Sociology Goals and Assessment
B.S. in Sociology
Program Goals
Program Goal 1: The Department of Sociology and Political Science will be staffed with a faculty committed to excellence in the areas of teaching, research, and service.
Program Goal 2: The Department of Sociology and Political Science will serve the needs of students seeking non-traditional instruction methods by participating in the Regents Online Degree Program (RODP).
Student Learning Outcomes
Student Learning Outcome 1: Majors in sociology will demonstrate knowledge of their discipline at a level above or comparable to the national mean.
Student Learning Outcome 2: Majors in sociology will demonstrate critical thinking skills at a level above or comparable to the national mean.
Student Learning Outcome 3: Majors in sociology will be capable of effective oral and written communication.
Student Learning Outcome 4: Majors in sociology taking the criminal justice concentration will demonstrate competence in their concentration.
Student Learning Outcome 5: Sociology majors taking the social work concentration will be expected to be rated at a level above average by their supervisor when completing their required internship.
Assessments
Faculty Annual Report and Evaluation Process (Conducted annually in the spring semester) – Program Goal 1:Each faculty member will submit an annual report to the chairperson of the department discussing their efforts for the previous calendar year in the areas of teaching, research, and service. The report will address the following indicators:
Teaching - number of courses taught including on-campus courses; on-line courses;
and independent studies; enrollment in each course; and, appropriate teaching evaluations.
Research - publications; grants funded or continuing; presentations at international,
national, regional, or state professional organizations; manuscripts submitted for
publication; grant applications submitted; and, research in progress.
Service - service activities for the department, college, university, and community.
The annual report is the basis for the Faculty Annual Evaluation .
RODP Courses (Monitored each semester) – Program Goal 2:The chairperson of the department will monitor the number of RODP courses offered each term, the number of sections offered each term, and the enrollment. Results are included in the Department's Annual Report, and the Institutional Effectiveness Report.
ETS major field examination (Administered each fall and spring semester) - Student Learning Outcomes 1, & 2.Majors in sociology with senior classification will take the ETS major field examination in sociology.
IDEA Student Evaluation results (Administered each semester) – Student Learning Outcome 2.The chairperson of the department will monitor the percent of sociology instructors identifying Critical Thinking as a key course objective, and the percent of students who report citing progress on Critical Thinking in the related course.
National Survey of Student Engagement (Administered spring semesters 2006, 2009, 2011) – Student Learning Outcome 3:The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) will assess students' confidence in their abilities to write and speak clearly and effectively.
Multiple Choice Exam (Administered each fall and spring with the ETS Major field examination) – Student Learning Outcome 4:A multiple choice exam covering topics in criminal justice developed by faculty in the department. The exam is taken by majors in the criminal justice concentration and administered along with the ETS major field exam.
Supervisor Internship Evaluation Form (Completed by the student's supervisor at the internship location) – Student Learning Outcome 5:Supervisors of student internships complete a Supervisor Internship Evaluation Form for each student.
Rational for Outcomes and Assessments
Each individual faculty member’s progress in their Faculty Annual Report will be discussed with the chair, and an overall summary of the department’s progress will be included in an annual report from the chair to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Committed to Excellence is measured by at least 80% of the faculty receiving a rating of “Outstanding” or, “High” (the two highest ratings on the five point scale used in the evaluations) on their annual faculty evaluation.
The chairperson of the department will monitor the number of RODP courses offered each term, the number of sections offered each term, and the enrollment. Results will be included in the department annual report.
Performance at a level above or comparable to the national mean on the ETS Major Field Examination in Sociology will be defined as Tennessee Tech students having a mean score above or equal to the national mean, or a score no lower than one standard deviation below the national mean.
Performance at a level above or comparable to the national mean on Subscore 2 Critical Thinking on the ETS Major Field Examination in Sociology will be defined as Tennessee Tech students having a mean score on Subscore 2 Critical Thinking above or equal to the national mean, or a score no lower than one standard deviation below the national mean.
Sociology majors will be required to write papers and give oral presentations in various sociology courses. The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) will assess students’ confidence in their abilities to write and speak clearly and effectively. These results will be compared to other Tennessee Tech students and to our Carnegie peer institutions.
Sociology majors with the criminal justice concentration will be expected to answer 75% or more of the questions correctly on a multiple choice exam covering topics in criminal justice. The exam was developed by faculty in the department, and will be administered during the ETS major field exam.
Overall performance on the Supervisor Internship Evaluation Form is rated on a scale of:Outstanding; Good; Average; Fair; or, Poor. Ninety percent of sociology majors with the social work concentration will be expected to be rated at a level above average by their supervisor when completing their required internship.
