SACSCOC Fifth Year Interim Report
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Assessment : 2011 - 2012 : Educational Programs :
Spanish BA
Spanish BA
1 Goal 2 Objectives 3 Indicators 3 Criteria 3 Findings 2 Actions
| GOAL: Skills Proficiency |
| Objective |
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| Graduating majors will demonstrate oral proficiency. |
| Indicator |
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Individual graduating majors will each give a 10" capstone presentation with 5" of questions, all in the target language, during the final semester before graduation. |
| Criterion |
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Three faculty members will evaluate each capstone presentation, using the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Language (ACTFL) levels, each student averaging intermediate mid or higher. |
| Finding |
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In Spring 2011, all students were assessed to be at intermediate-mid or higher. Graduating seniors in Spring 2011 averaged 7.34 which is categorized as advance-low. As last year, grammar errors were the most prevalent weakness. |
| Indicator |
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| All graduating majors will complete an ACTFL OPI during the final semester of classes. |
| Criterion |
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A Department of Foreign Language's officially trained ACTFL OPI Evaluator will interview each graduating major during the final semester. Students will be scored at intermediate, mid, or higher. |
| Finding |
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The OPI average for Spring, 2011, was 8, which is categorized as advance-mid. In Spring, 2012, it was 7.5, which is categorized as advance-low. We did decrease in average, which again is due primarily to grammar and other minor errors. We need another OPI evaluator among our faculty to meet the need of evaluating our graduating majors. We have problems getting more than the minimum number of faculty participants for the capstones, especially during the summer when many are off-campus. We have problems publicizing the Department requirements to the students for their timely completion of same, although the chair sends repeated emails to majors, the Department advisor tells students, the policies are on our website, etc. In many cases, these students are double majors who are advised in their other major and do not come to our Department for advising. |
Actions for Objective:
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Although we exceeded the criterion for oral proficiency, we still need to work with students on mastering grammar rules in Spanish. As more OPI evaluators are trained, we will be able to do an even better job of interviewing our students in a standardized manner. Another faculty member has scheduled training for November. |
| GOAL: Skills Proficiency |
| Objective |
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| Graduating majors will demonstrate writing proficiency. |
| Indicator |
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| During the final semester, all graduating majors will submit a portfolio of class assignments from SHSU classes to demonstrate writing proficiency. |
| Criterion |
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| Portfolio will contain 3 assignments: one paper, one grammar exam, and one of student's choice. The portfolio is scored by a faculty member teaching the course from which the assignment comes. Portfolios will be scored as meeting expectations or exceeds expectations. |
| Finding |
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The portfolios have been collected; however, there is an issue with the standardization of the type of documents included due to students / professors not saving the work over semesters. All students met expectations in Spring 2012. Again, however, there is an issue of standardization and measuring the same / similar products. Native speakers frequently do not use diacritic marks; non-natives make many grammar errors. Few students edit their work; very many submit first drafts. |
Actions for Objective:
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We are at work with IT to set up electronic portfolios, in which the majors will upload their work by the semester over the student's time on campus. Graduating majors' portfolios of three particular written assignments will be submitted before their graduation. The criterion is to meet expectations. We need to stress with native speakers the importance of diacritical marks and with non-native speakers grammar rules in Spanish. |
| Closing the Loop |
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Grammar for non-native speakers continues to be a major issue. For the native speakers, the diacritical markings tend to be lacking in their writing. Thus, we have to stress more intensively grammar rules and diacritical markings. We have a faculty member slated to be trained as an OPI evaluator in November. That should lessen the load for faculty. We are hoping that electronic portfolios will lesson the problem of standardizing the assignments submitted for the portfolio. We also need to standardize our response when first drafts are submitted rather than the final product.
We are consistently having all graduating Spanish majors complete the capstone presentation, the OPI evaluation, the portfolio and the questionniare every semester, with at least the minimum three faculty participants, usually more, and using the ACTFL national standards for evaluation across students. Unfortunately, these are frequently done at the last minute to the inconvenience of the faculty due to students waiting until the last minute of their last semester to complete the requirements. We have now established one date per semester for the capstones. Part of the problem is that students do no declare their graduation plans until the last minute. We may need to consult with students regarding how to remedy these failings. |