Program: Classics (BA)
Degree: Bachelor's
Date: Fri Oct 11, 2013 - 8:11:51 am
1) Below are your program's student learning outcomes (SLOs). Please update as needed.
SLO 1: Demonstrate an ability to read and understand a variety of classical literary texts in the target language (i.e., ancient Greek or classical Latin).
SLO 2: Demonstrate a knowledge of vocabulary items, grammatical constructions, and inflections found on the average page of a classical literary text.
SLO 3: Demonstrate a familiarity with the styles of authors in the major genres of prose (e.g., history, philosophy, novel) and poetry (e.g., epic, lyric, drama).
SLO 4: Demonstrate an understanding of the classical literary texts in a historical context and an understanding of cultural information about the Greeks and Romans.
SLO 5: Demonstrate an ability to conduct research on classical subjects by using different reference works and sources.
2) Your program's SLOs are published as follows. Please update as needed.
Department Website URL: The Classics Division website will feature the program SLO's in a day or two (10/11/13)
Student Handbook. URL, if available online: Information Sheet, Flyer, or Brochure URL, if available online: UHM Catalog. Page Number: Course Syllabi. URL, if available online: N/A 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, 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.
A review of the Classics Program was conducted in the Summer of 2013, in light of which a number of recommendations for updating the B.A. requirements were made. Questions asked in the review include:
1) How can the Classics B.A. attract greater numbers of majors?
2) How can time to degree be shortened for Classics majors?
3) How can the Student Learning Outcomes for the Classics B.A. be broadened to expand and improve the education received by Classics majors?
Once the Classics program review was completed, new draft SLO’s were submitted. These are currently being reviewed along with the more general proposal for updating the Classics B.A. In particular, greater emphasis is given in the new SLO’s to interdisciplinary knowledge of classics, combing the fields of language, literature, history, art, philosophy, and religion. This represents a change of the relative emphasis on linguistic knowledge in the current SLO’s (esp. #1-3).
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.
Types of evidence gathered include:
1) Enrollments in courses taught at UH Manoa in Greek, Latin, and Greco-Roman civilization over the five years
2) Numbers of students graduating with a Classics B.A. from UH Manoa over the last five years
3) Information from peer and benchmark institutions pertaining to the requirements for the Classics B.A. and their graduation rates.
4) Program requirements for the completion of the B.A. degree in various departments at UH Manoa including Political Science, History, and Religion.
8) State how many persons submitted evidence that was evaluated. If applicable, please include the sampling technique used.
The professorial staff of the Classics Division collected the evidence from internal and external sources. Assistance was gratefully received from the faculty and staff of various classics programs in the U.S.
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: Faculty Assessment Coordinator10) 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.
1) The Classics B.A. can attract greater numbers of majors by continuing to draw on the popularity of its first- and second-year language programs while expanding the major to include popular courses taught in translation such as Greek and Roman Mythology (LLEA 122) as well as classics-related courses taught in other departments at UH Manoa such as religion, history, art, and philosophy.
2) Time to degree can be shortened for Classics majors by creating a more flexible major that allows students to apply a broader number of courses to their degree, many of which can be taken concurrently in spite of the limited staffing of the Classics faculty.
3) In light of the changes proposed updates to the Classics B.A., the Student Learning Outcomes for Classics have been broadened in a way that will expand and improve the education received by Classics majors. The proposed new SLO’s with explanatory commentary are:
**SLO 1: Demonstrate a broad yet synthetic knowledge of the history and culture of Ancient Greece and Rome including its language, literature, art, philosophy, politics, and religion. This SLO reflects ILO 1b (Specialized study in an academic field).
**SLO 2: Identify and assess several key areas of scholarly inquiry in the discipline of classics as well as problems that are particular to foundational texts, institutions, and historical periods in the ancient world. This reflects ILO 1b and aspects of ILO’s 2a and 2b (critical thinking and research, respectively) insofar as students will become more aware of the crucial questions of the discipline, which they will answer as part of their coursework.
**SLO 3: Identify the contributions that the language and civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean have made to world culture and the ways in which these civilizations are divergent from our own. During their course of study, Classics students will come to recognize the profound impact of Greek and Roman culture on later history including the modern world. This will be visible in a number of areas, including literature, politics, identity, art, and philosophy. In this sense, students will have a longer sense of their own cultural history and a better sense of its roots. That said, by looking at the various ways in which Greek and Roman culture is idiosyncratic, they will have a greater respect for the diversity of cultures, both their own and the cultures of others. For these reasons, we believe the classics major will contribute to ILO 3b (Respect for people and cultures).
**SLO 4: Analyze and respond to questions and problems pertaining the discipline of classics using research methodologies and tools particular to the field to create written and oral presentations. This reflects several of the “Do” ILO’s. Classics majors will learn the research methods and standards used in the humanities and discipline of classics in particular. Resources such as JSTOR, L’Annee Philologique, the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae and Latinae, the Oxford Classical Dictionary, Brill’s New Pauly, and various lexica will be used in student research. They will make use of these resources as they attempt to deepen our knowledge of Greek and Roman culture and attempt to solve perennial problems relating to literature, history, politics, philosophy, and art. They will do so through the clear formulation of questions and hypotheses, which will be supported through the creation, in particular, of research papers well grounded in primary and secondary material pertaining to the classical world.
12) State how the program used the results or plans to use the results. Please be specific.
As mentioned above, the program used these results to draft several updates to the current classics major which are currently under review and could take effect as early as Fall 2014. The program has also proposed upgrading Intro. to Greek Lit. and Intro. to Roman Lit. (LLEA 227 and 228, respectively) to the 300-level, which will allow them to contribute as core components of the updated major. A new general education course, World Myth (LLEA 151) has also been proposed and is currently under review, which we hope will contribute to the popularity of the Classics degree.
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 are implementing a capstone course in the updated Classics major, which we hope will serve as an effective medium for future assessment of the program.