Assessment

Mission

The Department of English engages students and faculty in the public presentation of ideas. By studying how individuals in specific historical, cultural, and rhetorical circumstances present their ideas to others through the medium of language, our students learn how to present their own ideas persuasively. They learn to raise key questions, gather relevant information, reach well-reasoned conclusions, weigh alternative systems of thought, and communicate effectively with others. The means by which they develop these abilities range from analyzing and creating literary works through presenting ideas in the classroom to composing professional documents and conducting cultural analysis. But, whatever the means, we are a department unified in the belief that articulating ideas is the most intense form of critical and creative thinking, and these, in turn, are the core of a university education.

Assessment Plan

To determine the effectiveness of the department's academic program, each degree and emphasis has developed an assessment plan available from the link at the upper right titled "Assessment Plans." The plans consist of two parts. The first is built around a set of five common learning goals that are assessed in all departmental emphases and at all levels. In addition, each degree and emphasis in the department measures a set of learning goals specific to it.

The common learning goals will be measured using the department-wide assesment rubric (below). The rubric is based on Mary J. Allen's Assessing Academic Programs in Higher Education (Bolton, MA: Anker, 2004), p. 142.

Common Learning Objectives in English and American Studies	Unacceptable: Evidence that the student has mastered this objective is not provided, unconvincing or very incomplete	Marginal: Evidence that the student has mastered this objective is provided, but it is weak or incomplete	Acceptable: Evidence shows that the student has generally attained this objective	Exceptional: Evidence demonstrates that the student has mastered this objective at a high level
Learning Objective 1: identify and develop key questions
Learning Objective 2: gather relevant information from both electronic, print, site-specific, and human sources
Learning Objective 3: reach compelling conclusions through the development of critical arguments, professional documents, or creative texts.
Learning Objective 4: weigh alternative systems of thought or approaches to craft, recognizing their assumptions, implications, and practical consequences.
Learning Objective 5: communicate ideas effectively or imaginatively in both writing and speaking

Each emphasis within the department also has a set of learning objectives specific to it. Thus, in addition to meeting the common objectives, which are shared across all emphases in the department, students will be expected to meet these more specific learning objectives.

HOW RUBRIC WILL BE USED TO COLLECT DATA

Each degree and emphasis in the department will collect data in the following manner for 2009

By December 4, 2009, each emphasis will collect 10-20 senior papers from its courses.
By December 4, each emphasis will designate 2-3 faculty member readers from its curriculum committee to read and evaluate the student work using the categories delineated in the rubric.
By January 29, 2010, each emphasis will evaluate the papers according to the categories delineated on the rubric, fill out the rubric, and turn in its evaluation for posting on the department's assessment website. Data will
be posted by the end of February.

After 2009, each degree and emphasis in the department will collect data annually in the following manner:

By the end of spring semester classes, each emphasis will collect 10-20 senior papers from its courses.
By the end of spring semester classes, each emphasis will designate 2-3 faculty member readers from its curriculum committee to read and evaluate the student work using the categories delineated in the rubric.
By November 1 of each year, each track will evaluate the papers and turn in its evaluation for posting on the department's assessment website.

Data will be posted by the end of January each year.

Learning Objectives and Matrices

This section describes the department's common learning objectives as well as the objectives specific to each emphasis and degree program. The Department of English has degrees in two areas: English and American Studies. English offers a bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees, while American Studies offers a bachelor's and master's. Emphases in English at the bachelor's level include Literary Studies, Professional and Technical Writing, English Teaching, and Creative Writing. On the master's level, the emphases are Technical Writing (offered only online) and Literature and Writing. At the doctoral level, the department offers a PhD in Theory and Practice of Professional Communication. In American Studies, bachelor's students develop their own emphasis within an interdisciplinary framework, while master's students can choose either an interdisciplinary emphasis or folklore.

Outcomes Data and Data-Based Decisions

Decisions about program changes are all based on the data gathered in accordance with the department's assessment plan. Each emphasis and degree program meets annually in the fall to review and analyze the data gathered during the previous year and contained in their annual reports. The outcomes of the common assessment goals are expressed numerically for the entire department and are communicated to the dean of the college and the Office of Analysis, Assessment, and Accreditation. The specific learning goals for each area are expressed narratively and are contained in annual reports. The reports are available from the link on the upper right titled "Program Reports." The annual report sets the agenda for the coming academic year as program results and improvements are discussed and implemented. The means of measurement here may include such procedures as exit interviews, focus groups, student surveys, and embedded assessment assignments.