SACSCOC Fifth Year Interim Report
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Assessment : 2012 - 2013 : Educational Programs :
Statistics MS
Statistics MS
2 Goals 2 Objectives 2 Indicators 5 Criteria 4 Findings 1 Action
| GOAL: Deliver A Curriculum With Appropriate Discipline Specific Skill Sets |
| Objective |
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| Students will have a working knowledge of the foundational topics including regression analysis, design of experiments, multivariate analysis, and mathematical statistics (Bayesian analysis, biostatistics, quality control, nonparametric statistics, sampling theory, and statistical computing). |
| Indicator |
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A comprehensive oral examination, given by a committee of three faculty members, will be administered to candidates for the degree of M.S. in Statistics which will examine the candidate's knowledge of the primary areas of concentration within the program, as well as the candidates own communication abilities. The committee will then judge the candidates' knowledge of the material according to a previously agreed upon rubric with three levels of comparison: High Pass, Pass, and Fail. |
| Criterion |
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| All candidates will receive a mark of either "High Pass" or "Pass" for the Multivariate Analysis component of the comprehensive oral exam. The rubric used is the same one shown in the "Mathematical Statistics" criterion. |
| Finding |
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Six students took the comprehensive exam. Three high passes, two-passes and one of students had to take it for the second time and passed it at the second time. The student who took it twice is an international student and the statistics faculty understood that it is mainly due to issues with her English speaking ability. |
| Criterion |
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| All candidates will receive a mark of either "High Pass" or "Pass" for the Regression Analysis component of the comprehensive oral exam. The rubric used is the same one shown in the "Mathematical Statistics" criterion. |
| Finding |
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Six students took the comprehensive exam. All six students passed the test. Four high pass, two-pass. |
| Criterion |
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| All candidates will receive a mark of either "High Pass" or "Pass" for the Mathematical Statistics component of the comprehensive oral exam. |
| Finding |
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Six students took the comprehensive exam. Three high passes, two-passes and one of students had to take it for the second time and passed it at the second time. The student who took it twice is an international student and the statistics faculty understood that it is mainly due to issues with her English speaking ability. |
| Criterion |
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All candidates will receive a mark of either "High Pass" or "Pass" for the Design of Experiments component of the comprehensive oral exam. The rubric used is the same one shown in the "Mathematical Statistics" criterion. |
| Finding |
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Six students took the comprehensive exam. Three high passes, two-passes and one of students had to take it for the second time and passed it at the second time. The student who took it twice is an international student and the statistics faculty understood that it is mainly due to issues with her English speaking ability. |
Actions for Objective:
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Statistics faculty decided to observe students closely and help with the non-English speaking students throughout the program. Statistics faculty also decided to offer two more core courses (Regression and Design of Experiments) every year instead of every other year. This will allow students to get the basics of the subject in their first year of the program. |
| GOAL: Deliver A Curriculum That Emphasizes Communication Skills |
| Objective |
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Students will be able to prepare and deliver oral presentations of mathematical material based on a statistics practicum. Students will devlop the ability to critique problems, and provide their own solutions based on statistical analysis. |
| Indicator |
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| A statistics practicum, under the guidance of one of the faculty members, and assessed by a committee of four faculty members, will be administered to candidates for the degree of M.S. in Statistics which will examine the candidate's knowledge of the primary areas of concentration within the program, as well as the candidates own communicative abilities. The committee will then judge the candidates' ability to effectively communicate mathematical ideas according to a previously agreed upon rubric with three levels of comparison: High Pass, Pass, and Fail. |
| Criterion |
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All candidates will receive a letter grade by the members of the examining committee during the practicum assessment according to the attached rubric. |
Actions for Objective:
There are no actions for this objective.
There are no actions for this objective.
| Previous Cycle's "Plan for Continuous Improvement" |
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Last year's summary was:
The main goals of the MS program in statistics are to make sure our students have the appropriate knowledge to design statistical experiments and analyze the results and put them in their proper context. This has to be done while using appropriate statistical tools (software) as well as with the ability to explain what has been done. The statistics faculty believes the MS program's emphasis on communication skills and discipline-specific knowledge provides the students with ample opportunity to demonstrate their competencies. At the moment, the four broad areas of discipline-specific skills are designed to prepare students for jobs in industry or to advance to graduate school. What skill sets may be needed in the future may become a topic for discussion. The statistics faculty still believe this applies this year. They are constantly examining their program to make sure it reflects current trends and needs in their area. At this time, the only changes that have been made have been in the suggested MS Stat minor requirements. Students with a graduate minor in statistics are required to take two foundational courses in the theory of probability and statistics, followed by options related to regression, multivariate statistics, and experimental design. This aligns the coursework more closely with the MS Stat majors and should make our students more marketable. Finally, we will more intensely work with students in the areas of regression and multivariate statistics so that their minor mistakes will be corrected. |
| Update on Previous Cycle's "Plan for Continuous Improvement" |
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All the students who planned to graduate successfully finished last year. There was one student who had to take the comprehensive exam twice. The student who took it twice is an international student and the statistics faculty understood that it is mainly due to issues with her English speaking ability. Implementing statistics minor is little slower. This is mainly due to shortage of faculty. Statistics faculty asked for two more faculty members. |
| Plan for Continuous Improvement |
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The statistics faculty still believe this applies this year. They are constantly examining their program to make sure it reflects current trends and needs in their area. Statistics faculty decided to observe closely and help with the non-English speaking students throughout the program. Statistics faculty also decided to offer two more core courses (Regression and Design of Experiments) every year instead of every other year. This will allow students to get the basics of the subject in their first year of the program. Improving physical facilities such as lab spaces and office spaces for graduate students is also a key area that should be addressed.
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