Review Assessment Report

Part 1: Contact & Program Identification

Report Year and Contact Information
Academic Year	Modified By	Date Modified
2021-2022	[email protected]	2022-10-31T17:18:07.646Z

School	Name of Program	Courses
MSE	BIOL Science Gen Ed	BIOL 1110,BIOL 1110L,BIOL 1125,BIOL 1130,BIOL 1130L,BIOL 1140,BIOL 1140L,BIOL 1215,BIOL 1215L,BIOL 2110,BIOL 2110L,BIOL 2210,BIOL 2210L,BIOL 2225,BIOL 2225L,BIOL 2310,BIOL 2310L,BIOL 2410,BIOL 2410L,BIOL 2510,BIOL 2520,BIOL 2615,BIOL 2615L,BIOL 2635,BIOL 2635L,BIOL 2710,BIOL 2715,BIOL 2720

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
In general the assessment collection went smoothly. There were a few hiccups, as this is a new 2-year cycle for collection, with a few courses only having data for one of the two semesters. Areas where students were assessed in non-proctored assignments showed better success of the student meeting the metric used in the assessment as compared to proctored exam questions. The BIOL1110L course needs to have some of the final exam questions streamlined to work in both the f2f and the online sections of the course. Similarly BIOL1140L also needs to adjust what is collected for the personal and social responsibility so that data can be collected in both the f2f and online courses, although it is not clear yet what that might look like. When the cycle plan was written in 2018, online vs f2f delivery was not considered due to the limited number of online courses at the time. For the 2022-2023 cycle the sharepoint collection plan has been divided to easily partition out the f2f vs online courses assessment data.

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

In general the assessment collection went smoothly. There were a few hiccups, as this is a new 2-year cycle for collection, with a few courses only having data for one of the two semesters. Areas where students were assessed in non-proctored assignments showed better success of the student meeting the metric used in the assessment as compared to proctored exam questions. The BIOL1110L course needs to have some of the final exam questions streamlined to work in both the f2f and the online sections of the course. Similarly BIOL1140L also needs to adjust what is collected for the personal and social responsibility so that data can be collected in both the f2f and online courses, although it is not clear yet what that might look like. When the cycle plan was written in 2018, online vs f2f delivery was not considered due to the limited number of online courses at the time. For the 2022-2023 cycle the sharepoint collection plan has been divided to easily partition out the f2f vs online courses assessment data.

Part 3: Data Review

	2019-2020	2020-2021	2021-2022
Annual number of graduate awards is greater than 10	n/a	n/a	n/a
Number of declared majors	n/a	n/a	n/a
Average Class Size	24.7	21.4	20.1
Annual Average Class withdrawal rate is 30% or below (SAGE 35%)	19%	19%	18%
Annual C-Pass rate for coursework is 60% or above	64%	59%	62%
Average class fill rate at 60% or above capacity within a term or over a year	77%	74%	63%
Graduate Transfer to 4-year Schools	n/a	n/a	n/a
Full-time Faculty Coverage by Section	56%	51%	23%

Summarize how your program met or did not meet the target measures based on the data above
The targets were met for the average class fill rate and annual C-pass rate for 2021-2022. The annual retention or average class withdrawal metric was also met. As this is a GenEd degree the number of graduates is n/a.

Part 4: Program Learning Outcome Analysis

Learning Outcome	Population or Course(s) Assessed	Description	Summary of Assessment Results
1a. Critical Thinking: Problem Setting	BIOL 1110L	Final Exam	For BIOL1110L the students were asked to formulate a hypothesis for an experiment on lizards that was presented to the students as a final exam question. There were 170 students who took the final exam in either an online or f2f format, with 141/170 or 83% of students being able to correctly formulate a hypothesis for an experiment. Last year only 71% of students could correctly formulate a hypothesis, which is a substantial increase in students being successful in the formation of a hypothesis.
1b. Critical Thinking: Evidence Acquisition	BIOL1110L BIOL1125 BIOL1215/1215L BIOL 2110L.	Class Project Final Exam Paper Other	BIOL1110L there were 110/170 or 65% of students who correctly identified an independent variable, 107/170 or 63% who correctly identified the dependent variable, and 126/170 or 74% who correctly identified a control in a given experiment. BIOL1125, data for this outcome was collected for the Spring 2022 semester for one online and one f2f section each. There were 29 students who completed the group project assignment with 25/29 or 86% of students successfully working together to complete a group project that required them to apply critical thinking to the topic they researched. BIOL1215L were scored on having a passing (70% or higher) grade on the introduction of a term paper submitted. There were 17/26 or 65% of students who had a successful introduction to their term paper. BIOL 2110L were assessed on a lab report. There were 64 students total, 22 in the spring 2022 term and 42 in the Fall 2021 term who completed the lab report. With 50/64, or 78% of students scoring a 70% or higher on the report.
1b. Critical Thinking: Evidence Acquisition	BIOL1110L BIOL1125 BIOL1215/1215L BIOL 2110L.	Class Project Final Exam Paper Other	BIOL1110L there were 110/170 or 65% of students who correctly identified an independent variable, 107/170 or 63% who correctly identified the dependent variable, and 126/170 or 74% who correctly identified a control in a given experiment. BIOL1125, data for this outcome was collected for the Spring 2022 semester for one online and one f2f section each. There were 29 students who completed the group project assignment with 25/29 or 86% of students successfully working together to complete a group project that required them to apply critical thinking to the topic they researched. BIOL1215L were scored on having a passing (70% or higher) grade on the introduction of a term paper submitted. There were 17/26 or 65% of students who had a successful introduction to their term paper. BIOL 2110L were assessed on a lab report. There were 64 students total, 22 in the spring 2022 term and 42 in the Fall 2021 term who completed the lab report. With 50/64, or 78% of students scoring a 70% or higher on the report.
1b. Critical Thinking: Evidence Acquisition	BIOL1110L BIOL1125 BIOL1215/1215L BIOL 2110L.	Class Project Final Exam Paper Other	BIOL1110L there were 110/170 or 65% of students who correctly identified an independent variable, 107/170 or 63% who correctly identified the dependent variable, and 126/170 or 74% who correctly identified a control in a given experiment. BIOL1125, data for this outcome was collected for the Spring 2022 semester for one online and one f2f section each. There were 29 students who completed the group project assignment with 25/29 or 86% of students successfully working together to complete a group project that required them to apply critical thinking to the topic they researched. BIOL1215L were scored on having a passing (70% or higher) grade on the introduction of a term paper submitted. There were 17/26 or 65% of students who had a successful introduction to their term paper. BIOL 2110L were assessed on a lab report. There were 64 students total, 22 in the spring 2022 term and 42 in the Fall 2021 term who completed the lab report. With 50/64, or 78% of students scoring a 70% or higher on the report.
1b. Critical Thinking: Evidence Acquisition	BIOL1110L BIOL1125 BIOL1215/1215L BIOL 2110L.	Class Project Final Exam Paper Other	BIOL1110L there were 110/170 or 65% of students who correctly identified an independent variable, 107/170 or 63% who correctly identified the dependent variable, and 126/170 or 74% who correctly identified a control in a given experiment. BIOL1125, data for this outcome was collected for the Spring 2022 semester for one online and one f2f section each. There were 29 students who completed the group project assignment with 25/29 or 86% of students successfully working together to complete a group project that required them to apply critical thinking to the topic they researched. BIOL1215L were scored on having a passing (70% or higher) grade on the introduction of a term paper submitted. There were 17/26 or 65% of students who had a successful introduction to their term paper. BIOL 2110L were assessed on a lab report. There were 64 students total, 22 in the spring 2022 term and 42 in the Fall 2021 term who completed the lab report. With 50/64, or 78% of students scoring a 70% or higher on the report.
1c. Critical Thinking: Evidence Evaluation	BIOL 1110L	Final Exam	There were 170 students total who completed the final exam for BIOL 1110L, with 122 students in Fall and 48 students in the Spring term. The data has both f2f and online courses. Due to how the data was collected, the f2f and online cannot be cleanly separated. The students had 2 questions on reading and interpreting a graph on heartrate to evaluate evidence presented. These 2 questions were collected together instead of separately this year. There were 91/170 or 54% of students who answered both graphing questions correctly. No data for each individual question was collected.
1d. Critical Thinking: Reasoning/Conclusion	BIOL 1110L BIOL 1125	Class Project Final Exam	There were 170 students total who completed the final exam for BIOL 1110L, with 122 students in Fall and 48 students in the Spring term. The data has both f2f and online courses. Due to how the data was collected, the f2f and online cannot be cleanly separated. The students had 2 questions on reading and interpreting a graph on heartrate. These 2 questions were collected together instead of separately this year. There were 91/170 or 54% of students who answered both graphing questions correctly. No data for each individual question was collected. Data for this outcome for BIOL 1125 was collected for the Spring 2022 semester for one online and one f2f section each. There were 29 students who completed the group project assignment with 25/29 or 86% of students successfully working together on the group project to draw conclusions on the topic assigned to the group.
1d. Critical Thinking: Reasoning/Conclusion	BIOL 1110L BIOL 1125	Class Project Final Exam	There were 170 students total who completed the final exam for BIOL 1110L, with 122 students in Fall and 48 students in the Spring term. The data has both f2f and online courses. Due to how the data was collected, the f2f and online cannot be cleanly separated. The students had 2 questions on reading and interpreting a graph on heartrate. These 2 questions were collected together instead of separately this year. There were 91/170 or 54% of students who answered both graphing questions correctly. No data for each individual question was collected. Data for this outcome for BIOL 1125 was collected for the Spring 2022 semester for one online and one f2f section each. There were 29 students who completed the group project assignment with 25/29 or 86% of students successfully working together on the group project to draw conclusions on the topic assigned to the group.
2b. Sustainability and the natural and human worlds	BIOL 1110 BIOL 1140L	Paper Instructor Observation	BIOL1110 the students completed a written assignment on a recent scientific discovery that they identified from a news source. There were 64/77 or 83% of students in f2f courses that completed the assignment. Students who did not do the assignment are not included in the data collected. The student needed to score a 70% or higher on the assignment which was on a topic related to the natural or human world. In the DL/online course there were 37/49 or 75.5% of students who scored a 70% or higher on the same assignment. BIOL1140L students were observed by instructors as to whether or not they completed at least 4 of the lab safety criteria during an osmosis and a mitosis lab. There were 82/84 or 98% in the osmosis lab and 73/74 or 99% in the mitosis lab that completed the expected lab safety items and lab clean up.
2c. Personal and Social Responsibility: Ethical Reasoning	BIOL 1130L BIOL 1140L BIOL 1215L BIOL 2110L	Paper Other In-class Activities Instructor Observation	BIOL1130L students were assessed on a group activity on blood typing on following the scientific method. There were 14/32 or 44% of students who successfully followed the scientific method abilities for the group blood typing activity online, with 16/16 or 100% f2f. Combining the data 30/48 or 62.5% of students met this outcome. BIOL1140L students were observed by instructors as to whether or not they completed at least 4 of the lab safety criteria during an osmosis and a mitosis lab. There were 82/84 or 98% in the osmosis lab and 73/74 or 99% in the mitosis lab that completed the expected lab safety items. BIOL 1215L students completed a lab on the topic of climate change. There were 19/24 or 79% of students who successfully completed the lab BIOL 2110L were assessed on properly citing sources for a lab report/paper. There were 64 students total, 22 in the spring 2022 term and 42 in the Fall 2021 term who completed the lab report. With 58/64, or 89% of students cited primary literature for the lab report.
2c. Personal and Social Responsibility: Ethical Reasoning	BIOL 1130L BIOL 1140L BIOL 1215L BIOL 2110L	Paper Other In-class Activities Instructor Observation	BIOL1130L students were assessed on a group activity on blood typing on following the scientific method. There were 14/32 or 44% of students who successfully followed the scientific method abilities for the group blood typing activity online, with 16/16 or 100% f2f. Combining the data 30/48 or 62.5% of students met this outcome. BIOL1140L students were observed by instructors as to whether or not they completed at least 4 of the lab safety criteria during an osmosis and a mitosis lab. There were 82/84 or 98% in the osmosis lab and 73/74 or 99% in the mitosis lab that completed the expected lab safety items. BIOL 1215L students completed a lab on the topic of climate change. There were 19/24 or 79% of students who successfully completed the lab BIOL 2110L were assessed on properly citing sources for a lab report/paper. There were 64 students total, 22 in the spring 2022 term and 42 in the Fall 2021 term who completed the lab report. With 58/64, or 89% of students cited primary literature for the lab report.
2c. Personal and Social Responsibility: Ethical Reasoning	BIOL 1130L BIOL 1140L BIOL 1215L BIOL 2110L	Paper Other In-class Activities Instructor Observation	BIOL1130L students were assessed on a group activity on blood typing on following the scientific method. There were 14/32 or 44% of students who successfully followed the scientific method abilities for the group blood typing activity online, with 16/16 or 100% f2f. Combining the data 30/48 or 62.5% of students met this outcome. BIOL1140L students were observed by instructors as to whether or not they completed at least 4 of the lab safety criteria during an osmosis and a mitosis lab. There were 82/84 or 98% in the osmosis lab and 73/74 or 99% in the mitosis lab that completed the expected lab safety items. BIOL 1215L students completed a lab on the topic of climate change. There were 19/24 or 79% of students who successfully completed the lab BIOL 2110L were assessed on properly citing sources for a lab report/paper. There were 64 students total, 22 in the spring 2022 term and 42 in the Fall 2021 term who completed the lab report. With 58/64, or 89% of students cited primary literature for the lab report.
2c. Personal and Social Responsibility: Ethical Reasoning	BIOL 1130L BIOL 1140L BIOL 1215L BIOL 2110L	Paper Other In-class Activities Instructor Observation	BIOL1130L students were assessed on a group activity on blood typing on following the scientific method. There were 14/32 or 44% of students who successfully followed the scientific method abilities for the group blood typing activity online, with 16/16 or 100% f2f. Combining the data 30/48 or 62.5% of students met this outcome. BIOL1140L students were observed by instructors as to whether or not they completed at least 4 of the lab safety criteria during an osmosis and a mitosis lab. There were 82/84 or 98% in the osmosis lab and 73/74 or 99% in the mitosis lab that completed the expected lab safety items. BIOL 1215L students completed a lab on the topic of climate change. There were 19/24 or 79% of students who successfully completed the lab BIOL 2110L were assessed on properly citing sources for a lab report/paper. There were 64 students total, 22 in the spring 2022 term and 42 in the Fall 2021 term who completed the lab report. With 58/64, or 89% of students cited primary literature for the lab report.
2c. Personal and Social Responsibility: Ethical Reasoning	BIOL 1130L BIOL 1140L BIOL 1215L BIOL 2110L	Paper Other In-class Activities Instructor Observation	BIOL1130L students were assessed on a group activity on blood typing on following the scientific method. There were 14/32 or 44% of students who successfully followed the scientific method abilities for the group blood typing activity online, with 16/16 or 100% f2f. Combining the data 30/48 or 62.5% of students met this outcome. BIOL1140L students were observed by instructors as to whether or not they completed at least 4 of the lab safety criteria during an osmosis and a mitosis lab. There were 82/84 or 98% in the osmosis lab and 73/74 or 99% in the mitosis lab that completed the expected lab safety items. BIOL 1215L students completed a lab on the topic of climate change. There were 19/24 or 79% of students who successfully completed the lab BIOL 2110L were assessed on properly citing sources for a lab report/paper. There were 64 students total, 22 in the spring 2022 term and 42 in the Fall 2021 term who completed the lab report. With 58/64, or 89% of students cited primary literature for the lab report.
2d. Personal and Social Responsibility: Collaboration skills, teamwork and value systems	BIOL 1125 BIOL 1130L	In-class Activities Class Project	Data for this outcome for BIOL 1125 was collected for the Spring 2022 semester for one online and one f2f section each. There were 29 students who completed the group project assignment with 25/29 or 86% of students successfully working together to complete a group project. Data for this outcome was only collected for the Fall 2021 semester from 3 online sections of BIOL 1130L with a total of 32 students and in the Spring 2022 semester from 1 f2f section. There were 14/32 or 44% of students who successfully collaborated and showed teamwork abilities for the group blood typing activity online, with 16/16 or 100% f2f. This is the first year this activity was accessed and the online nature of the course may have contributed to poor collaboration between students, since the course is asynchronous. Combining the data 30/48 or 62.5% of students met this outcome.
2d. Personal and Social Responsibility: Collaboration skills, teamwork and value systems	BIOL 1125 BIOL 1130L	In-class Activities Class Project	Data for this outcome for BIOL 1125 was collected for the Spring 2022 semester for one online and one f2f section each. There were 29 students who completed the group project assignment with 25/29 or 86% of students successfully working together to complete a group project. Data for this outcome was only collected for the Fall 2021 semester from 3 online sections of BIOL 1130L with a total of 32 students and in the Spring 2022 semester from 1 f2f section. There were 14/32 or 44% of students who successfully collaborated and showed teamwork abilities for the group blood typing activity online, with 16/16 or 100% f2f. This is the first year this activity was accessed and the online nature of the course may have contributed to poor collaboration between students, since the course is asynchronous. Combining the data 30/48 or 62.5% of students met this outcome.
3a. Quantitative Reasoning: Communication/Representation of Quantitative Information	BIOL 1110L	Final Exam	There were 170 students total who completed the final exam, with 122 students in Fall and 48 students in the Spring term. The data has both f2f and online courses. Due to how the data was collected, the f2f and online cannot be cleanly separated. The students had 2 questions on reading and interpreting a graph on heartrate. These 2 questions were collected together instead of separately this year. There were 91/170 or 54% of students who answered both graphing questions correctly. No data for each individual question was collected.
3b. Quantitative Reasoning: Analysis of Quantitative Arguments	BIOL 1110L	Final Exam	There were 170 students total who completed the final exam, with 122 students in Fall and 48 students in the Spring term. The students were asked to interpret the Punnett square data presented to them and interpret what the results meant in terms of disease probability. For this question 111/170 or 65% of students were able to correctly interpret and predict the likelihood of disease. This represents a bit of a drop overall, as last year's assessment data showed 69% of students successfully completing this question. With 81/122 or 66% of students in the Fall term and 30/48 or 62.5% of students in the spring term successfully completing the question.
3c. Quantitative Reasoning: Application of Quantitative Models	BIOL 1215L BIOL 2110L	Paper Other In-class Activities	The students in BIOL 1215L were assessed on passing the activities in the soil testing lab. There were 26 students assessed, with 24/26 or 92% of students successfully passing the lab activities. The students in BIOL 2110L were assessed on a lab report. There were 64 students total, 22 in the spring 2022 term and 42 in the Fall 2021 term who completed the lab report. With 50/64, or 78% of students scoring a 70% or higher in the discussion section of the lab report. Demonstrating that in a written paper students are able to successfully apply concepts learned in the course.
3c. Quantitative Reasoning: Application of Quantitative Models	BIOL 1215L BIOL 2110L	Paper Other In-class Activities	The students in BIOL 1215L were assessed on passing the activities in the soil testing lab. There were 26 students assessed, with 24/26 or 92% of students successfully passing the lab activities. The students in BIOL 2110L were assessed on a lab report. There were 64 students total, 22 in the spring 2022 term and 42 in the Fall 2021 term who completed the lab report. With 50/64, or 78% of students scoring a 70% or higher in the discussion section of the lab report. Demonstrating that in a written paper students are able to successfully apply concepts learned in the course.
3c. Quantitative Reasoning: Application of Quantitative Models	BIOL 1215L BIOL 2110L	Paper Other In-class Activities	The students in BIOL 1215L were assessed on passing the activities in the soil testing lab. There were 26 students assessed, with 24/26 or 92% of students successfully passing the lab activities. The students in BIOL 2110L were assessed on a lab report. There were 64 students total, 22 in the spring 2022 term and 42 in the Fall 2021 term who completed the lab report. With 50/64, or 78% of students scoring a 70% or higher in the discussion section of the lab report. Demonstrating that in a written paper students are able to successfully apply concepts learned in the course.

Interpretation of Assessment findings
In general students were more successful with assessment that was in a lab report, a group assignment, in-class assignment, or an instructor observed rubric. The BIOL110L forming a hypothesis, and identifying independent/dependent/control variables all showed an increase in student success over last year. The range for the 4 final exam questions went from 51-71% last year to 63-83% this year. There was an additional material on these topics introduced into the DL version of the course. This year's cycle also has a return to f2f classes that may have helped contribute to the increase in student success. For other courses the assessment topics changed with a new 2 year cycle plan. For BIOL1140L students performed extremely well in the instructor observation on lab tasks (such as proper attire, proper waste disposal, proper care lab equipment, cleaning up, and no eating/drinking in lab). Which demonstrates that students in the f2f lab are exhibiting good lab citizenship which will serve them well.

Interpretation of Assessment findings

In general students were more successful with assessment that was in a lab report, a group assignment, in-class assignment, or an instructor observed rubric. The BIOL110L forming a hypothesis, and identifying independent/dependent/control variables all showed an increase in student success over last year. The range for the 4 final exam questions went from 51-71% last year to 63-83% this year. There was an additional material on these topics introduced into the DL version of the course. This year's cycle also has a return to f2f classes that may have helped contribute to the increase in student success. For other courses the assessment topics changed with a new 2 year cycle plan. For BIOL1140L students performed extremely well in the instructor observation on lab tasks (such as proper attire, proper waste disposal, proper care lab equipment, cleaning up, and no eating/drinking in lab). Which demonstrates that students in the f2f lab are exhibiting good lab citizenship which will serve them well.

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	Data collection in Sharepoint has been partitioned out to easily separate out the data from online vs f2f classes for certain Biology courses.	Preliminary numbers show a slight difference between online and f2f student performance in the assessment collected this past cycle. The data was not able to be completely partitioned out, so additional data points are necessary to determine if there is a difference in student learning based on how the course is delivered. Especially since we observed sharp declines in the assessment data collected during the 2020-2021 cycle when all Biology courses were delivered in an online format. The rapid shift to an online platform may mean that content in certain Biology courses may need to be refined or perhaps the assessment questions themselves need to be revised to more closely align with the online delivery of course content. .
2021-2022	Assessment questions for BIOL1110L may be refined for the questions related to the heart rate graph, so that the same question is used in both the online and f2f courses. The questions related to heart rate will be revised and run as a pilot question in the f2f classes in Fall 2022. The the question will be implemented in both f2f and DL for the Spring 2023 semester.	The rapid shift to an online platform during the pandemic possibly means that some of the BIOL1110L assessment questions were not adapted to align with the online delivery of the course and the assessment questions need some revision.
2021-2022

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

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