Below are details of the Learner Outcomes Assessment Portfolio for the Department of Entomology.
How do faculty contribute to our assessment?
How does administration support our assessment?
What do students contribute to our assessment?
How do faculty contribute to our assessment?
Faculty members are responsible for the curriculum and its associated learning experiences that allow a student to earn a degree. Therefore, our faculty assumes the responsibility to assess the success of their curriculum by examining the degree to which learner outcomes are achieved. The items below will allow you to see how faculty members have constructed our curriculum, and how they measure and document its effectiveness.
A mature assessment program also requires that all faculty involved with the curriculum demonstrate knowledge of contemporary practices in outcomes assessment. You are invited to examine how we continue to develop our assessment skills and knowledge in order to keep our curriculum as effective as possible.
Examine:
| curriculum requirements for students to achieve this degree |
| measurable outcomes for each major learning goal of our curriculum. (e.g. How will one know that the major learning goals have been accomplished)? |
| our use of direct and indirect measures of outcomes achievement and how these measures are consistent with program goals. |
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ways our teachers remain current and knowledgeable in the practice of outcomes assessment. Faculty:
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How does administration support our assessment?
Who is responsible for administrative oversight of the program?
In the Department of Entomology, oversight of learner outcomes is the responsibility of the Learner Outcomes Assessment Committee. This standing committee is composed of: the Departmental Chair, Departmental Officer for Graduate Education (DOGE), and the Chair of the department's Curriculum Committee. The Departmental Chair serves as the Chair of the Learner Outcomes Assessment Committee. Current members of the committee are:
- Departmental Chair
- Departmental Director of Graduate Education (DOGE)
- Curriculum Committee Chair
- Undergraduate Student
How program administration has provided administrative support for our outcomes assessment efforts, specifically by:
- The College of Agriculture maintains an Outcomes Assessment Committee. This committee, composed of faculty representatives from each department of the college, meets to discuss and share information on improving outcomes assessment in the college and departments. The College also supports Ag Career Services, which collects job placement data that are shared with departments. Additionally, the College maintains the server on which some departmental outcomes assessment web pages reside.
- approving a budget line in support of assessment program.
There is no budget line from the University or College that comes to the deparment, nor one within the Department to support the assessment program. - instituting and maintaining recognition efforts for assessment work in the program.
Efforts in assessing student learning fall under the teaching area of the Position Responsibility Statement and are recognized during the Annual Performance Evaluation. - demonstrating written and verbal support for assessment programs.
Support for learning assessment is demonstrated by devoting faculty meeting time to planning and developing assessment plans and faculty are encouraged by the Chair to include Student Learning Outcomes in their course syllabi. - creating release time for faculty to provide assessment services.
There is no release time provided for development of student learning assessment; it is considered integral to the teaching responsibility. - committing resources for faculty development and scholarly endeavors in outcomes assessment.
- including assessment activities as a part of position description for both administrators and teaching faculty.
- defining and enacting implementation and improvement strategies at administrative levels.
What do students contribute to our assessment?
As the primary "stakeholder" in our curriculum, students provide valued input in the assessment of learning. These items below allow us to document the ways in which learners contribute to curricular improvement and to document the achievement of learner outcomes.
- How our students explain and demonstrate their knowledge of the principles, practices and benefits of the program
- How students participate in the continued demonstration of the program
- How students are actively serving on assessment committees