Annual Program Assessment Report - BA: Social Science
Prepared by Dr. John Hajduk | 683-7291 | j_hajduk@umwestern.edu

HPSS Assessment Report Summary, 2006-07
written by Dr. Sean Eudaily

Being the first year of full implementation of the department’s assessment plan, there was much to be learned about assessment processes as well as assessment outcomes. From the data collected on the POLS outcome (the only summative outcome to be collected primarily from lower-division students) we learned that a lack of written communication skills is standing in the way of overall content learning. Changes made to the POLS 250 course between Fall of 2005 and Fall of 2006 seemed to have improved performance some, but the writing factor still over-determines the learning outcomes. The general trend remains evident in the data collected on the HIST outcome (from HIST 362, 452), with overall student proficiency levels being strong, but lower learning outcomes being specifically connected to lower written communication skills. The department was satisfied with the performance of students on the SOC outcome.

The one area identified for substantial change by our assessment data is the research outcome. Data collected from PSY/SOC 220 shows that significant numbers of students struggling to make even basic proficiency. We attribute this to the attempt to cover too much ground (both quantitative and qualitative methods in one block) in too little time. We feel that by dividing the class into two blocks, each a much more in-depth experience, then students will be better prepared to conduct the research expected of them for Senior Theses/Internships, while still being introduced to the range of methods throughout the Social Science.