Review Assessment Report

Part 1: Contact & Program Identification

Report Year and Contact Information
Academic Year	Modified By	Date Modified
2020-2021	[email protected]	2021-11-01T01:13:26.504Z

School	Name of Program	Courses
MSE	Pre-Health Sciences Degree: General Health Sciences	MATH 1350,BCIS 1110,ENGL 1120,BIOL 1140,BIOL 1140L,BIOL 2210,PSYC 1110

Part 2: Program Summary

Provide a high level review of the program to include highlights, successes, challenges, significant changes, and significant resources needed to support the program
For the Pre-Health Sciences Degree: General Health Sciences the two courses assessed in 2020-2021 were Biol 1140L (Introductory Biology Lab for Health Science Majors) and Biol 2310L (Microbiology Lab). For LO #1, 85% (516/608) of Biol 2310L students scored a 70% or higher on the discussion portion of the final paper. The final paper requires that the microbiology lab students interpret the data they collected on identifying their unknown bacteria and explain how they determined the genus and species of the unknown bacteria they were given for the final project. The data for the introduction on the final paper was not collected due to a communication error. For LO #2, 40.4%(332/821) of Biol 1140L students correctly calculated cell size using technology (a calculator) while 73.4% (603/821) correctly did a metric conversion without technology. For LO#4, 56.6% (465/821) of Biol1140L students correctly wrote the mathematical equation for estimating cell size, with 40.4% (332/821) correctly calculating cell size.

Provide a high level review of the program to include highlights, successes, challenges, significant changes, and significant resources needed to support the program

For the Pre-Health Sciences Degree: General Health Sciences the two courses assessed in 2020-2021 were Biol 1140L (Introductory Biology Lab for Health Science Majors) and Biol 2310L (Microbiology Lab). For LO #1, 85% (516/608) of Biol 2310L students scored a 70% or higher on the discussion portion of the final paper. The final paper requires that the microbiology lab students interpret the data they collected on identifying their unknown bacteria and explain how they determined the genus and species of the unknown bacteria they were given for the final project. The data for the introduction on the final paper was not collected due to a communication error. For LO #2, 40.4%(332/821) of Biol 1140L students correctly calculated cell size using technology (a calculator) while 73.4% (603/821) correctly did a metric conversion without technology. For LO#4, 56.6% (465/821) of Biol1140L students correctly wrote the mathematical equation for estimating cell size, with 40.4% (332/821) correctly calculating cell size.

Part 3: Data Review

	2018-2019	2019-2020	2020-2021
Annual number of graduate awards is greater than 10	449	302	218
Number of declared majors	93	90	158
Average Class Size	25.4	24.8	22.6
Annual Average Class withdrawal rate is 30% or below (SAGE 35%)	13%	16%	16%
Annual C-Pass rate for coursework is 60% or above	70%	68%	64%
Average class fill rate at 60% or above capacity within a term or over a year	85%	84%	80%
Graduate Transfer to 4-year Schools	29%	26%	n/a
Full-time Faculty Coverage by Section	40%	45%	43%

Summarize how your program met or did not meet the target measures based on the data above
The class fill rate for the 2020-2021 is well above the target of 60%, with 80% of classes having at least a 60% fill rate. The fill rate did drop a bit this year. The retention rate for the PHS degree is at 86% for the 2020-2021 year, which did not change from the previous year. The C-pass rate is at 64% for the 2020-2021 year which is above the target. This number has dropped over the past 2 years. It is possible that the shift to online learning due to the pandemic is a reason for the drop in the C-pass rate, as all students were taking online classes. Not all students learn best in an online environment. The PHS degree has greater than 10 graduate awards for the 2020-2021 year; however, the number of degrees granted have dropped each year since 2018. The drop in the number of graduates might be due to fewer declared majors from 2018-2020 ( 90-93) as compared to 2020-2021 (158). With the increase in number of declared majors the number of degrees granted might increase in the next few years.

Summarize how your program met or did not meet the target measures based on the data above

The class fill rate for the 2020-2021 is well above the target of 60%, with 80% of classes having at least a 60% fill rate. The fill rate did drop a bit this year. The retention rate for the PHS degree is at 86% for the 2020-2021 year, which did not change from the previous year. The C-pass rate is at 64% for the 2020-2021 year which is above the target. This number has dropped over the past 2 years. It is possible that the shift to online learning due to the pandemic is a reason for the drop in the C-pass rate, as all students were taking online classes. Not all students learn best in an online environment. The PHS degree has greater than 10 graduate awards for the 2020-2021 year; however, the number of degrees granted have dropped each year since 2018. The drop in the number of graduates might be due to fewer declared majors from 2018-2020 ( 90-93) as compared to 2020-2021 (158). With the increase in number of declared majors the number of degrees granted might increase in the next few years.

Part 4: Program Learning Outcome Analysis

Learning Outcome	Population or Course(s) Assessed	Description	Summary of Assessment Results
1. Communicate clearly, concisely, and with purpose in oral and written form	BIOL 2310L.	Final Exam Paper	There were 21 sections of Biol 2310L in Fall 2020 with 311/360 (86.4%) and there were 17 sections of Biol 2310L in Spring 2021 with 205/248 (82.7%) of students scoring a 70% or higher on the discussion portion of the final paper. Students seemed to perform better in the Fall semester as compared to the spring. Overall 516/608 (85%) of microbiology lab students passed. This was a written out-of-class final paper that required the students to describe their final project and how they determined two unknown bacteria using data collected from tests that the student conducted. Data should have also been collected on the introduction portion of this same paper. It is unclear why this collection didn't happen, but is most likely due to a miscommunication.
2. Demonstrate computational skills with and without the use of technology	BIOL 1140L.	Final Exam	There were 2 questions associated with this assessment. The first was that the students were given a problem to calculate cell size. For this problem the students were allowed to use a calculator. In the fall 2020 semester there were 30 sections of Biol 1140L online with 187/434 (43%) of students correctly calculating the answer. In the spring 2021 semester there were 28 sections of online Biol 1140L with 145/387 (37%) of students correctly calculating the answer. Overall 332/821 (40.4%) of students were able to correctly calculate the size of a cell using a calculator. The second question involved students converting a number within the metric system (ie: convert cm to m). For the Fall 2020 semester 335/434 (77%) of students were able to accurately convert a metric measurement. For the Spring 2021 semester 268/387 (69%) of students were able to correctly convert the measurement. Overall 603/821 (73.4%) of students could convert a metric number without the use of technology.
4. Demonstrate problem solving skills within the context of mathematical	BIOL 1140L.	Final Exam	There were two questions on the final exam for this LO. The first question involved the students being able to correctly identify the equation for estimating cell size. In the Fall 2020 semester there were 30 sections with 226/434 (52%) of students correctly identifying the equation used to estimate cell size. In the Spring 2021 semester there were 28 sections with 239/387 (62%) of students correctly identifying the equation. Overall, 465/821 (56.6%) of students correctly identified the equation. The second question was the application of the equation with students calculating a cell size. In the fall, 187/434 (43%) of students correctly calculated the cell size, while in the spring term 145/387 (37%) of students correctly estimated cell size. Overall 332/821 (40.4%) of students made the correct calculation.

Interpretation of Assessment findings
As in previous years students have a difficult time with calculations (LO #2 and 4). Although historically students in past years have struggled with calculations this year the percent of correct responses dropped from 63% correctly calculating cell size in 2019-2020 to 40.4% correct this year. The number of correct responses on identifying the equation in 2019-2020 was 78% as compared to 56.6% this year. Conversely, students seem to have improved greatly in demonstrating computational skills without technology, with only 37% correct in 2019-2020 and 73.4% correct this year. It is unclear what the reason for the drop in accuracy is due to, although it could be due to all classes going online and the questions being converted to multiple choice rather than fill in the blank when classes were f2f. As all classes were online, students had access to a calculator in Respondus, it is not clear how many students actually used the digital calculator. Students not using the calculator might explain their poor results

Interpretation of Assessment findings

As in previous years students have a difficult time with calculations (LO #2 and 4). Although historically students in past years have struggled with calculations this year the percent of correct responses dropped from 63% correctly calculating cell size in 2019-2020 to 40.4% correct this year. The number of correct responses on identifying the equation in 2019-2020 was 78% as compared to 56.6% this year. Conversely, students seem to have improved greatly in demonstrating computational skills without technology, with only 37% correct in 2019-2020 and 73.4% correct this year. It is unclear what the reason for the drop in accuracy is due to, although it could be due to all classes going online and the questions being converted to multiple choice rather than fill in the blank when classes were f2f. As all classes were online, students had access to a calculator in Respondus, it is not clear how many students actually used the digital calculator. Students not using the calculator might explain their poor results

Part 5: Additional Action Plan in Support of Student Learning (If Appropriate)

Upcoming Year	Changes Planned for the upcoming year	Data Motivating this change
2021-2022	None. The questions assessed this year have completed a 2 year cycle, so will not be assessed in next year's cycle. It likely is worth discussing this data at a Biology faculty meeting to address the deficiencies in mathematical calculations.	N/A
2021-2022
2021-2022

Please select all of the following that characterize the types of changes described in the above action plan

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