DEPARTMENT OF
POLITICAL SCIENCE
UNIT OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT PLAN
GRADUATE PROGRAMS
Desired Learning Outcomes
A. Ph.D.
Program
The
Political Science Ph.D. program is designed to produce broadly educated and
well-trained scholars and teachers. Our aim is to produce Ph.D.s who have the breadth and vision to grapple with large questions,
to make original contributions to those questions, and the ability to
communicate research results to students, their peers, and society at large.
Thus, we strive to strike an appropriate balance between 1) exposure to
theoretical models in political and social research, 2) sophisticated training
in the methods and techniques of social science, 3) the development of
expertise within a student's primary area of research and teaching, and 4)
exposure to classroom teaching. More specifically, every GSU Ph.D. should be
able to:
1. Demonstrate familiarity with the breadth and
diversity of models, approaches, and intellectual traditions within that
student's major sub-field of expertise.
2. Demonstrate competency in at least a second
substantive area of political science.
3. Demonstrate a high level of competency in research
skills appropriate to his or her research endeavors and a familiarity with a
broad range of methodologies, including quantitative and qualitative
approaches.
4. Demonstrate a full understanding of the research
enterprise. This includes an ability to critique others' work and an ability to
be a contributing scholar by producing original research.
5. Demonstrate an ability to teach courses in his or
her primary field and sub-fields of the discipline.
B. M.A.
Program:
Graduates with a M.A. degree should be able to:
1. Demonstrate research skills commensurate with their
area of specialization.
2. Demonstrate knowledge of the research literature in
their area of specialization.
3. Demonstrate ability to write a professional
research report or thesis in their area of specialization indicating ability to
formulate research questions, to synthesize such questions with appropriate
literature, to utilize appropriate research methods to answer the question(s),
and to analyze data so as to answer the question(s) and raise additional
questions.
Assessment Methods
The Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) and the
Graduate Program Committee shall review, on a yearly basis, a series of
different indicators and benchmarks in order to assess the attainment learning
outcomes. The DGS will make a yearly report with findings and recommendations
to the Chair to the Chair of the Department by the end of the spring
semester. The first report will be due
by end of spring semester 2005 using the measures of assessment listed below.
A. Doctoral
Program
1.
Based on the learning outcomes specified
above for the doctoral program, the members of each doctoral dissertation
committee will individually provide to the DGS a written assessment stating the
degree to which the dissertation and its defense indicate success in
achievement of these outcomes. The
assessments should be provided to the DGS within a week of the oral defense
2.
Based on the learning outcomes specified
above for the doctoral program, the lead reader (as designated by the DGS) for
each field or sub-field doctoral comprehensive committee shall write an
assessment of the degree to which the answers provided by the students indicate
success in achievement of the outcomes.
The assessments shall be provided to the DGS at the time the evaluation
of the exam is given to the DGS.
3.
Utilizing syllabi and data from student
evaluations of graduate students teaching courses, the DGS shall assess the
competence of doctoral graduate students in teaching courses.
Based on the learning outcomes specified above for the
M.A. program, the members of the M.A. thesis committee or of non-thesis paper
will individually assess the achievement of the student in terms of the
learning outcomes listed above. The
members will provide their assessments to the DGS within one week of the
defense of the thesis or paper.
UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM
Learning Outcomes and Measures of Assessment
The Political Science undergraduate program serves multiple audiences, most notably departmental majors and those students who take political science courses to fulfill university requirements or out of general interest. Student learning objectives include:
I.
Substantive
Knowledge
A.
Students should demonstrate
understanding of structures and processes of American and Georgia government
commensurate with performance of citizenship duties and an effective civil
society. Specifically, students should
have a fundamental knowledge of constitutionalism, federalism, separation of
powers, civil liberties, and the electoral process.
Assessment:
Students should be able to pass exams involving these concepts. The Department will review syllabi and exams
from Pols 1101 classes to ensure that students are
being successfully taught these concepts in this required class that emphasizes
these concepts.
B.
Students should demonstrate recognition
of the universality of politics in human experience and appreciation of
political issues from a global perspective.
Assessment:
Students should be able to pass exams demonstrating the political nature
of global issues. The Department will
review syllabi and exams from Pols 2401, a required
class in which this outcome is addressed, to ensure that the outcome is being
addressed successfully.
II.
Analytical Skills:
A.
Students should demonstrate an
understanding of the difference between normative and descriptive explanations
of political behavior.
B.
Students should demonstrate an ability
to assess evidence using principles of logical analysis and be able to apply that evidence
when making conclusions. This outcome includes the
ability to recognize appropriate supporting evidence as well as assessing
contrary evidence.
Assessment: See
assessment under Section III.
III. Communication Skills:
A.
Students should demonstrate an ability
to write a paper or make an oral presentation with a clear thesis statement or
question, support this statement or address this question in a logical manner,
and draw logical conclusions from findings.
In doing so, students should demonstrate organizational skills of
presentation without distracting grammatical errors. In such communication, students should
demonstrate the analytical skills in section II above.
B.
Students should be able to demonstrate
an ability to support their findings by citing relevant authorities. Students must not use the ideas of others
without citation.
Assessment: The
Department requires writing assignments in all upper division courses and
encourages communication assignments in the lower division. In order to assess the achievement of
students in regard to the goals of sections II and III, the Department will
require students to present at the time of their senior audit their best paper
written in a political science class.
Such papers will be used by the Department to assess its success in
achieving these outcomes.
IV. Methodological Skills:
A.
Students should demonstrate basic
knowledge of the use of social statistics.
B.
Students should demonstrate an ability
to understand data reported in various forms.
C.
Students should demonstrate an ability
to conduct research using traditional and new technological resources.
D.
Students should demonstrate an
understanding of the scientific method, including the formulation of hypotheses
and the role of independent, control and dependent variables
Assessment : The teaching
of methodological skills is the primary goal of Pols
3800, a required course for all majors.
The Department will evaluate syllabi and tests used in this course to
see that these skills are being addressed.
Implementation of Assessment and Recommendations
The
Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUGS) and the Undergraduate Program
Committee will implement the assessment process outlined above on a yearly
basis and provide a report of the findings, plus any recommendations, to the
Chair of the Department by the end of spring semester and to the Faculty at the
beginning of Fall Semester.