SACSCOC Fifth Year Interim Report
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Assessment : 2012 - 2013 : Educational Programs :
Physics BS
Physics BS
2 Goals 2 Objectives 2 Indicators 2 Criteria 2 Findings 2 Actions
| GOAL: Deliver Core Curriculum Education Appropriate To The Physics Discipline |
| Objective |
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| Students who complete the core curriculum course in Physics will be able to apply foundational concepts, particularly in the areas of (1) proofs and derivations, and (2) translation of written problems into mathematical equations. |
| Indicator |
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| Students will complete a faculty-developed comprehensive exam in Physics 1411 assessing the common foundational concepts in Physics. |
| Criterion |
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| Eighty percent of students completing the exam will score 70% or higher on the comprehensive exam. |
| Finding |
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| The comprehensive exam was given to the 1411 class at the beginning and end of the spring semester 2013. The initial average score was 16 out of 100 and the final score was 23 out of 100. The test consisted of 35 multiple choice questions with a penalty of 1/4 for a wrong answer. (The minimum score was therefore -25.). There was an error in administering the test in that 1/2 of the class only received 1/2 of the questions. The scores of students receiving 1/2 the test were rescaled to 100. |
Actions for Objective:
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| It was difficult to assess the results due to testing error and due to the small number of students (10) who took physics boot camp (physics 1401) in the fall of 2012. The testing will be repeated so a valid assessment can be made. Note in the fall of 2013 there are 40 students in physics 1401. |
| GOAL: Competence For Bachelor Of Science |
| Objective |
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Students preparing to graduate with a BS in Physics will demonstrate comprehension of fundamental principles and the ability to apply these principles in solving problems. |
| Indicator |
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| Students will complete a common earlier version of the Graduate Record Subject Exam in Physics related to PHY 4370 (Classical Mechanics ) under GRE standardized conditions. Faculty will have classified the questions into domains specific to the major principles in this area. |
| Criterion |
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Students will score above the 50th percentile determined as a result of the graduating seniors' scores from the common exam. A raw score of 50% is in the 74th percentile for the Physics GRE with a ¼ penalty for wrong answers. |
| Finding |
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| An exam consisting of physics GRE questions relevant to classical mechanics was administered at the beginning and the end of the spring semester 2013. The initial exam consisted of 17 questions and was taken by 16 students. The final exam had 18 questions and was taken by 13 students. The exams were compiled from different versions of the GRE tests so the questions were not the same on the initial and final exams. The students scored on average 14/100 on the beginning exam and 7/100 on final exam. The minimum score on each exam was -25 due to a penalty of 1/4 for incorrect answers. |
Actions for Objective:
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| Due to the small number of students the reliability of the result is open to question. The same assessment will be repeated to see if the same surprising result is obtained. |
| Previous Cycle's "Plan for Continuous Improvement" |
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In response to our dismal results in the foundations class, we have proposed a Physics Boot Camp course to improve problem solving skills of incoming freshmen. After the success of the mock-GRE exam for thermal and statistical physics, we will be expanding the mock-GRE concept other areas of physics.
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| Update on Previous Cycle's "Plan for Continuous Improvement" |
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The previous plan was implemented. In the fall of 2012 10 students took Physics Boot Camp. The mock-GRE was expanded to classical mechanics.
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| Plan for Continuous Improvement |
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We will repeat the assessment for Physics 1411 and Physics 4370. Improved statistics are needed for a valid assessment.
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