Review Assessment Report

Part 1: Contact & Program Identification

Report Year and Contact Information
Academic Year	Modified By	Date Modified
2022-2023	[email protected]	2023-10-19T01:49:54.848Z

School	Name of Program	Courses
MSE	Pre-Health Sciences Degree: Pre-Nursing	BIOL 1140,BIOL 1140L,BIOL 2210,BIOL 2225,BIOL 2310,BIOL 2310L,BIOL 2510,CHEM 1120,CHEM 1120L,MATH 1350,NUTR 2110,PSYC 2120

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
Learning outcomes 5 & 6 were assessed in this cycle. This cycle we added analysis of face to face (F2F) and distance learning (DL) classes separately to address outcomes. This is the first term that the two types of course structures have evaluated separately. The (LO#5) analysis for evaluating the validity of scientific data, scored well under a 70% cut-off rate, suggesting that our students are still struggling with this assessment. This year the wording was slightly adjusted for student choices which may have impacted performance. The face to face (F2F) learning section may have had a lower rate of correct responses (36% success rate) due to a variety of reasons, to include the use of technology for testing and answering questions based on lab results not observed in person. The creation of the distance learning lab occurred during the pandemic closure and the number of sections offered has slowly been reduced since in person classes resumed. In general, students still struggled with LO #5, as they al

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

Learning outcomes 5 & 6 were assessed in this cycle. This cycle we added analysis of face to face (F2F) and distance learning (DL) classes separately to address outcomes. This is the first term that the two types of course structures have evaluated separately. The (LO#5) analysis for evaluating the validity of scientific data, scored well under a 70% cut-off rate, suggesting that our students are still struggling with this assessment. This year the wording was slightly adjusted for student choices which may have impacted performance. The face to face (F2F) learning section may have had a lower rate of correct responses (36% success rate) due to a variety of reasons, to include the use of technology for testing and answering questions based on lab results not observed in person. The creation of the distance learning lab occurred during the pandemic closure and the number of sections offered has slowly been reduced since in person classes resumed. In general, students still struggled with LO #5, as they al

Part 3: Data Review

	2020-2021	2021-2022	2022-2023
Annual number of graduate awards is greater than 10	122	110	68
Number of declared majors	334	263	201
Average Class Size	23.6	22.6	23.4
Annual Average Class withdrawal rate is 30% or below (SAGE 35%)	18%	16%	15%
Annual C-Pass rate for coursework is 60% or above	61%	64%	64%
Average class fill rate at 60% or above capacity within a term or over a year	80%	70%	74%
Graduate Transfer to 4-year Schools	34%	n/a	n/a
Full-time Faculty Coverage by Section	50%	52%	28%

Summarize how your program met or did not meet the target measures based on the data above
All metrics and targets for this program were met. The number of declared majors has declined over several years which is consistent with the overall enrollment trends in the same time period.

Part 4: Program Learning Outcome Analysis

Learning Outcome	Population or Course(s) Assessed	Description	Summary of Assessment Results
5. Employ critical thinking skills to judge the validity of information from a scientific perspective.	BIOL 2310L	Test or Quiz	The learning outcome assessed in both in person and online microbiology lab was "Employ critical thinking skills to judge the validity of information from a scientific perspective". In order to address this outcome a question from the midterm exam was used to determine if the students could correctly interpret the enzymes present in a bacteria that was inoculated into carbohydrate media. During the 2022-2023 cycle there were 268 students who took the midterm exam, with 111 students scoring a 70% or higher (correctly answered 7 out of the 10 questions). This represents 41% of students showing proficiency in interpreting the scientific data presented to the students. Breaking the data out by class type (face-to face, distance learning (DL)), F2F had 68/145 students, or 46% showing proficiency with this LO, while DL students had 43/120 or a 36% proficiency rate. This suggests that our online students are not as proficient which may be in part, due to the online nature of the course.
6. Apply the scientific method to formulate questions, analyze information/data, and draw conclusions.	BIOL 2310L	Paper	The learning outcome assessed in both in person and online microbiology lab was "Apply the scientific method to formulate questions, analyze information/data, and draw conclusions". In order to address this LO the end of term paper was assessed in the discussion section where the students had to analyze and draw conclusions from the data they collected by completing a final project involving the identification of unknown Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. During the 2022- 2023 cycle 245 students completed the final project, with 190 students scoring a 70% or higher on the discussion section of the independent paper that the student wrote. This represents 78% of students showing proficiency in applying the scientific method to their final project and analyzing the data the student generated. Breaking the data out by course delivery type: Face to face 106/141 = 75% of students demonstrating proficiency, Distance Learning = 84/104 or 81% of students demonstrating proficiency. For this learning outcome the

Interpretation of Assessment findings
For LO#5 "Employ critical thinking skills to judge the validity of information from a scientific perspective" in Microbiology lab student results for this when comparing the 2021-22 year to the current 2022-203 year shows that our students continue to struggle to be proficient at this LO using this tool. This struggle appears to occur no matter the type of course delivery, and in fact may be worse in the distance learning classes. This particular set of questions has historically been one of the more challenging questions from which to draw critical conclusions, requiring deep understanding of the material covered in class. These continual low results may simply reflect the difficulty of the material, or truly be more representative of the difficulty of drawing conclusions across a data set. For LO#6 "Apply the scientific method to formulate questions, analyze information/data, and draw conclusions". Students did well with this LO last cycle, and have continued to be very proficient in this learning outcome

Interpretation of Assessment findings

For LO#5 "Employ critical thinking skills to judge the validity of information from a scientific perspective" in Microbiology lab student results for this when comparing the 2021-22 year to the current 2022-203 year shows that our students continue to struggle to be proficient at this LO using this tool. This struggle appears to occur no matter the type of course delivery, and in fact may be worse in the distance learning classes. This particular set of questions has historically been one of the more challenging questions from which to draw critical conclusions, requiring deep understanding of the material covered in class. These continual low results may simply reflect the difficulty of the material, or truly be more representative of the difficulty of drawing conclusions across a data set. For LO#6 "Apply the scientific method to formulate questions, analyze information/data, and draw conclusions". Students did well with this LO last cycle, and have continued to be very proficient in this learning outcome

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

Upcoming Year	Changes Planned for the upcoming year	Data Motivating this change
2022-2023	This year we are changing assessment processes so we will modify the tools to meet the new assessment goals. It is likely we will continue to utilize this class as a place to sample from, but will look at the tools we have been using to see if they are the best tools to ask these questions. If we continue with these tools, we will analyze what changes we may be able to make in the curriculum to help improve these outcomes. This might involve focused homework, more quizzes that model interpretation or other options	The data that suggests that our students still lack proficiency in LO#5 suggest that there is work to be done in helping students to critically evaluate a data set.
2022-2023
2022-2023

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

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