Degree Program Assessment Reports : View Reports

Unit: Economics
Program: Economics (PhD)
Degree: Doctorate
Date: Wed Oct 09, 2013 - 1:22:16 pm

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

The goal of the Ph.D. program is to train professional economists for careers in teaching, research and policy analysis.

1. Students will demonstrate an understanding of economic theory and analytical and quantitative tools.

2. Students will demonstrate an ability to understand, integrate, and apply the various tools, concepts, and principles of economics and quantitative methods to analyze and to develop solutions to economic problems in a clear and concise written form.

3. Students will demonstrate a "frontier" level competency and familiarity with the literature in the student's perceived specialty area.

4. Students will demonstrate the ability to conduct independent and original research in economics.

5. Students will have the skills necessary to qualify for teaching positions at the university and college levels, and for research positions in the public or private sector.

6. Program graduates will be able to obtain employment that uses the level of expertise obtained in the Ph.D. program.

7. Students will complete these goals according to the timeline described in the graduate program guidelines.

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

Department Website URL: http://www.economics.hawaii.edu/graduate/guide/slo.html

Student Handbook. URL, if available online: http://www.economics.hawaii.edu/grad/doctorate.html

Information Sheet, Flyer, or Brochure URL, if available online: http://www.economics.hawaii.edu/grad/gradprog_brochure.pdf

UHM Catalog. Page Number:

Course Syllabi. URL, if available online: http://www.economics.hawaii.edu/courses.html

Other: In the Department's intranet website accessible to faculty only.

Other:

3) Select one option:

Curriculum Map File(s) from 2013:

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.

1-50%

51-80%

81-99%

100%

5) Did your program engage in any program assessment activities between June 1, 2012 and September 30, 2013? (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, 2012 to September 30, 2013: State the assessment question(s) and/or assessment goals. Include the SLOs that were targeted, if applicable.

Our assessment goal involved determining our progress in encouraging students to complete their degree on time. Finishing their degree in 5 years, or 6 years at most, makes students more attractive on the professional job market than finishing in 7+ years.

SLO's targeted: mainly #7 but also #4 and #6.

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.

Data from Graduate Division and data collected internally in the Economics Department.

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

All faculty in the department.

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.

An important part of our strategy to encourage students to finish the degree on time is to facilitate their transition from being economics students to being economics researchers. After completing core classes and field classes during their first two years of the program, we require students to take a research seminar in the fall term of their third year to provide skills, direction and deadlines for the student's first major research project. We have tightened our requirements for submitting a "third-year research paper" and having it approved before a student begins their fourth year. This year all of the third-year students (6) met this deadline. In the recent past, we have had cohorts where only 0-1 student met the deadline, so we are pleased that the stricter deadlines have facilitated this improvement.

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

We will need to wait several years to see whether the time to degree falls as a results of our efforts to encourage people to complete the degree on time.

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.

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

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

3) Select one option:

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.

6) For the period June 1, 2012 to September 30, 2013: State the assessment question(s) and/or assessment goals. Include the SLOs that were targeted, if applicable.

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.

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

9) Who interpreted or analyzed the evidence that was collected? (Check all that apply.)

10) How did they evaluate, analyze, or interpret the evidence? (Check all that apply.)

11) For the assessment question(s) and/or assessment goal(s) stated in Question #6:Summarize the actual results.

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

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.

11) For the assessment question(s) and/or assessment goal(s) stated in Question #6:
Summarize the actual results.

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.