I. OBJECTIVES, OUTCOMES and ASSESSMENT A ... - pace university

Student Opinion Survey
The "Student Opinion Survey," a mechanism created and managed by the
Seidenberg School, is administered annually to students shortly after graduation
(Attachment I-5). Among other things, students are asked about achievement on
program outcomes a through k. While self-reports are only an indirect measure
(i.e. they do not require demonstrations of the ad hoc abilities and skills), "…the
research literature indicates a moderate to strong correspondence between
students' self-reports and more objective measures of learning outcomes." [Linda
C. Strauss and Patrick T. Terenzini; "Assessing Student Performance on EC2000
Criterion 3.a-k"; Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering
Education; June 2005, page 8 -- available on display in the Goldstein Academic
Center, room 314].
The instrument’s stability has afforded before/after insight into whether program
improvements seem to be having the intended effects. The only changes to the
instrument, since it was first administered in 1997, were made in 2005. These
included rewordings of three items (5, 16, and 17) and three new questions
added at the end (46, 47, and 48). The next student opinion survey will include
an additional item asking graduates about the international study opportunities of
which they availed themselves to better assess the global aspect of outcome g.
A major change in the curriculum, to be discussed, was implemented for Fall
2002 when software engineering was made the required capstone. Table 1.4
below contrasts the data from 2002 with the data from 2005 to assess this
change on the outcomes effected. The tabulated percentages have no intrinsic
meaning. The reason for two sets of values is to establish a baseline and show a
change of direction.
Table 1.4 Indirect Measures of Outcomes a through k
from the Student Opinion Surveys (New Graduates) in 2002 and 2005
Outcome Applicable Items
2002
Reported Fulfillment
2005
Reported Fulfillment
a 1, 7, 9 51% 56%
b 3, 4, 5, 8 45% 62%
c 5, 7 37% 50%
d 14 60% 67%
e 15, 16, 17 62% 64%
f 11, 12, 13 67% 50%
g 15, 16, 17 62% 64%
h 2, 18, 19 69% 78%
i 4, 6, 10 49% 64%
j 8, 9 43% 57%
k 5, 6 34% 53%
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