SACSCOC Fifth Year Interim Report
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Assessment : 2011 - 2012 : Educational Programs :
Criminal Justice PhD
Criminal Justice PhD
2 Goals 2 Objectives 2 Indicators 2 Criteria 2 Findings 2 Actions
| GOAL: Professional Literature Reviews |
| Objective |
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| Students completing the Ph.D. program will demonstrate necessary tools and knowledge to produce a professional literature review. |
| Indicator |
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| Literature reviews in CJ 7333-Proseminar in Criminal Justice Issues are appraised using the attached rubric which lists the important ingredients of a quality literature review. This year the focus will be on mastering the component of describing and integrating the extent and nature of the Extant Literature. |
| Criterion |
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Students will score a 4 or above on Component, "Describe/integrate the extent and nature of the Extant Literature". This component is by far the weakest in the Literature Reviews but one of the most important. More emphasis will be placed on this component in this classroom. Students must integrate the various disparate components of the literature on a specific CJ topic into a cogent, well-presented review of the literature. The paper should read smoothly, grammar appropriate, syntax well-organized, gaps in the literature identified, a cogent review of integrated literature, and strengths and weaknesses of the literature identified. Explain what research needs to cover the holes in the literature. Several of these, along with APA style, emerged as weaknesses last year. |
| Finding |
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Students in CJ 7333 were all asked to complete a literature review for CJ 7333. The 2011 cohort demonstrated a good knowledge of the APA manual this year with all of the students receiving above acceptable on their paper. Papers were arranged accordingly so that the idea flowed. Strengths were seen in identifying the extant literature that either supported or refuted the researcher's question. Students scored 4 and above in this area of the rubric. |
Actions for Objective:
| Action |
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| Students seem to be benefiting from the use of the rubric to identify those areas that are weak. The rubric breaks down the parts of the Literature Review for students so they are aware of the major areas that should be a part of their paper. This rubric will be used for the Proseminar research paper. |
| GOAL: Doctoral Teaching Fellows Provide Quality Classroom Teaching |
| Objective |
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| Third year Ph.D. students are given the opportunity to teach as Doctoral Teaching Fellows (DTF) and provide classroom instruction for undergraduates. These DTF’s will demonstrate the necessary abilities to provide quality classroom experiences. |
| Indicator |
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| Doctoral Teaching Fellows IDEA scores |
| Criterion |
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| DTF's will perform at or above the similar/middle 40% box on the IDEA evaluation form. Summary Evaluation will be 4.0 or above for teaching evaluations. |
| Finding |
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| Of the thirteen students who were Doctoral Teaching Fellows, all received performance ratings at or above the 40% and 4.0 in the summary evaluation, except for two students who received below the 4.0 and were rated in the 20% category of the summary evaluation. |
Actions for Objective:
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Those students receiving below the 4.0 scale for the summary evaluation will be counseled by the associate dean and will be given direction on how to improve those areas that were rated below the 40% category in the overall rating. Those areas, progress on relevant objectives and overall rating for excellent teacher, have individual components for each of these students that will be addressed. |
| Closing the Loop |
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The CRIJ 7333 has been very beneficial in preparing the new cohort of Ph.D. students for the rigors of the program and the challenges they will be facing in the upcoming years. The literature review rubric has proved to be a great tool and will be used in the class to identify strengths and weaknesses in the students' writing. The IDEA evaluation forms highlight where new student professors need additional help and we will assess these to address these concerns and to punctuate those good qualities. In the 2012-2013 academic year, we will see a change in the Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies for the College of Criminal Justice. This person will identify new goals and objectives for the graduate program.
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