Outcomes Data
U.S.U. Political Science Department 1999-2006
The Political Science Department assesses educational outcomes in several ways. The two most important Political Science assessment tools are annually conducted exit surveys of graduating seniors, and faculty measurement of student learning outcomes in required capstone courses. Political Science 4990, Senior Research Seminar, is the capstone course for Political Science majors, with Law and Constitutional Studies majors completing either Political Science 5130, Law and Policy, or Political Science 5140, Law, Politics, and War, as a capstone course.
Other forms of Political Science Department assessment include the on-the-job performance evaluation of Political Science students serving in the U.S.U. Government Internship Program, tracking the post graduate careers of Political Science majors, and compiling records of received honors and program activity relevant to the educational mission of the University, such as Political Science faculty teaching awards and accolades for Pi Sigma Alpha, the Political Science student honorary. In addition, the Political Science Department submitted itself to a comprehensive, external, University assessment of its educational effectiveness in 2002 when it competed successfully for first annual U.S.U. departmental teaching award.
Exit Interview Data 1999-2005
A transition in departmental administration resulted in the department failing to conduct exit surveys in 2006. The exit surveys from 1999-2005 consist mostly of open ended questions on the effectiveness of particular courses and faculty, with some open ended questions dealing with the program generally, and a closed ended question asking the students to rank the faculty. The data pertaining to particular courses and faculty have been useful to the department in tenure and promotion decisions, but these data reveal little about attainment of learning objectives and other programmatic objectives. Responses to the open ended questions that deal with the program generally are very complementary but quite diffuse.
A Summary of the Findings on Particular Courses
The department courses regarded as most valuable by the students were:
Political Science 1100: U.S. Government
Political Science 2200: Comparative Politics
Political Science 3120: Law and Politics
Political Science 3130: U.S. Legislative Politics
Political Science 3170: Law and Economics
Political Science 3210: Western European Politics
Political Science 4120: American Constitutional Law
Political Science 4990: Senior Research Seminar
P.S. 4120 received more positive comments than any other course. The methodology employed here is strongly biased in favor of courses that have large enrollments, such as P.S. 1100. Not surprisingly, many courses with small enrollments that receive excellent student evaluations were seldom mentioned in the exit interviews. The courses that prompted the greatest number of negative comments are no longer offered by the department.
A Summary of the Findings on the Political Science Program
1. The students perceive the department to be one of the best teaching departments at U.S.U.
2. The students perceive the department to be one of the most demanding departments at U.S.U., often describing it as the most demanding they had encountered.
3. The department requires more writing than most other departments, and on the whole we teach writing very well.
4. Departmental advising isn't perfectly consistent, but it is very good on the whole, and we are perceived as being highly accessible. Several department members, including some nominated for, or selected as, the HASS Advisor of the Year, are seen as especially helpful and accommodating to students.
5. The internship program does an outstanding job of serving our students, but some students have unrealistic expectations about the program, expecting to find opportunities that do not exist.
6. The students want us to offer a greater variety of upper division courses.
7. The most common suggestion for program improvement is that we should do more to help students plan and prepare for careers. The internship program and “Careers in Government” win high marks from the students in this regard, but the students want us to be more systematic and sustained in our efforts.
8. The students would like us to communicate more regularly with them--about events, our expectations, opportunities, etc. They sense that there should be more cohesiveness to the program.
A Summary of Faculty Evaluations of Learning Outcomes in Capstone Courses
In general, the faculty evaluations of learning outcomes in capstone courses are somewhat less positive than the student observations about learning outcomes captured in the exit surveys.
The most common faculty observations are:
1. Most of our students are fairly well versed factually
2. Most of our students can make effective oral presentations.
3. The analytical, research and writing skills of the students entering P.S. 4990 range from poor to excellent. A wide majority of the students appear to be adequate or better in these areas, but several of the faculty expressed disappointment over the deficiencies of the weaker students, especially their lack of writing skill.
4. Some of our students have very little comprehension of the basics of research design when they enter P.S. 4990, failing, for example, to understand what a “hypothesis” or a “variable” is.
5. Most of the students who enter P.S. 4990 with insufficient research , analytical, and writing skills, or without any understanding of research design, do improve greatly when they take P.S. 4990.
6. Imparting research skills and assessing learning outcomes in P.S. 4990 is sometimes difficult because the research methods employed by the faculty teaching P.S. 4990 are often not in congruence with the research interests and research methods that students have acquired in other, previous courses.
On-the-Job Performance in the U.S.U. Government Internship Program
Praise for the on-the-job performance of U.S.U. government interns is almost universal, and U.S.U. government interns have an excellent rate of placement in permanent positions. In a recent comparison of all Utah government internship programs, the U.S.U. internship program ranked number one in translation to permanent job opportunities related to the internship. The success of Political Science students is primarily a result of the skills of our students, but also reflects on their preparation and advising by the Department led by Intern Director Cindy Nielsen.
University Assessment of Political Science 2002 U.S.U. Departmental Teaching Award
In 2002, a university committee selected the Political Science Department as one of two winners of the first U.S.U. Departmental Teaching Award. The committee selected the Political Science Department on the basis of its “commitment to sustained excellence in teaching and learning, an ongoing assessment and improvement of teaching and learning quality, faculty development for teaching, provision of resources for students and lastly, linking discovery, creative activity and engagement with teaching and learning for the benefit of students.” Members of the selection committee made visits to the departments and observed teaching techniques and classroom activity. Among the many attributes that reflect commitment to teaching excellence, the classroom evaluations focused on management of class time, engagement of students, respect for students and preparation for class. Teaching enthusiasm, rigor and knowledge of subject were measured, as were communication, effective use of teaching aids and student attendance.