OUTCOME
ASSESSMENT
Department
Background:
The Department of Earth, Ecological, and Environmental
Sciences (EEES) came into existence in July of 2000. The new department was formed from the
preexisting Geology Department and the ecology component of the Biology
Department. The new EEES department then
took control of both the environmental sciences and environmental studies
programs that had formerly been housed in the
Department
The mission of the Department of Earth, Ecological and Environmental Sciences is to provide an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to the traditional academic pursuits of teaching, research and service in the areas of environmental science, geology and ecology, particularly at the interface of ecology and geology. The Department is committed to excellence in preparing undergraduate and graduate students for a career in the profession by providing research opportunities and instruction that includes laboratory and field experiences and development of writing, computer and problem-solving skills. The Department is dedicated to a research agenda that includes traditional topics in ecology and geology with a primary focus on addressing environmental problems of societal value that will ultimately improve the quality of life of the region, the state, nation and the world while promoting sound economic development. The Department is also committed to community service through educational outreach and collaborative efforts with industry, government agencies and other interested groups on issues of public concern that are governed by environmental, ecological and geological constraints.
General Statement on Assessment:
The faculty of the Department of Earth, Ecological, and Environmental Sciences are committed to the outcome assessment process. We see assessment as a means of continuous evaluation and reinforcement of those principles, goals and objectives that contribute to the development of a well-informed citizen as well as a stepping-stone toward a career in science. The Department has multiple majors including a BS & BA in geology, BS in environmental science, and a BA in environmental studies. In addition, we also have an interdepartmental major in geophysics.
The assessment plan for the Department begins with comprehensive and timely advising. Our goal is for each student to be clearly informed of both requirements and expectations in each course of the major. Instructors are also encouraged to continuously reinforce goals and objectives from earlier courses throughout the major. These goals and objectives are expected to be fluid in nature and to culminate in upper-level classroom and/or field-based capstone courses, senior exit exams, and a follow-up alumni questionnaire for all graduates. An internship is required of both environmental science and environmental studies majors, and is highly recommended for geology majors.
The overall objective for our students is to acquire a foundational understanding, familiarity with, and working knowledge of general geological and environmental sciences. Each course within our several majors contain detailed objectives and skills, which are described within syllabi and reinforced in course and lab content, and in personal and group communications with instructors.
UNDERGRADUATE ASSESSMENT
Educational
Objectives and Student Outcomes:
1. Geology and ecology begin with the ability to observe and identify/classify the diverse flora, fauna, and earth materials of our planet (microbes, plants, animals, soils, minerals, rocks, fossils, etc).
A student, with the aid of appropriate tools (hand lens, microscopes, etc.) and with the appropriate classification charts or keys, should be reasonably accomplished in identification of those entities appropriate to the major. These techniques are emphasized and tested in laboratory sessions, field settings and courses, and investigative assignments. They are reviewed in capstone and field courses.
2. Geology and ecology are field-related and field-oriented sciences. The student, with the appropriate field and analytical tools, must demonstrate an appropriate familiarity and level of expertise in field-related investigative work to the specific major in upper-level courses.
Some of the many tools used and/or demonstrated include – various computer software, data loggers, ecological and geological maps, air-photos, GPS technology, digital mapping, compasses and other orienting tools, chemical instrumentation, geophysical equipment, drilling equipment, and biological and geological sampling tools and techniques.
3. The student should have a basic mental construct and understanding of the evolution of the earth and the interactions of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere that directly and indirectly affect the fortunes of life on earth.
The mega-concepts of plate tectonics and evolution are used throughout our program as unifying themes. Topics considered important include mountain building, volcanoes, earthquakes, oceanography, origin of minerals and rocks, erosion and soil formation; environmental processes and cycles such as groundwater, surface water, atmospheric gases, and energy flow; the dynamics of plant and animal populations; and elemental cycles such as carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen.
4. The student will be aware of the current interactions and complexities of our world concerning earth, ecological, and environmental problems that face us today and be an informed citizen ready to take part in tomorrow’s debates and solutions.
Some problems considered important in courses and seminars are global warming; pollution and remediation of water, soil and air; habitat and species loss; population and ecosystem dynamics; and geological hazards.
5. The department is committed in providing, and expects its students to be accomplished with the appropriate related tools from chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics (especially data analysis), and computing for investigation and problem solving.
Appropriate courses outside (statistic course) as well as in the department are required and these tools are used in most upper-level courses, laboratories, and in investigative assignments.
6. The student is expected to be able to find, read, and critically evaluate relevant literature, and to be able to present science information clearly in both oral and written form.
These tools are used in most courses and reinforced especially in both WAC and capstone courses.
7. Finally, upon graduation, the student should be accomplished within the discipline so as to obtain employment in the field or gain access to appropriate graduate studies.
Graduate tracking through our alumni questionnaire, and in the future, our alumni newsletter will keep us informed of our graduates.
Types of
Assessment:
Proper and timely advising within the department (including college and university requirements) is necessary for student success, and it is also a tool for assessment through informal student interviews during the advising process. To this end, the Department has set a goal of no more than 30-35 students per advisor. We are committed to being available for meetings with students when the need arises and will try, as far as is possible, to have an open-door policy. Through departmental advisor meetings we are better able to coordinate our activities and share assessment feedback for all the student populations within the Department.
Each advisor will inform students of the following during advising:
a) The general outcome assessment procedures of the Department.
b) The course work and electives best suited to the degree component.
c) The ideal and mandatory course sequence to best realize the degree sought.
d) Internship and summer employment positions in the field.
e) Career counseling including both employment and graduate studies in the field.
The Department keeps track of and evaluates the time for graduation as well as the retention rates for the department. This information is used to facilitate advising as well as to help students realize a major in timely fashion after coming into the program late.
B. Course Sequencing:
Correct course sequencing is important so that a major can achieve the necessary background (prerequisites) to succeed in future courses. We encourage all instructors to inform the student of pre- and post-course goals and objectives for each course in the major and to discuss how each course fits into the overall preparation of a career scientist. In addition, the Department encourages all instructors to test the student, where applicable, on course prerequisites as a reinforcement of material the student has had in previous courses. Instructors are informed of senior exit exam scores that pertain to their sub-discipline enabling them to respond in the classroom where needed.
C. Classroom Capstone Courses And Senior Exit Exams:
The core knowledge and skills are taught in the Department’s courses but the student may not retain all of these throughout their tenure as a major. To review and reinforce these intended educational outcomes, we use designated capstone courses within each major during the junior/senior year.
The geology major includes a required capstone course entitled “Senior Geology Seminar” (EEES 4920). This course was specifically designed for assessment. It covers the basics in the field of geology and is used to bring the student up to date on any major advances in the field. It is taught by one professor using a comprehensive freshman/sophomore text as well as other materials, but also gives the opportunity for all other instructors to meet and discuss key concepts from their courses and advances in their individual sub-disciplines. Students are tested weekly on basic text material as well as pertinent laboratory and other skill areas that were taught in beginning and advanced courses. A departmental exit exam is administered during finals week (see below for exit exam particulars). The course grade is a reflection of weekly work but the exit exam is not used in the course grade.
The Environmental sciences/studies majors are required to take a similar capstone course entitled “Literature and Communications in the Environmental Sciences” (EEES 3900). Experts within and outside of the Department are used to expand and enhance environmental content. It is a writing intensive course and a great deal of stress is placed on developing good communication skills. A departmental exit exam is also included in this course for all environmental science and studies majors.
Senior exit exams in both geology and environmental sciences/studies are a key part of the Department’s assessment process. The exam questions are created by the instructors that teach the required courses in the major and are apportioned such that a general survey of teaching effectiveness in the major is possible. The rationale for the questions is to test for key knowledge and skills that a student should possess after graduation from the program. The results of the exam are returned to each instructor involved with the mandatory curriculum to access if changes are needed in the exit questions, in the required courses taught, and/or if further refinements of the capstone courses should be made. A yearly report is provided to the chairman of the department and to the faculty for evaluation. Student progress and program effectiveness is thereby monitored through this yearly feedback mechanism.
D. Field-Related Capstone
Courses:
Geology, ecology, and the environmental sciences are strongly field-based disciplines and thus our majors also need a field-based capstone course(s). The department offers a yearly geology/ecology field-trip course, of at least one-week duration, that is open to all majors. In addition, several other courses within the department offer field activities both locally and sometimes abroad. In addition, all majors take either a field-related capstone course (geology majors) or an internship (environmental sciences/studies majors).
The geology major is required to take a five/six week off-campus, field course that is taken either through our Department or outside at another university. This course introduces the student to field-based geology techniques and due to its content and nature, involves a synthesis of all past work in the major. The field course is an intensive course, placing the student into the role as a working geologist doing field investigations. It reviews old and introduces new field and laboratory techniques and skills, involves data synthesis and report writing, and stresses teamwork with other students.
The environmental sciences/studies major is required to do an internship of one hundred plus hours in a lab or in the environmental field, and is further encouraged to take at least one field-based junior/senior elective course from the menu of courses within the area of concentration. The internship requires the student to investigate and choose an internship that best suits their interests and needs. The student must first write an internship proposal. Upon completion of the internship, the student writes a report critiquing the experience and accessing the knowledge and skills acquired. These are reviewed by the advisors and used in formulating and assessing the internship program. A yearly critique of the internship program and the students involved is part of the assessment program.
E. Alumni Questionnaire:
As a final assessment instrument, we use an alumni questionnaire administered three years after graduation. A three-year survey should find students at work in either the field or in graduate studies. This is an ideal time for the student to reflect on their education and its applicability to their career. This instrument is available on the WWW as well as by mail. In addition, the alumni questionnaire enables us to track and evaluate our graduates, the most important feedback we have to the strengths and weaknesses of our program.
In addition, the Department publishes a yearly alumni newsletter. This instrument will be incorporated into, and used in our assessment efforts in the future.
Timeline for
Undergraduate Assessment
The new required assessment course in geology (Senior Geology Seminar, EEES 4920) is being taught for the first time this year. The Department’s senior exit exams in both geology and environmental sciences/studies will be formally administered for the first time this spring (2004) and will be given yearly hereafter. Exit exams have been given on a volunteer basis in past years as we grappled with the best way to access our students.
Exit questionnaires of several types have been given in past years for the geology major. The Environmental sciences/studies program is relatively new and exit questionnaires will only be coming on-line in the next 2-3 years. Although exit questionnaires concerning the geology major have been productive, the numbers of responses were often disappointing. This spring (2004) we will be putting our questionnaire on the Department’s web site as well as sending it out in the mail. In addition, we hope to use the Department’s alumni newsletter as means of advertising the exit questionnaire and to possibly use it as a feedback mechanism to the alumni.
Specific
Program/Curricular Changes:
The geology capstone course (Senior Geology Seminar) is a new, required course in the geology major, and is primarily for reinforcement and assessment purposes. Course content in the environmental capstone courses has changed to enhance assessment. With feedback from our capstone courses, exit exams, and questionnaires, we expect to see other curricular shifts and modifications.
Undergraduate
Assessment Liaisons:
V. Max Brown and Elliot Tramer (assessment coordinators)
and
Mike Phillips, Chairman
GRADUATE STUDENT ASSESSMENT
The Department currently offers four graduate degrees: MS in
Biology (Ecology Track), PhD in Biology (Ecology Track), MS in Geology, and MS
in Science and Education (offered jointly with the
The Department only recently learned that an 'outcome assessment' plan is needed for its graduate programs and so has not had time to give this matter much thought.
Dr. Johan F. Gottgens, graduate adviser and coordinator for Ecology
Dr. James A. Harrell, graduate adviser and coordinator for Geology
CONCLUSION:
The Department of Earth, Ecological, and Environmental Sciences is concerned with assessment. Because of the general turmoil of reorganization and changes in course content and requirements for degrees, our new Department is setting a course that will necessarily change and better reflect our evolving goals and mission.