Department of Sociology, Social Work and
Anthropology
ANTHROPOLOGY DATA-BASED DECISIONS
(CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT)
In
response to feedback from our various assessment mechanisms to date, the Anthropology
Program has responded with curriculum revisions as follows, and will continue to monitor these elements:
1) We participate in the Rhetoric Associates and Undergraduate Teaching Fellows
Programs to provide advanced training for Anthropology majors who participate
in the programs and to provide extra, often remedial, assistance for students
in lower division courses who interact with these student professionals.
2) In 2009-10, we added new courses designed to better prepare students for graduate school,
the job market, and life in general (e.g., Anthropological Resources (Anth 1099), a course for incoming majors, and an Applied Anthropology course).
3) We deleted (or closely monitoring for future deletion) courses that through
measures of attendance and student feedback (formal and informal evaluations)
have proven unsuccessful.
4) We have or are restructuring/refocusing content of courses that faculty consider essential
but that have traditionally had low enrollments. Modifications reflect feedback
from faculty and students through formal and informal student evaluations,
Anthropology faculty meetings, student performance, and so forth.
5) We reorganized “Structured Electives” to ensure that majors acquire the
knowledge and skills in the three subdisciplines of
Anthropology (archaeology, biological anthropology, cultural anthropology)
deemed essential by faculty for recognition as an Anthropology Baccalaureate.
6) We restructured senior Capstone courses to ensure that all
Anthropology majors have a comparable and equally challenging academic
experience, regardless of emphasis (archaeology, biological anthropology,
cultural anthropology). In response to faculty observations that Capstone
courses are often selected based on expediency rather than appropriate course
content, green sheet revisions and academic advisement were modified for 2009-2010 to ensure students are guided towards the appropriate capstone.
7) We increased our major course requirements from 33 to 39 credits (and
specialized B.S. requirements from 6 to 9 credits) to better educate our students and
prepare them for graduate school and/or the job market upon graduation.