Spring 2008 Semester Assessment Report Form

DUE October 31st, 2008

Directions: Please complete a form for each of the programs within your department. This form was designed to provide a format for assessment reporting and should not be used to limit the amount of information provided. Each box that is attached to each of the sections is designed to adjust to varying lengths. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Bea Babbitt at x51506 or via email at: .

1. Program Information:

Program / MPA
Department / Public Administration
College / Urban Affairs
Program Assessment Coordinator / Anna Lukemeyer
Semester Data Collected / Spring 2008
Report Submitted by / Anna Lukemeyer
Phone/email / 895-3046
Date Submitted / February 6, 2009

2. According to the Assessment Plan for this program, what were the planned assessments to be conducted during Spring 2008? You may want to copy and paste from this program’s assessment plan.

Which outcomes for this program were measured? / How did you measure the outcomes? / What results did you expect? If the students performed well what would their performance look like, i.e. percentages, means, or comparisons to a national standard?
__6__outcomes out of a total of __20__ outcomes evaluated this semester.
.
MPSO2 Identify and compare the different public personnel systems that operate in public organizations.
PPOE 6 Identify the best practices in management.
MPSO 4 Recognize and list elements of common budgetary systems
MPSO5 List and explain the stages of the budgetary process
MPSO6 Explain the basics of monetary and fiscal policy
MPSO7 Identify and evaluate the sources of revenue available to government organizations / Three research article reports and final paper in PUA 708-001
Final paper in PUA 708-001
This content is taught in PUA 704. We use final grades in PUA 704-001 to assess performance. / Students earning a grade of B to B+ (3.0 to 3.3. on a 4.0 scale) are performing at or minimally above standard. Students receiving a grade better than B+ (above 3.3) are performing above standard. Because of the complexity of graduate level assignments, grades reported for these measures will reflect other skills as well as those set out in the specific outcome evaluated for this report.
Students earning a grade of B to B+ (3.0 to 3.3. on a 4.0 scale) are performing at or minimally above standard. Students receiving a grade better than B+ (above 3.3) are performing above standard. Because of the complexity of graduate level assignments, grades reported for these measures will reflect other skills as well as those set out in the specific outcome evaluated for this report.
Students earning a grade of B to B+ (3.0 to 3.3. on a 4.0 scale) are performing at or minimally above standard. Students receiving a grade better than B+ (above 3.3) are performing above standard.

3. Results, conclusions, and discoveries. What are the results of the planned assessments listed above? What conclusions or discoveries were made from these results? Describe below or attach to the form.

Results, conclusions, and discoveries
MPSO2. Sixteen students completed 3 research article reports and a final paper in PUA 708 for a total of 64 measurements for this objective. One student withdrew from the course and one failed it. Measurements for these two students are excluded. A grade of B to B+ (3.0 to 3.3) represented performance at standard. A grade above B+ (3.3) represented performance above standard. Excluding the two who withdrew or did not pass the course, all students performed at or above standard. Mean scores and range for each measure were: Research Article Report 1: 3.82 (3.3-4.0); RA Report 2: 3.80 (3.5-4.0); RA Report 3: 3.78 (3.0-4.0).
PPOE6. We use the grades of the sixteen students who successfully completed PUA 708-001 to assess performance on this objective. Specifically, we look at grades on the final exam. Again, a grade of B to B+ (3.0 to 3.3) represented performance at standard. A grade above B+ (3.3) represented performance above standard. Of the sixteen students successfully completing the course, all performed at or above standard on the final paper ( 2 at standard and 14 above). The mean score was 3.75. Scores ranged from 3.0 to 4.0.
MPSO4 to MPSO7. We use final grades in PUA 704-001 to assess performance on these standards. Of the fifteen students enrolled, three performed at standard, 11 performed above standard, and 1 did not complete the work.
Overall, our MPA students are mature and highly motivated. Determining the best way to assess and report skills on individual performance objectives (as opposed to skills on complex tasks), particularly in a graduate program, remains a challenge.

4. Use of Results. What program changes are indicated? How will they be implemented? If none, describe why changes were not needed.

The department is in a time of transition. Our former chair has gone on to become our Dean, and we are conducting a search for a new chair. For the present, an interim chair has taken over preparing these reports. In addition, our students seem to be performing at or above standard on most of the assessments reported here. Given this context, it seems best to concentrate on refining and systematizing the measurement and reporting of student performance on assessments, in order to enhance their utility in improving teaching and learning.

5. Dissemination of results, conclusions, and discoveries. How and with whom were the results shared?

The results will be discussed by all faculty at one of our regularly scheduled meetings. In addition, they are available through the UNLV website for the Office of Academic Assessment.