SACSCOC Fifth Year Interim Report
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Assessment : 2011 - 2012 : Educational Programs :
Family and Consumer Sciences BA (Interior Design)
Family and Consumer Sciences BA (Interior Design)
3 Goals 3 Objectives 3 Indicators 3 Criteria 3 Findings 3 Actions
| GOAL: Student Knowledge Of Content Area |
| Objective |
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| Students graduating from the interior design program will demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary for entry-level management in interior design positions. |
| Indicator |
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| The Exit Survey for interior design majors includes multiple-choice and short-answer sections that test retention of course material and a case study that applies directly to interior design; it is graded on a pass/fail basis. (Each program area has multiple-choice, short answer, and identification questions that are specific to that program content.) To develop this instrument, faculty in the content area reviewed course and program objectives and chose questions from exams that reflected important concepts that students should retain. The test is used repetitively and the scoring is consistent. For security reasons, the test portion (multiple-choice questions, short essay questions, and identification items) is not attached. However, this document is available in the chair's office. |
| Criterion |
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| 90% of students who complete the interior design program's Exit Survey will score a grade of Low Pass, Pass or High Pass on the content portions of the exam. |
| Finding |
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| Data was collected on all 7 of the graduates of this program for the 2011-2012 academic year. All 7 (100%) of the graduates scored a grade of Pass or High Pass, so this criterion was met. |
Actions for Objective:
| Action |
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Program graduates met this criterion at 100%. Based on data collected during last year's cycle, the percentage criterion was raised from 80% to 90%. However, because the number of graduates in this program is often below 10, raising it higher than this level would be meaningless since a single person with a failing score would make the difference as to whether this criterion was met. Students appear to be retaining program content well. |
| GOAL: Internship Supervisor Evaluation |
| Objective |
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| The student will demonstrate professional competence and the ability to apply what they have learned (egs., appropriate product knowledge, knowledge of business procedures, knowledge of industry systems) in various aspects of interior design. |
| Indicator |
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| The supervisor evaluation form for interior design interns evaluates three skill areas (personal skills, interpersonal skills, and professional characteristics including appropriate use of knowledge from the program content). Both questions from this form used as indicators are essentially overall supervisor ratings of the intern. One of them rates the interns on a Likert-type scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the lowest rating and 5 being the highest rating. The other is a "yes-no" indicator of whether the employer would hire the intern in the company for an entry-level design position. |
| Criterion |
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| 80% of business supervisors of interior design interns will give the intern a rating of 3.5 or higher on a 5.0 scale and 80% of business supervisors will indicate that they would hire the intern given the availability of a suitable entry-level management position in the company. |
| Finding |
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| There were 7 students who graduated with the BA in Interior Design for the 2011-2012 cycle. Data was collected on all of them. 85.7% (6 out of 7) of business supervisors of these student interns assigned them ratings of 3.5 or higher -- in fact, one student was assigned a rating of 3, and the others were assigned ratings of 4 and higher. In addition, all but one business supervisor (the same one who assigned the rating of 3) stated that they would hire the student intern if a suitable, entry-level opening existed in their business. Therefore, this criterion was met. |
Actions for Objective:
| Action |
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| Although this criterion was met at 85.7%, additional feedback would be helpful. During last year's cycle, it was suggested that we attempt to gather additional information by dividing the "Yes" option into "Yes, would hire without reservation" and "Yes, would hire with reservation." For those who checked "Yes, would hire with reservation," we could then ask an open-ended question designed to give us feedback needed for program improvement. We will make a stronger attempt to implement that process for the coming cycle. In order to do this, an immediate update of our Internship Handbook is required. |
| GOAL: Computer Literacy |
| Objective |
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| Students will demonstrate competence in the area of computer literacy through a series of assignments. |
| Indicator |
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There is a specific scoring rubric for each assignment. |
| Criterion |
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| 90% of program majors who take the courses FACS 2368 and FACS 4362 during the 2011-2012 academic year will score 3 or better on a 5-point scale with 5 being the highest score and 1 being the lowest score on the three assignments that are required to meet this computer literacy competency. Examples of assignment sheets for these three assignments and rubrics for grading them are attached. |
| Finding |
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| 75% of interior design majors who took one or both of the courses FACS 2368 and FACS 4362 during the 2011-2012 academic year scored 3 or better on the assignments used to measure computer literacy. Therefore, this criterion was not met. |
Actions for Objective:
| Action |
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| For the last cycle, it was decided that instructors who teach the courses believe that additional work in the area of database management was needed. |
| Closing the Loop |
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The curricular review and subsequent changes incorporated into the interior design program were very appropriate and effective. Although the Council of Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA) site visit from the Spring of 2011 did not result in a positive outcome, it is anticipated that the one from this past Spring (2012) will be positive, and that the program will be accredited by Fall 2012. The department is pleased that it pursued this accreditation.
Business supervisors indicated that graduates are prepared to enter the industry as entry-level design professionals. Still, we believe we can glean more information with a revision of the supervisor/employer evaluation form. The problem with student computer literacy in connection with database management will be addressed through more practice. Although it is not part of the computer literacy measure cited within this document, students do develop a high degree of fluency with CAD programs such as AutoCAD and Revit. In fact, a business supervisor reported that one of the Spring 2012 interior design interns was "the best I've ever seen" on AutoCAD. Faculty will maintain high standards as they teach about the design process, product knowledge, and business practices, among other skills and knowledge required of entry-level design professionals. |