Program: Women's Studies (BA)
Degree: Bachelor's
Date: Mon Sep 24, 2012 - 12:51:44 pm
1) Below are your program's student learning outcomes (SLOs). Please update as needed.
1. Application of critical thinking skills through oral and written assignments designed to engage students to think analytically and help them learn to build increasingly sophisticated arguments.
2. Application of key concepts in Women's Studies, including such notions as the social construction of gender, sexuality/gender connections, intersections among gender, race, class, colonialism, and other vectors of power, identity, and social stratification. The emphasis is placed on both abstract and "real world" applications of these concepts.
3. Improved writing skills through offering of "W" designated courses as well as such activities as essays, research paper, and other extended writing assignments in all courses.
4. Improved oral communication skills through offering of "O" designated courses as well as such activities as presentations, group research projects, class discussions, and other forms of class participations.
5. Development of interdisciplinary perspectives by drawing on and integrating modes of inquiry in more than one field of studies.
6. Understanding and application of gender/ethnicity/colonialism analysis in a Pacific-Asia context.
7. Ability to connect the classroom with "real world" feminist issues through active engagement in citizenship and civil participation. The program facilitates this through such activities as colloquia, art shows, speakers and other events.
8. Development of analysis and critical understandings of men and masculinity, in addition to those of women and femininity, as they are informed by multiple vectors of power including race, sexuality, class, and nation.
2) Your program's SLOs are published as follows. Please update as needed.
Department Website URL: www.womenstudies.hawaii.edu
Student Handbook. URL, if available online: Information Sheet, Flyer, or Brochure URL, if available online: the same as department website UHM Catalog. Page Number: Course Syllabi. URL, if available online: NA Other: Other: 3) Select one option:
- 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) Did your program engage in any program assessment activities between June 1, 2011 and September 30, 2012? (e.g., establishing/revising outcomes, aligning the curriculum to outcomes, collecting evidence, interpreting evidence, using results, revising the assessment plan, creating surveys or tests, etc.)
Yes No (skip to question 14)6) For the period June 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012: State the assessment question(s) and/or assessment goals. Include the SLOs that were targeted, if applicable.
All eight SLOs are assessed in exit interviews and online survey.
7) State the type(s) of evidence gathered to answer the assessment question and/or meet the assessment goals that were given in Question #6.
All courses measure SLOs through exams, written assignments, oral presentaionts, among others.
The department also has standardized questions for all courses in e-CAFE.
In addition , we conduct exit interviews with graduating majors and they focus on 1-8 of SLOs.
We also conduct a separate online survey that specifically asked about SLOs.
8) State how many persons submitted evidence that was evaluated. If applicable, please include the sampling technique used.
The number of students interviewed for exit interviews
7 (2012)
2 (2010)
4 (2009)
6 (2008)
The number of students who answered the online assessment survey
134 (2012)
9) 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: 10) 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: 11) For the assessment question(s) and/or assessment goal(s) stated in Question #6:
Summarize the actual results.
Online survey conducted in spring 2012 showed that the vast majority of the students find our courses teach the key concepts in our field (SLO 2), that our courses are interdisciplinary (SLO 5); they are also extremely likely to report that they carried what they learned outside of class (SLO 7). They feel that they understand the concept of masculinity better (SLO 8) and issues in Asia-Pacific (SLO 6). Generally, students also reported speaking frequently in class (SLO 4); writing frequently (other than tests and note taking) (SLO 3) was more variable based on the class reviewed but in the main, students report considerable writing in our courses. On all of these points, 80-90% students responded either "strongly agree" or "agree" on the survey.
We also conduct exit interviews with graduating majors and they focus on our eight SLOs. A review of these interviews is also very supportive of the current structure of the B.A. in Women’s Studies. In exit interviews conducted shortly after offering our own B.A., students reported that they appreciated the “freedom to disagree” and the opportunities to serve as teaching assistants in our large, undergraduate classes. They particularly appreciate the diversity of the students and faculty in Women’s Studies, the sense of community in the department, the interdisciplinary nature of the program, and the fact that they were “inspired” by the faculty. In more recent exit interviews, students have noted that “the overlap [of classes and subjects] astounded me.” They also appreciated the close relationship between faculty and students, for example: “I liked the level of intimacy and interaction with faculty and instructors.” Others commented: “I never found that anywhere else in the university”; “They were people – it wasn’t’ just a program.” Finally, they liked what they learned: “Viewing the world through a feminist lens…I look at everything from a critical feminist perspective. It’s kind of satisfying.” And they wished that more UH students knew about Women’s Studies, so that they could see that, despite the stereotypes that sometimes accompany feminism, “Women’s Studies is compatible with various fields and you can study many things in Women’s Studies.”
12) State how the program used the results or plans to use the results. Please be specific.
We discuss the assessment results at faculty meetings and meetings involving chair and undergraduate advisors.
13) Beyond the results, were there additional conclusions or discoveries?
This can include insights about assessment procedures, teaching and learning, program aspects and so on.
14) If the program did not engage in assessment activities, please explain.
Or, if the program did engage in assessment activities, please add any other important information here.
Exit interviews and surveys show the high level of satisfaction of WS's SLOs among students.