Introduction
The current outcomes assessment plan and report provides the following information:
The report will discuss the department's undergraduate program first and then the graduate program offered by the department and will cover the five points listed above.
UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM
(Bachelor of Community Health – BCH)
1,2,3) Stage 3: Outcomes Assessment Plan.
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Direct measures of Undergraduate Student's Learning
Assessment test/exam offered in HLS 100.
Preceptors. |
Performance Measures: Methods of Assessment and Activities Students take the English writing test/exam in HLS 100 and are required to score 37 percentile or greater. Performance Measures Used:
Each undergraduate student is enrolled in a 6-credit hour field experience course (320 clock-hours) to gain practical/hands-on experience in Community Health. Students are required to receive adequate/positive evaluations from their field preceptors, receive a C" or higher overall grade for the course, make an oral presentation of their work at the end of the semester faculty/students meeting, and submit a portfolio of their work to be maintained in the Department library. Performance Measures Used:
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C. Student Grades and Evaluations from Outside reviewers in the Capstone course HLS 499. |
HLS 499 is the department’s undergraduate Capstone course that requires students to receive a "C" or better overall grade and a ‘good – excellent’ evaluations on their projects from external reviewers.
Performance Measures Used:
No. of A’s No. of B’s No. of C’s
Excellent Very Good Good Fair Needs improvement |
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D. Pass rate on the professional certification Examination for "Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES)." |
Undergraduate students are encouraged to take the national professional certification examination (‘Certified Health Education Specialist’-CHES) either in the last two semesters before they graduate or immediately after graduation. Copies of the examination results are directly sent to the department biannually. Performance Measures Used:
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4a. Results of Outcomes Assessment Activities
The following section describes the results related to the direct measures used to assess student learning outcomes in the undergraduate program:
One of the important undergraduate students’ learning measures is the percentile scores in the department’s English writing test/exam. Students are required to score 37 percentile or greater to be successful. During the Fall1999, Spring 2000, and Summer 2000, a total of 23 students took the writing test/exam with the following results.
Number of students who were enrolled in HLS 100 during Fall 1999,
Spring 2000, Summer 2000: 23
Number of students who took the test/exam: 23
Number of students who scored a passing grade of 37 percentile or greater: 21
PASS RATE: 91%
Each undergraduate student enrolls in a 6-credit hour field experience course and completes 320 clock hours of internship to gain practical/hands-on experience in the fields of public health and community health education. The following results were recorded on the direct students’ learning measures.
Number of students enrolled in the field experience course during
Fall 1999, Spring 2000, and Summer 2000: 35
Number of students who received an adequate/positive evaluation from their field experience preceptors: 35
Number who received an overall course grade of "C" or better: 32*
Number of students who presented their work as an oral presentation: 32*
Number of students who have submitted their portfolios: 30*
* Lower numbers represent the fact that a few students continued with their field experience beyond one semester and are currently in the process of submitting their portfolios and making their oral presentation in Fall 2000.
All of the students (100%) enrolled in the field experience course received adequate/positive evaluations from their field experience preceptors. A total of 91% received an overall course grade of "C" or greater at the completion of their field experience. Similarly, a high percentage of the students presented their work (91%) and submitted their portfolios to the department (86%). The field experience course is an essential component of the undergraduate program and reflects students’ abilities to apply classroom knowledge and learning to practice settings and community based public health and health education projects and interventions.
HLS 499, the departmental undergraduate Capstone course requires students to receive an overall course grade of "C" or better and receive a "Good-Excellent" evaluation from external reviewers on their class assignments/projects. This course is designed to be a comprehensive overview and integration of the content covered in the undergraduate program and its application to three community-wide public health and community health education projects. The following results were obtained for this student-learning measure.
Number of students who enrolled in HLS 499 during Fall 1999,
Spring 2000, Summer 2000: 27
Overall student grades:
Number of A’s: 1
Number of B’s: 18
Number of C’s: 6
External Reviews:
Excellent: 5
Very Good: 13
Good 7
Overall, 93% of the students received a "C" or better grade in the course, a majority (72%) of the students received a "B" grade. With regards to the external evaluations, 20% received an excellent evaluation, 52% received a very good evaluation, and 28% received a good evaluation.
Undergraduate students in the department are encouraged to take the certification exam during the final two semesters of their study. Practitioners in the community indicate the relevance and utility of this certification exam. Potential employers indicate that the certification provides a standard to evaluate job applicants. The undergraduate program curriculum covers the content included in the CHES certification examination. Additionally, the department offers a 1-credit CHES preparation course. The following results were obtained for this student-learning measure.
Number of students who took the certification exam: 6
Number of students who passed the exam: 5
PASS RATE: 83%
Overall, 20-30% of the undergraduate students tend to take the certification exam before they graduate from the BCH program. Busy schedules, work and school issues, and cost of the exam have served as barriers to students taking the exam in the final semester or two of their study. However, students indicate their intention to take the exam after they graduate and become employed. However based on those who do take the exam while they were in school, the pass rate has been very high (83%).
4b. Anticipated Use of Results
The results from the outcomes assessments related to direct student learning measures will help guide the undergraduate program coordinator and other faculty in making decisions and changes in course content, course offerings and schedule, inclusion of field experience sites, and in offering special courses such as the CHES preparatory course. One of the areas for improvement is to find ways to reduce the perceived barriers to help students successfully complete the CHES exam while enrolled in the program. The results have and will continue to influence the department's hiring of new tenure-track and/or full time faculty and/or adjunct faculty. The results of past assessment's reports have been crucial in the successful re-accreditation of the Bachelor of Community Health program for five more years, 2000-2005.
5. Dissemination of Results
The results of the assessment of direct student learning measures will be disseminated in the following ways:
GRADUATE PROGRAM
(Master of Public Health in Community Health Education)
1,2,3) Stage 3. Outcomes Assessment Plan
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Direct Measures of Graduate Student Learning
Preceptors. |
Performance Measures and Methods of Assessment and Activities The MPH program has 11 core courses. Students are required to score "B" or better grades in these courses. Performance Measures Used: The core courses offered in each academic year, number of students enrolled in each, and the number of students receiving a "B" or better grade are compiled. Course No. No.Students Enroll'd "B"/Better
Each graduate student is enrolled in a 3-credit hour field experience (160 clock hours) to gain practical/hands-on experience in public health and community health Education. Students are required to receive adequate/positive evaluations from their field preceptors, receive an overall course grade of "B" or higher, make an oral presentation of their work at the end of the semester, and submit a portfolio of their work to be maintained in the department library. Performance Measures Used:
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examination for "Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES)".
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Graduate students are encouraged to take the certification (CHES) examination either in the last two semesters before they graduate or immediately after graduation. Copies of the examination results are directly sent to the department biannually. Performance Measures Used:
Departmental graduate students have the option of completing comprehensive exams (written and oral, non-thesis option) or a research-based theses and its defense (thesis option). Both culminating events are open to all students and faculty. Each exam/student thesis committee is chaired by a departmental faculty (of students' choice), a departmental faculty member, and a dean's representative (from another department). Performance Measures Used:
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4a. Results of Outcomes Assessment Activities
The following section documents the results obtained from the direct measures used to assess graduate students’ learning in the MPH program.
The graduate (MPH) students are required to take 11 courses that are considered core courses in the program. Student learning was assessed by documenting the number of students who received a "B" or better in each of these courses. This data is compiled in the table below:
| Course No. |
No. of
students enrolled |
"B" or better grade
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| MPH 500 |
13
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11 (85%)
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| MPH 510 |
11
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8 (73%)
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| MPH 520 |
11
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6 (55%)
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| MPH 530 |
15
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12 (80%)
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| MPH 540 |
6
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6 (100%)
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| MPH 550 |
7
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6 (86%)
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| MPH 570 |
5
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5 (100%)
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| MPH 572 |
5
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5 (100%)
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| MPH 573 |
3
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3 (100%)
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| MPH 574 |
3
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3 (100%)
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| MPH 579 |
6
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6 (100%)
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As the table above indicates, a majority of the students had received a "B" of better grade in the core courses.
An essential ingredient of student learning is their ability to apply and integrate classroom and theoretical knowledge to practice. The field experience course provides this unique opportunity and is a required course in the MPH program. The program has been flexible to allow for students to serve as interns in either local or state/national agencies that meets their interests and needs.
Each graduate student enrolls in a 3-credit hour field experience course and completes 160 clock hours of internship to gain practical/hands-on experience in the fields of public health and community health education. The following results were recorded on the direct students’ learning measures.
Number of students enrolled in the field experience course during
Fall 1999, Spring 2000, and Summer 2000: 3
Number of students who received an adequate/positive evaluation
from their field experience preceptors: 3
Number who received an overall course grade of "B" or better: 3
Number of students who presented their work as an oral presentation: 3
Number of students who have submitted their portfolios: 3
The field experience course is an essential component of the graduate program and as indicated previously reflects students’ abilities to apply classroom knowledge and learning to practice settings and community based public health and health education projects and interventions.
D. Pass rate in professional certification examination "CHES:"
Like the undergraduate students, departmental graduate students are encouraged to take the certification exam during the final two semesters of their study. Practitioners in the community indicate the relevance and utility of this certification exam. Potential employers indicate that the certification provides a standard to evaluate job applicants. The graduate program curriculum covers the content included in the CHES certification examination. Additionally, the department offers a 1-credit CHES preparation course. The following results were obtained for this student-learning measure. The results below reflect the combined numbers for the graduate and undergraduate program.
Number of students who took the certification exam: 6
Number of students who passed the exam: 5
PASS RATE: 83%
Overall, 10-20% of the graduate students tend to take the certification exam before they graduate from the MPH program. More students who intend to stay in this geographic area appear to take the certification exam. Busy schedules, work and school issues, and cost of the exam have served as barriers to students taking the exam in the final semester or two of their study. However, students indicate their intention to take the exam after they graduate and become employed. However based on those who do take the exam while they were in school, the pass rate has been very high (83%).
MPH graduate students have the option of selecting one of the two options available for their culminating event. The events are open to all students and faculty and are designed to evaluate students’ overall knowledge, understanding, and skills in core public health topic areas as well as their special area of interest. The following results were compiled for the 1999-2000 academic year (Fall 2000, Spring 2000, and Summer 2000).
No. of students who graduated in the academic year 1999-2000: 8
No. of students who selected the non-thesis option: 5 (63%) No. of students who were successful: 5 (100%)
No. of students who selected the thesis option: 3 (37%)
No. of students who were successful: 3 (100%)
A larger number of students selected the non-thesis option. However an increasing number are beginning to select the thesis option because of personal interest in pursuing graduate school. The recent accreditation of the MPH program and efforts to hire a research/biostatistician appear to play a role in changing the above trend.
4b. Anticipated Use of Results
The results from these outcomes assessment efforts will guide the graduate program coordinator and other departmental faculty in making useful and effective decisions and changes in:
In fact, these activities helped the department make a successful and rational case for new faculty lines and/or fill existing vacant lines, and successfully apply and receive accreditation for its MPH program and plan for a new minor (in Border Health) to begin soon.
4c. Dissemination of Results
The results of the outcomes assessment activities will be disseminated in the following ways: