Psychology Department Annual Assessment Report to the College 2017-2018

Abstract

The Psychology department 2017-18 annual assessment report to the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences for the Office of Academic Assessment and Program Review. PSLO #4 was assessed with a focus on student proficiency in writing research papers according to the standard American Psychological Association (APA) format. A 5-criterion rubric (included in the report) was created for the assessment, following APA guidelines. Results note that "all of the PSY 321 classes had an “exemplary” rating (0-4 errors, M = 1.8 errors), and all of the capstone classes had an “exemplary” rating (0-3 errors, M = 1.3 errors). For criteria 2 (i.e., APA body and formatting), 7 PSY 321 classes had an “exemplary” rating, and 1 PSY 321 class had an “acceptable” rating (0-4 errors, M = 2.2 errors). All of the capstone classes had an “exemplary” rating (0-3 errors, M = 1.2 errors). For criteria 3 (i.e., figures/tables), 4 PSY 321 classes had an “exemplary” rating, and 4 PSY 321 classes had an “acceptable” rating (0-9 errors, M = 3.9 errors). All of the capstone classes had an “exemplary” rating (0-55 errors, M = 2.6 errors). For criteria 4 (i.e., references), all of the PSY 321 classes had an “exemplary” rating (0-4 errors, M = 2.3 errors). Six capstone classes had an “exemplary” rating, and 2 capstone classes had an “acceptable” rating (1-10 errors, M = 4.0 errors). For criteria 5 (i.e., internal citations), all of the PSY 321 classes had an “exemplary” rating (0-5 errors, M = 1.4 errors), and all of the capstone classes had an “exemplary” rating (0-3 errors, M = 2.5 errors). In general, the results show that students are learning and applying APA formatting at an exemplary or acceptable level." Plans for 2018-19 include the assessment of PSLO #2 in PSY 321 and capstone courses.