over the past year, we have created two new LLEA courses that we also plan to count toward the BA (147 and 247, now under review). We are adding designations to these so that they satisfy GenEd requirements, and hope they will appeal to a large number of freshmen/sophomores.

Celebration of student success: We have hosted a celebration of student success during most Spring semesters over the past 5 years, inviting BA students, LLEA department faculty, the LLL deans, and members of the broader German-speaking community, including the Honorary Consul of Germany.

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.

The German faculty are committed to maintaining such positive results and continue to look for ways to improve the program. This is a topic at every German faculty meeting.

In direct response to student feedback, the German faculty has made a big effort over the past five years to increase our extra-curricular activities. These offerings (Club activities, film screenings, exhibits, etc.) have increased exponentially, and w've also been networking with the community (e.g., the German Consul, who regularly attends German program functions and the German Benevolent Society, who has created a $200,000 endowment to support our students.

We've also been actively supporting students to get scholarships. Last year, one of our majors was awarded the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals scholarship (2020-2021), a year-long US Department of State-funded scholarship for study and work in Germany. Typically over 600 applicants apply for the CBYX and just 75 are selected. This has been deferred to next year due to COVID. Another recent German BA graduate was also awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Brandenburg, Germany (2018-2019). Finally, since 2019, five German majors have received $2,000 each from the German Benevolent Society to support their German studies at UHM.

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