Unit: Public Health Studies
Program: Public Health (DrPH)
Degree: Doctorate
Date: Thu Oct 14, 2010 - 4:49:57 pm

1) Below are the program student learning outcomes submitted last year. Please add/delete/modify as needed.

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

DrPH 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) As of last year, your program's SLOs were published as follows. Please update as needed.

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) Below is the link to your program's curriculum map (if submitted in 2009). If it has changed or if we do not have your program's curriculum map, please upload it as a PDF.

No map submitted.

4) The percentage of courses in 2009 that had course SLOs explicitly stated on the syllabus, a website, or other publicly available document is indicated below. Please update as needed.

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

5) State the assessment question(s) and/or goals of the assessment activity. Include the SLOs that were targeted, if applicable.

All DrPH students are on track to mastering the 25 DrPH competencies by graduation.

6) State the type(s) of evidence gathered.

·        Competencies are linked to specific courses.

·        At the end of their first year, DrPH students present a qualifying paper and take a qualifying exam, testing their mastery 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.

·        In the required Teaching Practicum, the faculty member with whom the DrPH student teaches provides a written assessment of student mastery of teaching-related competencies.

·        In the required Research Practicum, the faculty member with whom the DrPH student is conducting research provides a written assessment of student mastery of relevant research-related competencies.

·        Starting in their 2nd year, DrPH students complete an Annual Review. In this, they report completed and planned coursework, completed and planned portfolio elements, and a self-assessment of mastery of the DrPH competences.  Annual review data are discussed between the student and his/her Chair and also presented to the DrPH Committee. Suggestions are provided to students/Chairs on how students can further their mastery of competencies rated “low” or “mid” (vs. high).  For example, a student “low” in leadership has been given a supervisory role through her Graduate Assistantship job and a student “mid” in teaching (even after Teaching Practicum) is being scheduled to lead some workshops for MPH and DrPH students.

7) Who interpreted or analyzed the evidence that was collected?

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:

8) How did they evaluate, analyze, or interpret the evidence?

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:

9) State how many persons submitted evidence that was evaluated.
If applicable, please include the sampling technique used.

100% of DrPH students who have been in the program at least 1 year.

10) Summarize the actual results.

Starting in their 2nd year, DrPH students complete an Annual Review. In this, they report completed and planned coursework, completed and planned portfolio elements, and a self-assessment of mastery of the DrPH competences.  Annual review data are discussed between the student and his/her Chair and also presented to the DrPH Committee. Suggestions are provided to students/Chairs on how students can further their mastery of competencies rated “low” or “mid” (vs. high).  For example, a student “low” in leadership has been given a supervisory role through her Graduate Assistantship job and a student “mid” in teaching (even after Teaching Practicum) is being scheduled to lead some workshops for MPH and DrPH students.

11) How did your program use the results? --or-- Explain planned use of results.
Please be specific.

Starting in their 2nd year, DrPH students complete an Annual Review. In this, they report completed and planned coursework, completed and planned portfolio elements, and a self-assessment of mastery of the DrPH competences.  Annual review data are discussed between the student and his/her Chair and also presented to the DrPH Committee. Suggestions are provided to students/Chairs on how students can further their mastery of competencies rated “low” or “mid” (vs. high).  For example, a student “low” in leadership has been given a supervisory role through her Graduate  Assistantship job and a student “mid” in teaching (even after Teaching Practicum) is being scheduled to lead some workshops for MPH and DrPH students.

12) Beyond the results, were there additional conclusions or discoveries? This can include insights about assessment procedures, teaching and learning, program aspects and so on.

Findings from the Qualifying Exam and Paper, Course Evals, and Annual Reviews also help us modify and improve the DrPH curriculum.

13) Other important information:

None at this time.