Unit: Communicology
Program: Communicology (MA)
Degree: Master's
Date: Sat Sep 08, 2012 - 11:35:30 pm

1) Below are your program's student learning outcomes (SLOs). Please update as needed.

  1. Demonstrate mastery of theories of communication, particularly in the areas of relational, persuasion/social influence, and message processing functions

  2. Demonstrate mastery of fundamentals of research design and analysis in communication
     
  3. Demonstrate an integrative and systematic understanding of the human communication process

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

Department Website URL: manoa.hawaii.edu/communicology
Student Handbook. URL, if available online: https://laulima.hawaii.edu/access/content/group/51af1472-6046-45d0-a17f-4b168b0b7118/Graduate%20Handbook%202012.pdf
Information Sheet, Flyer, or Brochure URL, if available online: NA
UHM Catalog. Page Number:
Course Syllabi. URL, if available online:
Other:
Other:

3) Select one option:

Curriculum Map File(s) from 2012:

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.

We targeted all of our SLOs and tried to assess how well our students were meeting them.

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.

In a meeting at the end of each Fall and Spring semester, the entire faculty assess how well each current graduate student is meeting the SLOs.   We use a rubric of the SLOs and evaluate the extent to which the graduate student is exceptional, acceptable, developing, or unacceptable in meeting the SLOs.  Consensus is the primary mode of decision-making.

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

All faculty are present at the assessment meeting and we evaluate all current and active graduate students.  Those who could not be present submit written notes on the students and those notes are read aloud and shared at the meeting.

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: Graduate Chair

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.

Results for End of Fall 2011 Semester

Sample (n=16): first semester (n=5), second semester (n=1), third semester (n=10), fourth semester (n=0)

SLO

Unacceptable

Developing

Acceptable

Exceptional

SLO1: Theory

3

2

8

3

SLO2: Research

3

2

9

2

SLO3: Understanding

3

3

8

2

SLO4: Ph.D. Preparation

4

5

5

2

SLO5: Conduct Research

3

3

9

1

SLO6: Oral Articulation

2

5

8

1

SLO7: Written Articulation

4

1

8

3

SLO8: Presentation/Teaching

0

5

9

2

Results for End of Spring 2012 Semester

Sample (n=11): first semester (n=1), second semester (n=3), third semester (n=1), fourth semester (n=6)

SLO

Unacceptable

Developing

Acceptable

Exceptional

SLO1: Theory

0

1

7

3

SLO2: Research

0

1

9

1

SLO3: Understanding

0

1

6

4

SLO4: Ph.D. Preparation

1

1

7

2

SLO5: Conduct Research

0

1

8

2

SLO6: Oral Articulation

0

2

8

1

SLO7: Written Articulation

1

0

7

2

SLO8: Presentation/Teaching

1

8

2

12) State how the program used the results or plans to use the results. Please be specific.

We plan to use the results to see if graduating students generally meet our SLOs and if not, then we will investigate how our teaching and implementation of our required classes and the culminating thesis or applied project can be modified.

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.

We have seen that our graduating students tend to meet the program level SLOs.

Students who were deficient in meeting the SLOs tended to drop out of the program.

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.

Based on our past assessments, we have now begun to hold faculty meetings on all of the graduate students at the end of each semester, rather than at the end of only the fall semesters.  

We send individual letters to each student to let them know how well they are meeting our program level SLOs.

We plan to develop SLOs for our graduate courses and place them on the syllabi.