Program: Natural Resources & Environmental Mgt (BS)
Degree: Bachelor's
Date: Thu Oct 10, 2013 - 4:54:51 pm
1) Below are your program's student learning outcomes (SLOs). Please update as needed.
- Students value science and scientific evidence in NREM.
- Students demonstrate what is expected of an entry-level professional working in the field of natural resources and environmental management.
- Students describe and interpret the theory and application of the linkages among the environment, economics, and society.
- Students demonstrate the relevance of biological, physical, and social science using analytical and quantitative skills in the context of NREM.
- Students communicate proficiently in writing and orally to both technical and general audiences in natural and social sciences.
2) Your program's SLOs are published as follows. Please update as needed.
Department Website URL: http://www2.ctahr.hawaii.edu/nrem/students/undergrad-assess.html
Student Handbook. URL, if available online: Information Sheet, Flyer, or Brochure URL, if available online: http://www.manoa.hawaii.edu/ovcaa/programsheets/ UHM Catalog. Page Number: Course Syllabi. URL, if available online: 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.
1. Expanding the curriculum map to include required courses for both tracks in the major.
2. Deepening the curriculum map to show levels of mastery of SLOs for listed courses.
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.
1. Syllabi from listed courses.
2. Feedback from instructors of the listed courses.
8) State how many persons submitted evidence that was evaluated. If applicable, please include the sampling technique used.
An email was sent out to the instructors of the 16 courses on the list. Instructors for 10 of the 16 courses provided feedback.
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.
Lower- and upper-division required courses were added to the curriculum map, including those not taught in NREM. Feedback was sought only for NREM courses. Mastery was defined according to Bloom's taxonomy of learning objectives and broken into three progressive categories. The final curriculum map illustrates that:
1. All of the courses listed meet one or more of the SLOs.
2. There is a general trend of progressive mastery for 4 of the 5 SLOs that aligns with the course level (100, 200, etc.). The final SLO (proficient communication) did not align with course levels.
3. For the SLOs on valuing science (#1) and developing skills (#4), this progressive mastery also aligns with course prerequisites.
4. Mastery is achieved for at least 2 of the 3 levels (through "application") for al SLOs. For some SLO's, the highest levels of mastery are beyond the expectations of the undergraduate program and the expertise of the faculty, e.g. proficient communcation (#5).
12) State how the program used the results or plans to use the results. Please be specific.
1. Instructors will be encouraged to decribe the level of mastery of relevant SLOs for their courses, e.g. in the syllabi, for their students.
2. Instructors will be asked to identify the assessment methods they use for determining mastery of SLOs and to provide summary data to the head of undergraduate advising for program assessment.
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.
It became clear from developing the expanded curriculum map that tracks differ in their emphasis and mastery of certain SLOs. This does not appear to be problematic, since the highest levels of mastery of all SLOs expected in the program are found in the core courses that all students must take.
While progressive mastery occurs over different course levels, this does not track well with prerequisites for several SLOs. Because NREM has many students who transfer in from other majors, other UH campuses, and other universities, they tend to take courses as they become available and often bring in one or more NREM equivalent or substitutable courses. This places a high emphasis on the senior capstone course, NREM 494, for achieving the highest level of mastery for several SLOs. Ensuring students are adequately prepared for this course through prerequisites should be a priority of the department. The most significant constraint to strictly enforcing suitable prerequisites for this course is that it is only taught in the spring semester, so scheduling is an issue for about a third of our students, i.e. they are taking 300-level core courses at the same time as the capstone course.