College of the Sciences Primate Behavior and Ecology Program

II.H. Assessment of Programs and Students

II.H.1. List student learner outcomes for each graduate or undergraduate degree program

Although learner outcomes exist for each course taught in the PBE program, outcomes were not developed for the program as a whole until fall 2007. Assessment has become a university-wide concern, and during 2007-8, PBE along with other departments and programs participated in assessment workshops. The College of the Sciences offered an assessment workshop on 9/6/07 to provide programs and departments with assessment models and college and university educational goals. Workshop results were added into the PBE assessment plan that was developed in fall 2007. The resultant program goals and student learner outcomes are included in the appendix.

The basic assessment plan for the PBE degree includes 1) interviews conducted when the student enters and exits the program; 2) the assembly of a portfolio by the student that illustrates her or his mastery of program content and makes explicit the program’s values and goals, where the portfolio is submitted during a senior capstone course; 3) collection of course-embedded indicators of student mastery of concepts using course-specific student learner outcomes, 4) annual alumni survey, and 5) regular meetings among program faculty to reflect upon and respond to assessment results.

Data collection on some components of the above assessment plan will begin spring quarter 2008, targeting students enrolled in Laboratory Work in Primatology (PRIM 320) and Pongid Behavior (ANTH 416). Alumni were surveyed in summer 2007.

II.H.1.a. list the assessment tools or procedures used to assess students as they enter the degree program.

When the student declares major, the advisor asks questions about the student’s attitudes and values, which will be revisited during the exit interview. The advisor also provides information to the student on program goals and student learner outcomes, the capstone course, the portfolio (including classes that provide experiences to be included in portfolio), and the exit interview.

Throughout the student’s completion of the PBE curriculum, he or she collects items to include in the portfolio and meets regularly with her or his advisor. Course-embedded data are also gathered by the program director (e.g., students’ performances on tests).

II.H.1.b. list the assessment tools used to assess students exiting or graduating from the program.

The last quarter in the PBE degree, the student enrolls in a 1-2 credit capstone course taught by the program director. She presents her portfolio as evidence of her mastery of various topics in primatology. She completes an exit interview with the program director, which revisits her attitudes and values as originally reported when she joined the program. The program director uses portfolio artifacts to address program benchmarks. The capstone course is being developed and will be submitted to the curriculum committee spring 2008.

II.H.1.c. list the assessment tools used to assess alumni of the program including results from alumni survey completed for this academic program review. Beginning summer 2007, program faculty implemented an alumni survey (administered through the university) that asked specific questions about the program, how the graduate is using her or his education, and whether skills acquired in the program, such as writing scientific reports, behavioral data collection, and habitat assessment, are more generally applicable in the graduate’s current work or academic setting.

During subsequent summers, the annual alumni survey will be administered on-line, and results will be compiled and distributed to program faculty by the program director. During fall quarter, program faculty will meet to discuss and develop a plan to respond to all assessment results. Program faculty will also provide the program director with additional indicators used to assess the program’s success, such as the number of publications or grants submitted with students.

II.H.2. Based upon the results from each of the assessment tools listed above:

II.H.2.a. describe how teaching and learning has been affected

In nearly all courses, instructors administer student evaluation of instruction survey forms (SEOIs) toward the end of the quarter. Instructors receive students’ written and objective evaluations the following quarter. Instructors use these data to improve their teaching, and SEOI results are required components of personnel files. Results do not yet exist for the new assessment plan.

II.H.2.b. list the strengths of the program’s students

In program faculty’s admittedly subjective assessment of the program, opportunities with hands-on research with primates stands out. Students self-report coming to our campus for the opportunities to study and care for chimpanzees using humane, non-invasive techniques. As a consequence, the program tends to attract students from across the US (while the campus in general attracts a more local population), and perhaps students of higher GPAs. PBE students come here for this particular program. Objective data will be available beginning spring 2008, based on the new assessment plan.

II.H.2.c list the strengths of the program’s alumni

Complete results of the program’s first alumni survey are included in the Appendix. The seven respondents graduated between 2002 and 2006. In 2001-2 the program underwent some flux as Dr. Agustin Fuentes left the anthropology department, Dr. Margie Clarke came in as a one year replacement, and Dr. Lori Sheeran was hired (2003) in anthropology on a permanent basis. Some student comments reflect that this upheaval had a negative impact on their experience of the program. Six of the seven respondents majored in anthropology and PBE; one student majored in psychology and PBE.

Respondents tended to “strongly agree” that they were satisfied with the program, but they were more neutral with respect to how well the program prepared them to face professional challenges. They rated critical thinking, information literacy, and communications as being “very important” or “important” in their current fields. They appear to less frequently need content-specific information on primate taxonomy, data collection, evolutionary processes, etc. in their current fields. Generally, they felt the program prepared them “well” or “very well” for critical thinking, information literacy, communications, and primate husbandry and enrichment. Several noted that their experience at CHCI was the most important or helpful; one noted that the program provided little help in career planning and placement. Two respondents were graduate students, one had worked at a primate sanctuary, one worked for an animal rights organization, and the others had jobs not directly related to primatology. Five respondents made less than $20,000 per year; the remaining two made $20,000-40,000 per year.

As a consequence of the feedback provided by these students, program faculty plan to make more explicit information literacy training students receive (including incorporation of The Observer software in Primate Social Behavior [ANTH 313]) and an overview of job prospects in primatology (a Primate Info Net jobs activity, again incorporated into Primate Social Behavior).

II.H.2.d. list the programmatic learning outcomes that need to be most improved

The PBE program has not historically had an assessment mechanism in place. During fall 2007 and winter 2008 (particularly during a retreat in November 2007), program faculty developed an assessment plan that will be implemented in spring 2008.

Alumni rated highly on the survey their experiences in husbandry and enrichment, and a field school in China and internships at zoos give students opportunities to work with a variety of primates (indeed, species) in a variety of contexts. Given that job prospects in primatology are very limited, these experiences are crucial in providing undergraduates with career-related skills. Previous research experiences and sometimes field experiences make our graduates highly sought after for graduate work in primatology. More effort needs to focus, however, on helping students prepare for careers in primatology and in making explicit to students the competitive nature of the field.