In some summaries of assessment activity, goals are referred to by number (e.g., K-2 is knowledge goal 2).

In 1989-90 the department piloted a pre/post assessment using a faculty-developed exam. Fifty multiple choice questions were chosen from a pool of questions developed by a large number of the department's faculty. After a preliminary study and item analysis in the fall semester, easy questions were replaced and the test was administered again in the spring semester. As a pre-test, it was given to students at the start of an introductory course. It was given as a post-test at the end of a senior capstone course and a senior Honors seminar. On average, the nearly 1,000 new spring semester introductory students answered 29% of the questions correctly. The approximately 200 seniors tested in the capstone and Honors courses answered an average of 55% and 62% respectively.

The faculty concluded that this approach was not satisfactory and decided instead to assess seniors' abilities with Educational Testing Service's Major Field Achievement Test (MFAT) in psychology. The MFAT is a nationally standardized exam based on the GRE, designed to assess knowledge and skills in the major. As a pilot test, twenty-two students in PSYC 4511, the senior capstone History of Psychology course, took the MFAT in 1990-91. They performed very much like the national sample, both in overall score and in area subscores. But since they were only 4% of the year's senior majors, and were volunteers, it was difficult to extrapolate to the rest of the majors. The faculty decided that in future years all graduating majors would be required to take the MFAT. The number of graduating seniors taking the MFAT each year from 1991-92 to 1996-97 has ranged from 140 to 361.

Activity in 1996-97

In 1996-97 all seniors were required to take the MFAT or complete an exit survey; the 350 graduating seniors were randomly assigned to test or survey groups. Two-thirds actually completed this requirement.

The table below shows the percentile ranking of the 51 '96-97 CU-Boulder MFAT takers among schools using the MFAT nationally, by area.

	CU-Boulder Percentile
Overall	54
--Sensory & Physiology	94
--Perception/comparative/ethology/sensory	86
--Memory & Thinking	67
--Clinical/abnormal/personality	61
--Learning/cognitive	56
--Clinical & Abnormal	53
--Social	49
--Developmental/social	46
--Developmental	36
--Measurement & Methodology	31

In summary, CU-Boulder psychology students are doing particularly well in sensory and physiological psychology, and are relatively weak in measurement and methods, at least as measured by the MFAT. In other areas their scores are similar to those at other schools using the MFAT.

The Department has been dissatisfied with the utility of MFAT results and plans to replace it with another assessment method; however, because of planned curricular changes beginning in 1998-99, it is anticipated that a new method for assessing undergraduate education will not be in place until 1999-2000.

The exit survey was piloted in 1995-96. The 180 seniors completing exit surveys in 1996-97 were asked about

• satisfaction with courses, curriculum, faculty, advising, lab equipment, and so on
• opportunities for learning outside the classroom
• emphasis on various content areas
• their current skill levels
• individual faculty members

The Department has not yet reported on use of survey results. A few highlights:

• The 53 individual faculty members and instructors listed were rated by from 1% to 66% of seniors, with the percentage "superior (A)" ranging from 0% to 91%.
• 76% reported being satisfied, 15% dissatisfied, with the department overall; similar numbers were satisfied with courses, course availability, curriculum, and many other aspects of the program
• Half were satisfied, 34% dissatisfied, with advising in the department overall, with similar numbers for several specific aspects of advising
• 67% reported being satisfied with "the preparation you received . . . for life after college," with 13% dissatisfied.

Activity in 1997-98

As outlined above, the 1995-96 Department self-study recommended a new curriculum for Psychology majors that will be aimed at creating a more coherent educational experience at the upper division level while also granting more flexibility in selection of upper division courses. In addition, the Department is working to strengthen lower division courses, including requiring more of them. This new curriculum was under active development but had not been implemented yet for the 1997-98 academic year.

Also, the Department was not satisfied with the MFAT as a method for assessing the education of its undergraduate majors, and so did not administer it in 1997-98. In an attempt to strengthen the assessment of undergraduate education, the Department’s Committee on Undergraduate Education is actively considering a host of possible alternative methods, including portfolio assessment, interviews of graduating seniors, student surveys, rating of student papers by outside reviewers, Department-developed comprehensive examinations, standardized tests, and others. It is expected that a new assessment plan, using one or more of these methods, will be in place for the 1999-2000 academic year, and that the new plan will assess two different aspects of undergraduate education, both of them in light of the planned curriculum changes: (1) graduating psychology majors’ subject-area knowledge base, and (2) their overall experience with the Department.

Because neither the planned curricular changes nor the assessment method changes were in place in 1997-98, the Department did not think it was appropriate to report assessment of learning outcomes as such for 1997-98.

However, the department did administer a survey to 244 graduating seniors, a 69% sample, in May, 1998. Of this number 77% were women and 23% were men, reflecting the distribution of female and male psychology majors. In addition, 81% were White, 81% were from Colorado, and 82% were applying or expecting to apply to graduate school. The largest number, 36%, described their primary interest as "clinical," while 27% said "social" and 24% "biological."

Most students (67%) expressed great satisfaction with the faculty and their teaching. An equal percentage of students were satisfied with the curriculum and the Department as a whole. Because the department has implemented new requirements effective 1998-1999, we will continue to monitor student satisfaction with the curriculum. We expect that the new curriculum will increase the breadth and depth of student knowledge about psychology.

Students expressed mixed feelings about advising, with only 41% of students indicating that they are satisfied with advising. This included the advice provided by faculty members. However, a new advising system was also implemented for the 1998-99 academic year, assigning each student to an advisor and, it is hoped, streamlining the advising on campus more generally. We expect that once the new advising system is worked out, satisfaction with advising will increase. We are encouraging faculty to talk with students about career options.

Return to the index of unit summaries

Return to the Outcomes Assessment Table of Contents

L:\WWW\OUTCOMES\UNITS\PSYC.HTM

Last updated October 31, 2000