SOCIOLOGY DATA-BASED DECISIONS (CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT)

 

Communication Issues in the Undergraduate Program

 

Discussions with Sociology faculty and input provided by exit interviews with some students over the past five years (since 2004) have indicated that the Sociology program could be more effective in communicating with majors and minors and in understanding their interests and concerns.  In response, students are receiving bi-weekly emails updating them on job availability; course offerings; job fairs; and curriculum changes.

Graduate Student Mentoring Program

Since 2000 the Sociology program has worked to address a deficiency in the preparation of graduate students to teach at the undergraduate level by implementing a formal graduate instructor mentoring program. This program involves the assignment of a faculty mentor to each doctoral student assigned to teach an undergraduate course. The faculty mentors are responsible for reviewing course syllabi, providing input and suggestions on text selection, testing procedures, and other instructional activities, observing at least one class session, and providing the graduate student instructor with written feedback regarding teaching performance.

2006-2007 Academic Year Program Review of Undergraduate Curriculum – Challenges and Responses[1]

Course Content

Under the topic of course content two concerns emerged in the focus group: repetition of course content and need for more elective courses.  Students and faculty felt that course content was occasionally repetitious, particularly in the Social Problems electives area.  A review of textbooks in the area made it clear that the textbooks in this topical area are a major reason for the problem. 

To address the former concern, a structured process for sharing of syllabi among faculty took place during the 2006-07 year so that faculty have a better understanding of what is being covered in all Sociology courses.  (This is an assessment procedure that is used widely in Sociology programs.) 

• Recommendation: Eliminating the SOC 1010 and SOC 1020 requirement for minor, replace with either SOC 1010 or SOC 1020 requirement, with 3 additional Sociology classes completing the minor. Approved by faculty in Spring 2007 meeting. Implemented in Fall 2008.
• Further, some new coursework has been developed, specifically SOC 4720, Applied Community Development as a capstone course; SOC 4600 Seminar in Sociology as another capstone course; SOC 4800 Seminar in Sociology: Race and Ethnicity being offered Fall 2009; SOC 4720, Political Sociology.  Although not all of these courses are in the Social Problems area, they have added to the breadth of the curriculum. All of above implemented by Fall 2009.
• Recommendation: Re-number SOC 2370 Sociology of Gender to a 4000 level. Justification: The course is currently taught as an upper-division level course.  Implemented in 2007.
• Recommendation:  Allow PSY 3510 Social Psychology to be counted in Sociology as a substitute for the SOC 3500 Social Psychology course. Cross-listing this course would allow us to broaden the curriculum without using additional resources for the course. Implemented 2008
• Recommendation:   Allow FHD 2400 Marriage and Family, to be counted in Sociology as an elective.  The course is taught as a Sociology of the family class and would allow expansion of the undergraduate curriculum without using additional resources.  Implemented 2008.
• Recommendation: Rename SOC 3010 (Race, Class, Gender) to “Social Inequality”. Justification: This renaming would be consistent with other Sociology undergraduate programs, which more commonly use “Social Inequality.” Implemented August, 2007.
• Recommendation: Rename SOC 4330 (Sociology of Religion) to “Religion, Science, and Society”.  Justification: This renaming leaves the course more open-ended in terms of how the professor may teach it and provides room for those who are interested in teaching more in the area of science. Implemented August 2007.
• Recommendation: Add Cities and Development (ANTH 5160) under our Population, Environment and Development area. Justification: Adding this course would allow us to broaden the curriculum without using additional resources for the course. Implemented Fall 2007.
  

Opportunities for Undergraduate Research

(a)  Students also expressed a desire to be involved with Sociology faculty in research.  For those who had this opportunity, they stated, “The undergraduate research I did in the Sociology program was probably the best experience that I’ve had at USU. I think it would be really good if there was some sort of way of getting people more involved with what professors have available for undergraduate research.”

(b)  The ASA “What Are They Doing Now” panel survey that includes USU graduates indicates that students use their statistics, research methods, and experiential coursework more than any other coursework when students enter the world of employment.  Thus the sociology program has implemented two capstone courses that utilize research or experiential learning.  Further, the Honors in Sociology program expanded so that more students are able to participate in undergraduate research opportunities.

Issues still under consideration

• Renaming Urban Sociology course.
• Developing lower division courses. This has been partially addressed by the above noted incorporation of FCHD 2400 and PSY 3510 into the curriculum.  Decline in faculty numbers have prevented further diversification.
• Developing more special topics courses that might attract a broader cross-section of undergraduate students on campus. One option suggested is to continue to offer regular Intro to Sociology course but offer special sections designed around specific issues (e.g. terrorism).
• Broadening course offerings under our Social Problems area. SOC 1020 (Social Problems) and SOC 3750 (Sociology of Aging) are the only two currently presented without a focus on some facet of crime, criminology or criminal justice.
  

Further enhancements for undergraduate curriculum to be available in 2010: 

The implementation of a rubric-based assessment program for individual course learning will result in new data for assessment.  This data will be available for the first time in the Spring of 2010. 

To be addressed in faculty retreat and during academic year in 2009-2010:

There has been a substantial increase in the number of masters and Ph.D. level courses offered since the last NWCCU review.  The graduate committee has proposed, and the graduate director and the sociology graduate faculty have agreed that a thorough review of the graduate curriculum needs to be undertaken.  The format of this review may be similar to the review undertaken for the undergraduate curriculum during the 2006-7 academic year.

Further enhancements for graduate curriculum to be available in 2011: 

The implementation of a rubric-based assessment program for individual course learning will result in new data for assessment.  This data will be available for the first time in the Spring of 2010.  Because the graduate curriculum is taught on a two-year cyclical basis, complete information for the assessment of the graduate curriculum will not be available until 2011.