Department of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology

ANTHROPOLOGY ASSESSMENT PLAN

Techniques and activities that are used to assess whether these goals are met include:

1. Assignments, Effective Grading, & Departmental Assessment. Specific assignments in each course examine students' learning in one or more of the above program objectives. Faculty members make available to students the criteria on which students will be evaluated for assignments then assay student-learning outcomes relative to the Anthropology Program curriculum. For example, faculty members will assess aspects of the curriculum addressing mastery of anthropological methods by examining how students complete course assignments or tests. Exams and papers from classes will be utilized in coordination with the rubrics listed below to ascertain whether a course or courses are meeting Anthropology Program goals and objectives.

2. Assessment Rubrics: The purpose of using these two assessment rubrics is to evaluate Anthropology Program success in meeting both goals and learning objectives. The rubrics are based on Mary J. Allen's Assessing Academic Programs in Higher Education (2004). All Anthropology students are required to take a senior-level capstone course in their area of specialization (track). The capstone course is designed to be the pinnacle of each student’s educational experience in Anthropology, and therefore student products from these courses provide an ideal tool for assessment. Each spring the Anthropology Assessment Team will rate five research papers/essay exams from each of the capstone courses taught that year according to the rubrics described below, with 4 indicating “exceptional” and 1 indicating “unacceptable.” The rating sheets will be gathered and correlations established to determine inter-rater reliability and attainment of learning objectives.

ASSESSMENT RUBRICS:

Anthropology Goals and Objectives	Unacceptable: Evidence the student has mastered objective is not provided, unconvincing or incomplete.	Marginal: Evidence the student has mastered objective is provided, but is unconvincing or incomplete.	Acceptable: Evidence the Student has mastered objective is provided and is convincing.	Exceptional: Evidence the student has mastered objective is provided, is convincing, and is at a high level.
Anthropology Goals
1. Know the nature, intent, and scope of anthropology.
2. Attain depth in one of the subfields.
3. Know how science and humanities paradigms pertain to anthropological theory and method.
4. Be familiar with the cultures of a major world region.
5. Develop recognition of and respect for human differences.
Anthropology Learning Objectives
1. Be able to compare and contrast major theoretical perspectives.
2. Become familiar with a range of anthro- pological methods.
3. Be able to apply methods specific to one of the subfields
4. Comprehend reading material appropriate to course levels.
5. Communicate effectively in written and oral forms.
6. Conduct library research using modern methods.
7. Use a computer for written work and for research.
8. Be able to think critically about issues requiring a synthesis of perspectives from the humanities and the sciences in a culturally diverse world.

3. Each spring the department will survey new and continuing students in the Anthropology Program to document their perceptions of how well the program is meeting its learning objectives. These surveys will supplement the exit interviews with graduating seniors that are already utilized periodically by the Program and Department. The Department Head or designee will use focus group methods to conduct these interviews near the end of spring semester, once every two to three years. These interviews are designed to gather information about student perceptions of how well the program is meeting its learning objectives. Exit interviews will ask students to respond to the following questions.

1. What do you plan to do after graduation?
2. How has this major worked for you in terms of preparing you for your future?
3. What could we have done differently to better prepare you?
4. How well did advising work for you?
5. Did required courses provide what you needed in terms of foundations of the discipline?
6. Are there any elective courses that should be required? Why?
7. Are there any elective courses that should be eliminated? Why?
8. What were your favorite courses and why?
9. If you had to change one thing about the program, what would that be?
10. Other comments about your experience with the Sociology program that you want to share?

4. In late spring or early fall, Anthropology program faculty will meet to discuss the results of all of these assessment measures and to make necessary changes to the course offerings, course content, and program structure. The Program made major revisions to its undergraduate curriculum in 2008 for implementation in the 2009-2010 academic year; these changes were in response to previous assessment efforts, so it will be important to evaluate the effectiveness of these changes over the next few years.

Target Dates for Implementing the Anthropology Assessment Plan

There are two major components of our assessment plan: (1) collecting and “grading” samples of student final (term) papers from our capstone courses according to a detailed assessment rubric; and (2) administering surveys to graduating and continuing anthropology students.

With regard to the first component, anthropology offers three capstone classes, one in each of three focal areas (archaeology, cultural anthropology, and biological anthropology). Each capstone is offered every other year. Each time a capstone is offered, we will collect a random sample of five final papers. These papers are typically due during the final two weeks of class, and the classes are nearly always offered spring term. Therefore, our target date for selection and collection of the papers is May 1. Should a capstone be offered in fall semester, collection and analysis dates will be adjusted accordingly.

The capstone papers will be provided to the three members of the anthropology assessment team, who will read them and assign scores that reflect how well each of the goals and objectives listed in our assessment rubric have been met. The anthropology program director will collect the scores from the three team members, and then average them across the three team members and across the five papers. Data reflecting a given capstone will be gathered and compiled by September 30 of the following fall semester.

With regard to the second component of our assessment plan, administering a survey to graduating and continuing anthropology majors, we will administer these every-other spring semester, starting in spring 2010. The survey will be administered by March 30, and results will be compiled by May 15.

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