Unit: Public Health Studies
Program: Public Health (DrPH)
Degree: Doctorate
Date: Wed Sep 30, 2009 - 3:25:03 pm

1) List your program's student learning outcomes (SLOs).

Upon completion of the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) program at the University of Hawai‘i, the graduate should master the following competencies:

Planning and Evaluation

1.       Integrate evidence and community experience to describe, anticipate, and mediate public health needs and problems.

2.  Identify and apply appropriate theory to inform the design and evaluation of public health interventions.

3. Integrate theory, empirical knowledge, and community needs with financial planning and infrastructure design in the context of acquiring external funds.

Advocacy and Policy Development

1. Serve as a liaison and advocate to the policy community for the diverse pressing public health issues.

2. Interact productively with stakeholders and decision-makers to have an impact on public policy.

3.  Identify, develop, and apply policies, laws and regulations for public health improvement.

4.  Translate policy into organizational plans, structures and programs.

Ethics

1. Demonstrate and apply high ethical standards to all activities, including the communication and interaction with diverse populations, the general conduct of research, and the handling of information and data.

Culturally Sensitive Community Collaboration

1. Facilitate and expand collaborative relationships among a variety of entities (e.g., governmental, non-governmental, public, private, and academic).

2. Apply appropriate skills to integrate community entities into the planning, implementation, evaluation and interpretation of PH projects.

3. Utilize the integrating concepts and skills involved in culturally appropriate community engagement and empowerment with diverse communities.

Research

1. Promote co-learning between researchers, public health professionals and communities.

2. Critique research appropriateness, including the ethical aspects of research designs, subject recruitment and data collection.

3. Select appropriate research designs and methods to address questions of PH importance.

4. Review and synthesize a body of research literature.

5.  Select and apply appropriate approaches for evaluation and quality improvement to assess program implementation.

Teaching

1. Teach, advise, and mentor to enhance the capacity of students, peers, and community members.

2.  Identify, develop and implement engaged teaching methods that are appropriate for the respective audiences and conditions.

Leadership

1. Develop strategies to promote collaborative problem solving, decision making and evaluation.

2. Engage stakeholders and manage teams, groups, and organizations to work toward a defined goal.

Communications

1.  Demonstrate effective written and oral skills for communicating with persons from diverse cultural, socioeconomic, educational, racial, ethnic and professional backgrounds and persons of all ages and lifestyle preferences.

Informatics

1. Collaborate with communication and informatics specialists in the process of design, implementation and evaluation of PH programs.

Critical Analysis and Systems Thinking

1. Critically analyze, use and synthesize information from multiple sources to address public health problems/issues.

2. Analyze and evaluate the impact of inter-relationships among systems that influence the quality of life of diverse populations in their communities.

3. Analyze the impact of local, national, and global trends and interdependencies on PH related problems and systems.

2) Where are your program's SLOs published?

Department Website URL: http://hawaii.edu/publichealth
Student Handbook. URL, if available online: http://www.hawaii.edu/publichealth
Information Sheet, Flyer, or Brochure URL, if available online:
UHM Catalog. Page Number:
Course Syllabi. URL, if available online: http://www.hawaii.edu/publichealth/academics/courses.html
Other:
Other:

3) Upload your program's current curriculum map(s) as a PDF.

No map submitted.

4) What percentage of courses have the course SLOs explicitly stated on the course syllabus, department website, or other publicly available document? (Check one)

0%
1-50%
51-80%
81-99%
100%

5) State the SLO(s) that was Assessed, Targeted, or Studied

All 25 competencies that are listed above in #1

6) State the Assessment Question(s) and/or Goal(s) of Assessment Activity

Are all DrPH students mastering the 25 DrPH competencies by graduation?

7) State the Type(s) of Evidence Gathered

Yes:

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·        <!--[endif]-->Competencies have been linked to specific courses, and completion of DrPH courses with a grade of “A” or “B” will assure that the competency has been met.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·        <!--[endif]-->At the end of their first year, DrPH students present a qualifying paper and take a qualifying exam, testing on Year-1 competencies. Our first DrPH class entered the program in Fall 2008, and all 6 successfully defended their qualifying papers in Spring 2009 and passed the qualifying exam in August 2009.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·        <!--[endif]-->In required Teaching Practica, the faculty with whom the DrPH student teaches provides a written assessment of student mastery of teaching-related competencies.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·        <!--[endif]-->In required Research Practica, the faculty with whom the DrPH student is conducting research provides a written assessment of student mastery of relevant research-related competencies.

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·        <!--[endif]-->DrPH students complete an Annual Review of their progress by completing coursework and portfolio elements and a self-assessment of mastery of DrPH competences. Annual reviews are compiled at the end of the student’s second Fall semester in the program. Our first DrPH class entered the program in Fall 2008, and they will complete their reviews in December 2009.

8) State How the Evidence was Interpreted, Evaluated, or Analyzed

Students discuss their Annual Review documents with their DrPH Chair and the DrPH Program Chair. This assessment and these discussions inform decisions about coursework and other activities to be pursued in the coming year.

Assessments of the qualifying papers, qualifying exam results, and annual reviews are discussed and evaluated by the DrPH Committee, comprised of 6 senior PH faculty. This Committee meets monthly.  Adjustments to curriculum and milestones are made based on review of assessment findings.

9) State How Many Pieces of Evidence Were Collected

Five pieces of evidence including those stated in #7: course graded, qualifying exam, teaching practica assessment, research practica assessment, and annual review assessment.

10) Summarize the Actual Results

The new DrPH program is only in its second of three year program.The final results will not be known until end of 2011.  The current data being collected points out that the results are favorable and that DrPH students are meeting and obtaining their competencies

11) Briefly Describe the Distribution and Discussion of Results

·       Assessments of the qualifying papers, qualifying exam results, and annual reviews are discussed and evaluated by the DrPH Committee, comprised of 6 senior PH faculty. This Committee meets monthly.  Adjustments to curriculum and milestones are made based on review of assessment findings.

·      A summary of DrPH student progress and program changes are presented to the PH faculty as a whole at least once a semester.

12) Describe Conclusions and Discoveries

Here is an example:

Students had difficulty answering the Biostatistics questions on the qualifying exam, and all had to retake the test after consultation with the Biostatistics professor. Upon review of these data, the DrPH Committee agreed that:

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·        <!--[endif]-->DrPH students be required to memorize key statistical concepts

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·        <!--[endif]-->Preference be given to Research Practica that required DrPH to perform quantitative analysis and write up quantitative findings (slightly unclear)

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·        <!--[endif]-->As we have adopted the “multi-paper” dissertation approach, one of the papers must report on a student-direct study using quantitative design/analysis methods.

13) Use of Results/Program Modifications: State How the Program Used the Results --or-- Explain Planned Use of Results

Answer is same as #12.

Upon review of these data, the DrPH Committee agreed that:

<!--[if !supportLists]-->1) DrPH students be required to memorize key statistical concepts

<!--[if !supportLists]-->2)  <!--[endif]-->Preference be given to Research Practica that required DrPH to perform quantitative analysis and write up quantitative findings.

            3) As we have adopted the “multi-paper” dissertation approach, one of

               the papers must report on a student-direct study using quantitative

               design/analysis methods.


14) Reflect on the Assessment Process

The DrPH Assessment Process has a lot of checks and balances. Data come from multiple sources and are considered by the DrPH Committee. This makes for long meetings, but has otherwise worked so far.

15) Other Important Information

The DrPH program is so new that a curriculum map has not been developed yet.  It is planned to create one during 2010 and the new DrPH curriculum map will be submitted in the assessment report for next year.

16) FOR DISTANCE PROGRAMS ONLY: Explain how your program/department has adapted its assessment of student learning in the on-campus program to assess student learning in the distance education program.

Not Applicable.

17) FOR DISTANCE PROGRAMS ONLY: Summarize the actual student learning assessment results that compare the achievement of students in the on-campus program to students in the distance education program.

Not Applicable.