SACSCOC Fifth Year Interim Report
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Assessment : 2011 - 2012 : Educational Programs :
Family and Consumer Sciences MS
Family and Consumer Sciences MS
2 Goals 2 Objectives 1 Indicator 1 Criterion 1 Finding 2 Actions
| GOAL: Student Knowledge Of Content Area |
| Objective |
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| Students graduating from the MS in FCS program will demonstrate adequate knowledge and skills necessary for upper-level employment positions in their selected fields including teacher education in family and consumer sciences, interior design, fashion merchandising, and nutrition. |
| Indicator |
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| Comprehensive exams for Family and Consumer Sciences covers all major and minor course areas undertaken by each student; scores are assigned on a High Pass, Pass, or Fail basis. These exams are scored holistically, and must cover content of specific course work taken for the degree. The answers are written into "blue books" and are scored by the faculty under whom the work was complete. Any student who does not score a High Pass in every area is required to take an oral exam over every area where a score of High Pass was not awarded. |
| Criterion |
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| At least 80% of the students who complete the master's program in FCS will score a Pass or higher on each area of the comprehensive exam AND/OR will pass a follow-up oral exam. |
| Finding |
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| There were no graduates for this program for the 2011-2012 cycle, so there were no findings. |
Actions for Objective:
| Action |
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The program has been recruiting students and has several in the pipeline (at least one is scheduled to graduate in December), and has also received permission for this program to be an on-line program. This is recent (May), and so the next step is to get the FCS website updated to reflect the on-line status of this program. We believe that the on-line status will be a major recruiting tool in the year to come. |
| GOAL: Increase Enrollment |
| Objective |
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| Increase numbers of students enrolled in the Master of Science in Family Consumer Sciences Program at Sam Houston State University |
Actions for Objective:
| Action |
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| Major steps have been taken to increase and sustain enrollment in this program. The most significant was receiving the approval from the Board of Regents to offer this program as an on-line program. New graduate courses have been approved, and one of the new ones was offered this past spring with much more than adequate enrollment. The department is poised to market this program as an on-line program, and we believe that will significantly increase program enrollment in the year to come. |
| Closing the Loop |
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The Master of Science in Family and Consumer Science program has struggled for several reasons. Although there has been interest, one reason the program has struggled is due to geographic location. With prospective students facing rising gasoline prices (for commuters) and with time that would be spent commuting as a negative consideration, recruiting has been difficult. However, with approval to take this program on-line, those major roadblocks should be less significant. As we begin to market this program as an on-line program, we look forward to significant increases in enrollment for the coming cycle. New courses have been proposed. Some of them have been approved, and others are pending approval. One of the new courses was offered very successfully for Spring 2012. As we are able to offer more courses, additional faculty positions will be needed to carry this additional load.
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