Appendix E: Program Assessment Report

Summary of Assessment Activities

Program Assessment in the College of Natural Sciences

Assessment of program quality and student outcomes is an important component of program enhancement in the College of Arts and Sciences. The faculty has developed a consistent set of goals and objectives for each major that are assessed by multiple criteria. The common set of assessment measures used include course grades, national exams, graduate surveys, employer surveys and exit interviews.

Major Field Assessment Plans:

Complete assessment plan is available http://www.departments.dsu.edu/assessment/major_field/default.htm.

The assessment activities for each major within the college are summarized on a form that lists the goals, outcomes, and expected standard of performance. Assessment data are collected and used to determine whether the performance standard was achieved.

During the past 6 years, the overall pattern is that students met the desired standards of performance in all majors within the college. Most of the infrequent instances where a standard was not met were a consequence of small sample size and the performance of one student had a disproportionate effect. Graduate surveys, and exit interviews with graduating students indicate a high degree of satisfaction with the program.

Physical Science

The Physical Science programs met all standards for performance except scores on the Major Field Assessment Test (MFAT). The physical science majors consistently score well below national norms on the standardized chemistry exam. Part of this is attributed to the fact that there are no exams that examine the combined chemistry and physics programs. This shortcoming is a concern, but is counterbalanced by the fact that our students are successful in finding gainful employment, and are very successful in their post graduation careers.