MEMO

Murray State University

College of Science, Engineering and Technology

Department of Chemistry

Subject: Feedback Response

Date: September 14, 2005

To: Academic Assessment Committee

From: Judy Ratliff, Chair

Department of Chemistry

Attached you will find my department’s response to the feedback provided to us by your committee. Thank you for your support and suggestions in improving this tool.

We will not respond to bullets number 2 and 3 since those did not seem appropriate to our submission. We were not suggesting assessing employment and had made it clear that we do not wait until the end of an education to assess what has been learned but carry assessment throughout our program.

However, we did revise our learning goals after consulting with other faculty within our college to better fit what we thought you might be asking for. This is a minor part of the vast amount of material covered in our curriculum and we are confident the committee is fully aware of that.

We did try to stress that we do have the ability to look at individual questions with the exams we use and our accrediting agency does keep statistics on each question on each test and have historically done so.

We realize we are all very new at this and welcome further suggestions as we improve this tool. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need further clarification.

5 SMART Steps to Establishing a Student Outcomes Assessment Plan (looking forward to next year)

For Academic Departments

ACADEMIC YEAR TO BE ASSESSED 05-06

Department of Chemistry

Major (Program) Chemistry

CIP Code 40.0501

Completed by (Name) Judy Ratliff

Department Chemistry Page 2

Sharpen learning goals into outcomes and set achievement targets
(List the Student Learning Outcomes—specifying the learning goal[s] to which they relate—and the achievement targets you are assessing this year.) / 1.  Demonstrate an understanding of Chemical Equilibrium as related to solubility.
2.  Demonstrate an understanding of Chemical Equilibrium as related to acid/base reactions.
3.  Demonstrate an understanding of Chemical Equilibrium as related to electrochemical reactions and general reaction progress.

Map the Curriculum

/ 1.  All chemistry students are introduced to the basic concepts of equilibria during their first year. During their second year they continue the study of equilibria in the classroom and begin to use it in chemical analyses in the laboratory. During their third year they continue to build upon these concepts and carry out more complicated analyses requiring comprehension of all aspects presented previously. During their fourth year they mathematically look at equilibria both theoretically as well as experimentally.
2.  Students are required to gather data, interpret it and present it in the form of formal written reports throughout the curriculum.
3.  Communication of learned material is evaluated in the written form throughout the curriculum and in the oral form beginning in classes during the junior year continuing into the senior year.
Assess
(How will the department assess each outcome?) / 1.  Curricular content knowledge is assessed annually at each level, freshman – senior, through the use of standardized examinations prepared in collaboration with our accrediting agency. We do have and use the ability to look at individual concepts and mastery of the learned material.
2.  Written reports are graded for content, accuracy, and grammar.
3.  Successful completion of laboratories includes the gathering, recording, interpreting and presentation of data gathered in written laboratory reports that are evaluated for content, accuracy, and grammar.
4.  All communications are evaluated for content, accuracy, and grammar.
Review the Results
(Required only in the Assessment Report, not the Plan).
Transfer Information into Action
(Required only in the Assessment Report, not the Plan).