2017
Louvenia Jackson, Department of Marital and Family Therapy
Proposed project to edit a self-identity inventory to be used in a pre-post assessment of student growth, and develop an art journal assignment and rubric (or other method) to analyze the journals.
2015
Saeri Cho Dobson, Department of Art and Art History, Studio Arts
Saeri Cho Dobson from the Studio Arts program created a new rubric for Graphic Design Faculty to apply at the Annual Graphic Design Junior Portfolio Review. The rubric will be used to assess students' ability to analyze and present three potential thesis ideas, as well as their capacity to contextualize these topics within their own contemporary design practice. She also developed a rubric that can be applied across courses to assess progress towards the development of a strong design portfolio. Over the next year, faculty will analyze the rubric evidence they gather to pinpoint areas of strength and areas in need of improvement.
Charles Peterson, Department of Art and Art History, Art History
Charles Peterson led the Art History program in a major revision of the two knowledge surveys used for assessment in their two cornerstone lower-division courses. Improving understanding of student learning in these courses was important to the program given that the courses fulfill several core requirements, attract students from a range of backgrounds and disciplines, and account for the first part of many Art History majors' and minors' program curriculum. The surveys were integrated into Qualtrics, LMU's online survey platform, so that students could access them with computers and mobile devices. The revised surveys were first administered at the start of the fall 2015 semester.
Kathleen Norris and Judy Battaglia, Department of Communication Studies
Kathleen Norris and Judy Battaglia developed an online survey to assess Communication Studies Academic Advising. The survey includes a variety of questions related to their Academic Advising student learning outcomes and will be administered for the first time in November 2015, after advising for the spring 2016 semester is complete. Results will be shared with both the Communication Studies faculty and the College of Communication and Fine Arts' Office of Academic Affairs. The results will be used to improve Communication Studies academic advising practices as needed. Communication Studies plans to distribute the survey and use the results on an annual basis.
2014
Amanda Herring, Department of Art and Art History, Art History
Amanda Herring led Art History faculty in modifying their assessment of their 200-series lower-division courses. They created a new assignment template for each class that will address key learning outcomes, notably the ability to write critically and the ability to analyze textual and visual sources within their historical context. They also developed a rubric that can be applied across courses to examine students' achievement of the outcomes. Over the next year, faculty will analyze the rubric scores to pinpoint areas of strength and areas in need of improvement.
2012
Dean Scheibel, Department of Communication Studies
Dean has begun building the foundation for what he hopes will become an interdisciplinary minor in Public Relations and Strategic Communications. He drafted and sought faculty feedback on a mission statement, program goals, and student learning outcomes, and continues to work on developing faculty goals and objectives. In the coming year, he intends to meet with Public Relations faculty to discuss the mapping of course content onto student learning outcomes and the sequencing of public relations courses that might eventually comprise a minor.