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Institutional Research & Assessment

Southern Utah University
Department of Physical Science
Academic Outcomes Assessment Plan
Academic Year 2001-2002

Mission Statement:

The physical sciences comprise the central sciences vital to human existence and essential to the understanding of economic, social, industrial, environmental, and health issues.

The Southern Utah University (SUU) Physical Science Department is a large and very diverse group of highly educated professionals committed to fostering an understanding of the physical sciences and their relevance through quality teaching, scholarly activities and service. Their efforts provide students a learning environment in which they may come to an understanding of the nature of an increasingly technical and complex world.

Goal Statement:

As faculty of the SUU Department of Physical Science, we strive to provide students with high quality, current, and comprehensive courses of study, which will serve the following goals:

1) Preparation of students who choose to pursue degrees in the health sciences (Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, etc).

2) Preparation of students who choose to gain employment in a science or engineering related field with an undergraduate degree.

3) Preparation of students who choose to become science educators.

4) Preparation of students to think critically and independently.

5) Preparation of students who choose to pursue advanced degrees in the physical sciences.

6) Preparation of students to improve their communicative, creative, analytic and information gathering skills.

Intended Outcomes/Objectives:

1) Students will learn and demonstrate an understanding of the principles of the physical sciences and engineering.

2) Students will practice the principles of the physical sciences and engineering through laboratory experiments, undergraduate research, and student discussions.

3) Students will engage in laboratory work and recitation sessions which foster student interaction and internalizes difficult scientific concepts.

4) Students will have the opportunity to learn physical science and engineering principles and skills.

5) Students will communicate the principles of the physical sciences and engineering they have learned and practiced, through oral and written means.

Assessment Criteria:

Assessment of the quality and effectiveness of departmental programs is an integral part of our mission.

1) In the engineering area, each student will be required to pass the Fundamentals of Engineering exam.

2) In the physics area, high performance in the MCAT will be expected for those students who take the exam.

3) In the chemistry area, students will compare well on nationally normed tests.

4) In all areas, alumni will be tracked and surveyed. Results of these surveys will be examined for program performance and improvement.

Assessment Activities and Implementation:

Assessment activities include:

- Chemistry Area:
1. Each year chemistry gives national American Chemical Society (ACS) exams in the following classes: CHEM 1110, 1130, 1210, 1230, 2320, 3160, 3610, 3630, 4160, 3220

2. Chemistry students will pass their courses with a minimum grade of "C" in each course used to complete the major.

3. Student's ability to communicate in their field will be assessed by taking a capstone class (CHEM 499) in which each student gives both a written and an oral report.

4. A satisfactory score on an ACS exit examination will be achieved during the student's senior year.

5. A major goal in the coming years is ACS accreditation. This will subject the program to the closest professional scrutiny.

- Geology Area:
1. The geology faculty will insure the viability of the curriculum by reviewing and implementing the curriculum recommendations of national organizations such as the American Geological Institute (AGI).

2. Geology students will pass their courses with a minimum grade of "C" earned in each course used to complete the major.

3. Each geology major will complete a capstone course (GEOL 4800, Senior Project) in order to assess their ability to a) integrate the geology curriculum in its application to real problems; b) conduct independent research; c) communicate the results of that research in a written report; and d) present their results orally in a state, regional, or national professional meeting.

4. Many of the senior projects completed by SUU geology majors are undertaken in either Bryce Canyon or Zion National Park, under the National Park Service's supervision and sanction. This agency independently monitors the project and determines the form of the final report, providing a measure of external review.

5. Senior geology students will perform acceptably on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), since no nationally normed exam exists for the geosciences.

- Engineering Area:
1. Each student in the Integrated Engineering program will be required to pass the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam before graduating.

2. A major goal of the engineering area is to achieve the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accreditation in the coming few years. This will subject the program to the closest scrutiny.

3. Completion of a capstone project (ENGR4080) will be required by each student. A team of students will tackle a specific product development or a real-world engineering problem. Each student's ability to communicate in their field will be assessed by requiring the student to give both a written and an oral report of the project results. The successful completion of this capstone project will be demanded by a local industry which will fund the project.

- Physics area: A large number of students who take PHSC 2010 and 2040 sequence also take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) exam. The data will be gathered and analyzed in the following ways:

1. The performance of our students in the Physical Science portion of the MCAT will be compared to national norms.

2. The performance of students that get an A in physics will be compared to national norms. The performance of students that get a C or worse in physics will be compared to national norms. This will reveal how the students' physics grade is correlated to their subsequent performance in the MCAT.

3. The performance of our students in the Physical Science portion of the MCAT will be compared to their performance in the Biological Sciences portion of the test.

4. The performance of engineering students in the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam (FE) will assess the quality of the calculus-based Physics series, PHSC 2210 and 2240, since all the engineering students take this series.

Alumni Input

The effort to survey alumni actually involves two related efforts: tracking of majors and advising of majors. In the Department of Physical Science we will first commit ourselves to the tracking and advising effort. Once this process is well established and our data bases are substantial, we will then institute the alumni survey effort. It is worth noting that each stage in this process has its own substantial benefits.

Stage 1: Tracking and Advising of Majors

- Each area will establish a "gatekeeper course". This is a course that must be taken by majors before entrance to the junior and senior years. The duties of the teacher of this course will include:

1. Ensure that each student in the class is properly registered with the correct major.

2. Establish an advisement file for each student.

3. Assign each student to an advisor.

4. Require that each student visit his/her advisor during the semester of the "gatekeeper course" and at least once each year thereafter.

- Each graduating student will have an exit interview/survey with his/her advisor. This standardized interview/survey will be developed to specifically address departmental goals. At this interview, tracking information will be gathered to allow us to conduct our alumni surveys. Agreement will be obtained from the student that they can be contacted once every 3 years for an alumni survey. The importance of such a survey for continued departmental improvement will be impressed upon the student.

- Completion of this exit interview/survey will be required by the Department Chair before graduation papers are signed.

- After graduation papers are signed, the advisement file is filed by graduation year and by last name in the department office. This filing system is supervised by the responsible Division Head and forms the basis for the alumni survey data base.

- Six years after graduation, the information of an alumnus will be moved to a different data base. Both data bases may be used in scholarship fund raising efforts.

Stage II: Alumni Survey

- A data base of division alumni will be maintained for the purpose of conducting alumni surveys. The Alumni Relations Department (7777) will help furnish data on graduates.

- Alumni surveys will be developed in a standardized format that addresses main issues related to departmental goals. The design of this survey should be conducted with substantial input from individuals with expertise in such surveys. This survey should closely parallel many of the key questions of the exit survey.

- Each division will conduct an alumni survey at 3 year intervals. The surveys will rotate through the divisions on a 3 year rotation.

- The results of these surveys will be used by Division Heads for program evaluation.

- In order to properly supervise the survey, a faculty member in the division will be given a 3 credit hour release time.

- The duties of this faculty member will include the following:
1. Design/revise the survey and exit interview form. Revisions of these documents must be undertaken with care. For long-term trends to be apparent we need to have continuity in the forms of the questions asked.
2. Oversee the implementation of the survey. For maximum data validity anonymity of results will be guaranteed.
3. Supervise the follow-up telephone contact with non-responsive alumni. These telephone interviews will be performed by students and anonymity will be guaranteed. These interviews will be taped (with permission) and will adhere closely to the survey form. The interviews will be transcribed and entered into the survey forms.
4. Maintain alumni data bases.
5. Write a report on the survey.
- The survey report will contain the following sections:
1. An analysis of the survey results. A comparison with previous results. A determination of long-term trends.
2. An analysis of the implementation and results of recommendations of previous survey reports.
3. A list of recommendations resulting from the survey, designed to achieve closer adherence to departmental goals.
This report will be circulated to colleagues and presented and discussed at a division meeting.

The Division Head will author an assessment of the report, and commit to an implementation of report recommendations that meet with faculty approval. This assessment will be included as an addendum to the report.

The report will be submitted to the Department Chair and Dean for review.

These reports will be archived for program assessment purposes.

Some side benefits of the alumni survey are:
- It creates a network of alumni internship and job opportunities for current students and alumni.
- It establishes a data base of potential scholarship donors.
- It helps keep faculty abreast of current technological and market demands for our professions.
- It helps us recruit new students by alerting alumni to current programs and opportunities.
- It allows alumni the opportunity to share their job experiences and training with the current faculty and students.
- It provides field trip opportunities for our students.

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Last Update: Friday, June 06, 2003