2011-2012 Year-End Report from the William O. Douglas Honors College

Completed by: Dr. Matthew Altman, Director, William O. Douglas Honors College

Submitted to: Dr. Tracy Pellett, Associate Provost

August 2012

Assessment

The 2011-2012 Assessment Report is included as part of this year-end report.

Activities

Once again, the DHC successfully integrated its academics with cultural events and research opportunities for DHC students and faculty. In addition to a cultural event in the fall, we had strong participation in SOURCE and the Western Regional Honors Council (WRHC) conference, and social events that developed a sense of community among the students and faculty.

Cultural event

Limited financial resources this year meant that we could only have one cultural event: DHC students attended a performance of the play Red at the Seattle Repertory Theatre in fall 2011.

University-Wide Event

This year the DHC sponsored a lecture series titled “The Thin Tweed Line,” on the history of education and the concept of the university. The series was led by Steve Jackson (Communication) and is posted on the web. It also included guest lecturers.

Symposium on University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE)

Eighteen DHC students presented papers at the Symposium on University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE) in May 2012: Taylor Baker, Katie Berberick, Amanda Berndt, Kyle Grove, Ben Livingston, Sarah Nassif, Reesa Nelson, Jesse Hegstrom Oakey, Terri Pace, Kelley Pierre, Alyson Savage, Michelle Schlonga, Alec Schmidt, Alanna Shores, Cody Taylor, Amanda Tompkins, Mark Weidenaar, and Natasha Wood. This is an increase in student participation, which was already strong: fifteen students in 2010-2011, ten students in 2009-2010, and ten students in 2008-2009.

Two faculty members in the DHC, Liahna Armstrong and Wayne Quirk, also led a panel to discuss their DHC course, DHC 270: Baseball in American Life and Culture.

The DHC is disproportionately represented at SOURCE. Most DHC courses have strong writing components, and DHC faculty members are encouraging students to participate in SOURCE.

Western Regional Honors Council (WRHC) conference

The DHC is a member of the Western Regional Honors Council (WRHC), and it is important for the honors students, the DHC, and CWU as a whole that we remain active in the organization. One of the ways that we accomplish this is to attend the annual conference and present research there. This year the conference was held in Albuquerque, New Mexico from March 31-April 2, 2012. Ten students — Matthew Baird, Katie Berberick, Sarah Nassif, Reesa Nelson, Jesse Hegstrom Oakey, Terri Pace, Alyson Savage, Michelle Schlonga, Cody Taylor, and Natasha Wood — gave presentations of their work there, and two faculty members — Matthew Altman and Liahna Armstrong — presented papers on honors pedagogy. This is a very high rate of participation. As with the previous three years, once again there were more Central students and instructors presenting than from any other single school.

This continues the high rate of participation that we have had for the past two years: we sent ten students and two faculty members in 2011, twelve students and three faculty members in 2010, and nine students and three faculty members in 2009.

It should also be noted that Dr. Altman successfully requested funding from the Student Activity Fee Committee for this trip. No money came out of the DHC budget.

Social events

The DHC had a number of informal social events this year. For example, a welcome reception for DHC students and faculty was held in Kamola in September. Many other events were planned in conjunction with the Douglas Honors Living-Learning Community (LLC) in Kamola Hall. Among other things, events included a “fireside chat” at which Dr. Altman discussed the upper-division scholarship experience and fielded questions from students, presentations by DHC students and faculty, and several student-faculty mixers.

Accomplishments

Recruitment

The DHC has been very successful this year with recruitment and retention. More specific numbers are included in Appendix I, which details the DHC enrollment numbers since fall 2002.

The number of first-year students continues to rise. In 2007 there were 13 entering freshmen, in 2008 there were 29 entering freshmen, in 2009 there were 38 entering freshmen, in 2010 there were 54 entering freshmen, and in 2011 there were 59 entering freshmen. As our budget tightens, however, we need to keep enrollment numbers manageable. The budget issue has already affected the number of students we can accept. We expect to have between 40 and 50 students in the fall 2012 entering class.

President Gaudino set an unofficial goal for us to reach a total of 150 students in the DHC. We achieved that in AY 2011-2012, only three years into the new DHC curriculum.

So far, students have been a bit slow to join the DHC’s upper-division scholarship experience. However, recruitment for fall 2012 looks strong. Recruitment of transfer students and Running Start students is especially good.

Once again, recruitment is strong because the DHC has used every opportunity to contact potential students: e-mails and mailings to high school teachers and advisors; participation in academic fairs and open houses; personal letters, emails, and phone calls to students who have expressed interest in or applied to Central; flyers given to potential students at on-campus events, etc. In addition, the director has met personally with a number of students and parents.

Bloomer Scholarship

This year the Bloomer Scholarship Committee selected four students to receive the Bloomer Scholarship: Bryan Elliott ($250), Jesse Hegstrom Oakey ($250), Lauren Messmore ($250), and Abigail Root ($250).

Budget

Although we have had a much higher enrollment this year than in previous years, and we have had to offer many more credit hours’ worth of classes, we have been able to do so while remaining within the budget that we have had for several years. This affected the number of cultural events we could offer, however, and it did not allow us to pay for any outside speakers to come to campus.

DHC Advisory Committee

The DHC director met regularly this year with the DHC Advisory Committee, which reviewed course proposals in the fall, advised on recruitment, discussed possible changes to the DHC curriculum, and reviewed the charter for the new DHC External Advisory Board. The committee also wrote a letter in support of DHC director Altman’s tenure application.

Course proposals

The DHC received a number of excellent proposals (approximately twenty) from faculty members throughout the university who are interested in teaching in the DHC. Seven new courses were selected to be offered for the first time in AY 2012-2013.

DHC External Advisory Board

DHC director Altman wrote a charter and recruited members for the new DHC External Advisory Board, which had its first meeting in June 2012. The board is comprised of DHC alumni and important members of the Ellensburg community.

Areas of improvement

Because of the growth in enrollment, we will need to address budget concerns in AY 2012-2013. Associate Provost Pellett has committed to covering any shortfall that the DHC faces in AY 2012-2013 due to increased course offerings. However, DHC director Altman will submit a request in fall 2012 for the DHC’s base budget to be increased in subsequent years.

The DHC has become a destination for the best and brightest students in the Northwest. Many students tell me and their academic advisors that they chose to attend Central because of the DHC. The new curriculum is going strong and is achieving goals for academic rigor, student satisfaction, and enrollment. We must continue this strong record of service to students and the university as a whole.

Central Washington University

Assessment of Student Learning

Annual Report

Academic Year of Report: 2011-2012

College: William O. Douglas Honors College

Check here if your assessment report covers all undergraduate degree programs: [n/a]

Check here if your assessment report covers all graduate degree programs: [n/a]

Vision

The William O. Douglas Honors College is a regional and national center of academic excellence where an ethical commitment to learning is integrated with a passionate spirit of inquiry and a critical understanding of the responsibilities of global citizenship. By bringing together the great ideas from diverse traditions of knowledge around the world for analysis and understanding, the college promotes independent thinking and prepares creative and innovative leaders to meet emerging challenges of local, national, and international issues.

Mission

The William O. Douglas Honors College expands the general educational experience of talented undergraduate students at Central Washington University through an enriched program of studies in the arts, humanities, and natural and social sciences. With an interdisciplinary core curriculum and upper-division scholarship experiences, the honors college encourages students to develop their abilities in reading, writing, critical thinking, and public speaking, skills that are necessary for them to become responsible and productive citizens.

1. What student learning outcomes were assessed this year, and why?

In fall 2010, the Douglas Honors College Curriculum Committee wrote an assessment plan for the new honors curriculum.

● This assessment plan includes three college goals:

1. In education, the DHC will:

a) provide students with a broad liberal arts education, drawing on a number of time periods, cultures, disciplines, and viewpoints.

b) train students to become effective communicators by developing their skills as speakers and writers.

c) train students to apply critical thinking and analytical reasoning to both contemporary and enduring issues.

d) help students to be able and willing to challenge assumptions and consider multiple perspectives.

e) expose students and faculty to premier cultural events in the Northwest.

2. In scholarship, the DHC will:

a) support faculty and student research and creative endeavors.

3. In service, the DHC will:

a) sponsor relevant public presentations and colloquia.

b) contribute to interdisciplinary activities and university-wide forums.

● The assessment plan also includes five student learning outcomes:

1. Students will learn to discern themes and worldviews in global canonical texts. They will gain multi- and interdisciplinary knowledge about literature, philosophy, religion, political theory, history, the physical sciences, and the social sciences.

2. Students will be able to identify themes that develop and persist over time and across cultures. Students will relate ideas from the past to current cultural and social issues.

3. Students will cultivate their own positions on contemporary and enduring issues based on research, and develop the skills to support them with argument and evidence, both in written and oral form.

4. While engaging in civil discussions, students will develop the ability to present opposing positions and provide constructive criticism.

5. Students will demonstrate an open-minded but critical understanding of great works of human culture in order to appreciate and assess other views.

2. How were they assessed?

DHC Goal 1: We used written essays and examinations, student presentations, senior theses, student and faculty participation in conferences, and sponsorship of university-wide events and interdisciplinary programs. Data was collected in fall, winter, and spring quarters from selected DHC courses.

DHC Goal 2: We collected information about student and faculty presentations at conferences. This information was collected during spring quarter.

DHC Goal 3: We collected information about university-wide events and interdisciplinary programs that the DHC had sponsored or co-sponsored.

Student Learning Outcome 1: This outcome focuses on student learning to discern themes and worldviews in global canonical text as well students gaining multi- and interdisciplinary knowledge about literature, philosophy, religion, political theory, history and the philosophy of science. To assess our achievement of this outcome, selected DHC instructors evaluated capstone projects in their respective courses.

Student Learning Outcome 2: This outcome focuses on students’ ability to identify themes that persist over time and across cultures, and to relate ideas from the past to current cultural and social issues. To assess our achievement of this outcome, selected DHC instructors evaluated capstone projects in their respective courses.

Student Learning Outcome 3: This outcome focuses on students’ ability to cultivate their own positions on original source material and to develop the skills to support them with argument and evidence, both in written and oral form. To assess our achievement of this outcome, selected DHC instructors evaluated capstone projects in their respective courses.

Student Learning Outcome 4: This outcome focuses on engaging students in civil discussions and developing the ability to present opposing positions and provide constructive criticism. To assess our achievement of this outcome, selected DHC instructors evaluated capstone projects in their respective courses.

Student Learning Outcome 5: This outcome focuses on demonstrating an open-minded but critical understanding of great works of human culture in order to appreciate and assess other views. To assess our achievement of this outcome, selected DHC instructors evaluated capstone projects in their respective courses.

3. What was learned?

Department Goal 1: Education

a. Student retention

The criterion of achievement is to have 75% of enrolled freshmen complete the core curriculum.

With the new curriculum, this is a bit hard to measure, since people complete their core requirements at different times in their college careers — usually sometime after their sophomore years. As a rough measure, I am comparing the number of sophomores completing their second year (in spring 2012) with the number of those students who entered the program in (fall 2010).

54 students entered the program in fall 2010, and 39 students of those students remained at the end of their sophomore year. 72.2% of enrolled freshmen completed the core curriculum. This does not meet our goal for student retention.

There are some confounding factors in this measurement, however. For example, the number of juniors increased, which may indicate that some students ended their sophomore year with enough credits to qualify as juniors. Also, students may not have enrolled in DHC courses at the end of their sophomore year because they completed the DHC core curriculum early. This is entirely possible, given the number of transfer, AP, and Running Start credits that our students are bringing in with them. Because of the complexity of the new DHC curriculum, it is very difficult to track students.

b. Required coursework

The criterion of achievement is for 75% of students to obtain at least “met expectations” for Outcome #1 on the standard rubric. This year we are assessing a selection of classes in the core DHC curriculum and in the upper-division. (On the advice of Associate Provost Pellett, we are not assessing every DHC class.) Assessment data from the courses is included in Appendix II.