ANTHROPOLOGY ASSESSMENT PLAN

Student Outcomes:

An Anthropology major is expected to be able to identify salient terms and to demonstrate familiarity with theories and methodologies current in the field’s several subdivisions: cultural anthropology, biological anthropology, archeology and linguistic anthropology.

Anthropology majors are expected to be able to construct a research design in at least one area such as ethnographic fieldwork, the use of historical data, identification and interpretation of fossil materials and analyses of materials from an archeological site.

An Anthropology major should be able to calculate and interpret descriptive statistics, formulate hypotheses and be familiar with basic inferential statistical methods.

An Anthropology major must show evidence of being able to think critically and apply anthropological principles and demonstrate an awareness of the ethical issues governing research and publication.

Mission:

The Anthropology program serves the individual undergraduate student, the academic community, and also our local community and society in general. The program has a strong commitment to the principles of a broad liberal education, which seeks to prepare students to be informed citizens to have an appreciation for systematic thinking, social diversity and the mechanisms of social-cultural change. The program has a generalist orientation, as course work introduces students to major subdivisions in the filed. Within specific courses in these divisions students are exposed to the methods of research and analysis that professional anthropologists employ.

Educational Objectives:

The B.A. degree in Anthropology prepares students to enter graduate programs or develop careers in a great variety of fields including anthropology, sociology, medicine, public health, law, business, education and international studies.

Types of Assessment:

We will provide several options to graduating seniors, which will assess the program’s strengths and weaknesses. The two options available for 2004 (Spring) are either writing an exit essay on one of several topics* or the writing of an Honors thesis for those who qualify.

Beginning in Fall 2005 graduating students will have a choice of taking a comprehensive exit exam (constructed by members of the Anthropology division of the department), a capstone experience involving original research, or Honors theses for those students who quality. The essays/exams, theses and capstone experience papers will be read by at least three members of the Anthropology program.

Analyses by the faculty of the varied student responses to these several options will allow us to identify substantive areas in our discipline that may need more attention in our curriculum.

These various options all share the goal of assessing students’ ability to think critically and to apply anthropological principles and demonstrate an awareness of the code of ethics of the American Anthropological Association.

Specific Changes to Curriculum and Program:

There is a pressing need to recruit two anthropologists. One must be able to teach Anthropological Theory, Social Organization, and Kinship with a research interest in Linguistics and Native American cultures; while the second must be able to teach Applied Anthropology and have a research interest in China and/or Japan. It is worth noting that the Department has not sought to recruit a Ph.D. in Anthropology in the past 30 years and there exists a desperate need to cover important topics and areas as well as simply some “fresh blood” in the program.

Specific Changes in Department Program Planning and Resource Allocation over last 2 to 3 years:

See above.

Timeline for Assessment:

We will request graduating Anthropology majors enrolled in various courses in our program to write an exit essay in the final week of the spring semester of 2004. The program’s advisor (Angela Siner) will also notify all graduating students of this obligation. In the fall semester of 2005, the Anthropology faculty will design instruments for assessment to be administered at the conclusion of the term.

Assessment Liaisons – 2004-2005:

Professors (Metress, Stothers, Leons, Siner, Strobel, and Light) who teach Medical Anthropology, Ethnology, Archeology, Physical Anthropology, and Linguistics will be responsible for administering the exit and other assessment instruments.

The department chairperson (Barbara Chesney) and the Sociology-Anthropology Assessment Committee (Professors Coventry, Nigem, Van Hoy, Stoecker, and Leons in 2003-2004) will be responsible for analyzing the program’s assessment findings.

The department chairperson (Barbara Chesney) and the Sociology-Anthropology Assessment Committee will be responsible for preparing a report of detailing recommended program changes based on assessment findings.