SACS Reaffirmation
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Assessment : 2007 - 2008 : Educational Programs :
Public Administration MPA
5 Goals 5 Objectives 7 Indicators 7 Criteria 7 Findings 7 Actions
GOAL: Improve Internship Experience
| Objective | Improve Internship Experience | |
| Provide internship activities that would provide professional development and measure employer's satisfaction with the intern. Associated Goals: Improve Internship Experience |
| Indicator | Develop Portfolio The literature suggests that professionals now keep a record of their activities by keeping an updated portfolio of their skills. This can then be used when they are contemplating a job change or advancement in their current position. |
| Criteria | enhancing the internship experience Students will submit a portfolio of their activities each semester of the internship that will count 50% of the grade. The portfolio will be graded on presentation and completeness. Students must include a current resume and transcript, which count 20% of the grade. While students have a variety of activities, depending on their internsip assignment, they should include a variety of components including accomplishments, work samples, research reports, testimonials, and conferences or workshops attended. These count a total of 70% of the portfolio grade. The remaining 10% of the grade is based on presentation, neatness, and attractiveness. The portfolio will be amended as the student accomplishes new activities. Students should earn a grade of "B" or better on their portfolio. Since the portfolio is an on-gong process, it is submitted at the end of each semester. There should be significant additions included for the second semester compared to the first semester. |
| Finding | Providing portfolios The expectation was met. Two students were enrolled in POL595 in the spring 2008 semester. This was the first semester that the portfolio was introduced to the interns. Both students submitted professionally completed portfolios, which included resumes and a variety of items that demonstrated the work they had done for the agency. They will continue to add to their portfolios throughout the summer and fall semester, and include those items when they resubmit the portfolio at the end of the second semester of the internship. Both students earned an "A" grade on their portfolios. |
| Indicator | Measure Employer Satisfaction  Employer's of MPA interns will submit an Employer Evaluation Form every semester as part of the student's grade. This form measures their overall performance as well as individual attributes such as dependability. |
| Criteria | Employer's Evaluation of Intern The student must submit as Employer''s Evaluation Report as part of the final grade. The current instructor counts this evaluation as 40% of the grade. Students must receive a high rating on the questions "compared to other students" and "compared to other employees." The ratings must be either "well above standard" or "above standard" to receive a satisfactory grade on the Evaluation Report. Students with lower ratings will receive a "C" in the course and be counseled by the Director of Graduate Studies. |
| Finding | Supervisor's Evaluation of Intern The expectation was met. Both students enrolled in the internship course received ratings of "well-above standard" to both questions. No counseling was needed. |
Actions for Objective:
| Action | Supervisor satisfaction with intern Employers were pleased with the quality of work demonstrated by the interns. No further action is necessary. |
| Action | continue using portfolios The two students expressed a positive attitude toward providing and maintaining a current portfolio. The activity will be continued by the professor for the 2008-09 academic year. The portfolio experience will be reviewed in the focus groups to see if it needs to be changed or amended as an internship activity. In addition, the faculty will develop a more detailed rubric to use when grading the portfolios. |
GOAL: Increase Enrollment By10% From 2006-07 To 2007-08
| Objective | Increase Enrollment | |
| Enrollment should increase by 10 percent from 2006-07 to 2007-08. Associated Goals: Increase Enrollment By10% From 2006-07 To 2007-08 |
| Indicator | Compare Enrollment, Students, And Applications The enrollment of students in courses, the number of students taking courses, and the number of applications submitted will be compared from 2006-07 to 2007-08. If any one of the areas increases by 10% the goal will have been met. |
| Criteria | compare data on student enrollment and admissions. Three criteria will measure increased enrollment, comparing 2006-07 to 2007-08 data: first, the number of students taking courses, second, the number of applicants to the MPA program, and third, the number of students enrolled in public administration courses. There must be a 10 percent increase in at least one category for the goal to be met. |
| Finding | increase enrollment The expectation was not met. When examining data from 2006-07 to 2007-08 the following results are shown. First, the number of students dropped from 15 to 14. Second, the number of applications remained stagnant at 17. And third, the enrollment in classes dropped from 38 to 34. |
Actions for Objective:
| Action | increase enrollment. Although the director of graduate studies attended 6 recruitment events, they did not materialized into an increase of applications. She plans to make presentations for two public management organizations in August and November 2008. She will also try another approach this year by actively pursuing those students who e-mail an interest in the MPA program to increase the number of applications. |
GOAL: Measure Student Satisfaction
| Objective | Measure Student Satisfaction | |
| The Department of Political Science will improve students' overall satisfaction with academic programs at the graduate level. Associated Goals: Measure Student Satisfaction |
| Indicator | Measure Student Satisfaction-exit Survey Student satisfaction will be measured using an anonymous exit survey. All graduate students will complete the survey prior to graduation. |
| Criteria | Measure student satisfaction At least 80% of our graduates will provide a positive answer to question #6 on the graduate exit survey. Respondents'' answer will be considered positive if they responded that the program met or exceed "my expectations." |
| Finding | Measure student satisfaction-exit survey The expectation was not met. No graduates responded to the survey in fall 2007 and only two responded in spring 2008. Of the two responses, 100% indicated that the program met or exceeded their expectations. Too few responses were collected to measure the satisfaction with the program. |
| Indicator | Measure Student Satisfaction-focus Groups MPA professors will meet with students and alumni through focus groups to assess the timeliness of the program. |
| Criteria | focus group concensus The faculty will meet with students and alumni on an annual basis in a focus group. The focus group will have a general discussion of program activites. The faculty will use this feedback to discuss program/course development or changes. |
| Finding | Measure student satisfaction-focus group The expectation was not met. the focus group did not meet during 2007-08. |
Actions for Objective:
| Action | Change the Method for Administering the Exit Surve The department''s Director of Graduate Studies and the MPA faculty will administer the exit survey to students taking the comprehensive examination. This should insure a greater compliance than the 50% competion rate from 2007-08. |
| Action | focus group meeting and survey Because there was no focus group meeting during the 2007-08 academic year, the department''''s Director of Graduate Studies will hold one during October, 2008. |
GOAL: Require Students To Participate In Professional Activities
| Objective | Students Will Be Encouraged To Attend Professional Conferences And Present Papers. | |
| Students enrollin in PA 583 will be required to submit abstracts to professional conferences or professional journals. Associated Goals: Require Students To Participate In Professional Activities |
| Indicator | Number Of Proposals Submitted The professor teaching PA 583 will require proposal submission as a requirement for the course |
| Criteria | Students will be required to submit abstracts to conferences Students will be required to submit an abstract to a conference or a paper to a journal as part of the course credit for PA 583. |
| Finding | students required to submit conference abstracts The expectation was not met but is in progress. The count shows that 1 student out of 7 submitted an abstract to a professional conference while enrolled in PA 583. However, the course was already in progress when the assessment goal was adopted and the activity could not be incorporated into the course. The requirement will be included in the 2008-09 syllabus and carry course credit for the paper or abstract submission. |
Actions for Objective:
| Action | conference submissions for PA 583 students The professor that usually teaches PA 583 will now require students to submit an abstract to a conference or a paper to a journal. This requirement will be included in the syllabus the next time the course is taught, spring 2009. |
GOAL: Students Must Demonstrate Competency Before Graduation
| Objective | Students Must Pass A Comprehensive Examination | |
| Students must demonstrate competency in the core areas of public administration by passing a comprehensive examination that includes three essay or computational questions in the area of research methods, finance and budgeting, and ethics. Associated Goals: Students Must Demonstrate Competency Before Graduation |
| Indicator | Pass Comprehensive Examination MPA students must pass a comprehensive examination prior to graduation. One-hundred percent of students must pass the comprehensive examination prior to graduation. Twenty percent of students should a achieve a high pass in at least one field. |
| Criteria | Students must pass comprehensive examinations Students must pass a comprehensive examination prior to graduation. One-hundred percent of students must pass the comprehensive examination prior to graduation. Twenty percent of students should a chieve a high pass in at least one field. |
| Finding | Students Must Pass Comprehensive Examinations The expectation was met. One-hundred percent of the students passed the comprehensive examination and 25% received a hight pass in at least one of the three fields tested. However, only four students took the MPA comprehensive examination in 2007/08. |
Actions for Objective:
| Action | Students Pass Comprehensive Examinations The expectation is met. No action is needed. |