SACSCOC Fifth Year Interim Report
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Assessment : 2012 - 2013 : Educational Programs :
Agriculture MS
Agriculture MS
2 Goals 2 Objectives 2 Indicators 2 Criteria 2 Findings 2 Actions
| GOAL: Develop Knowledge And Skills |
| Objective |
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| Students, through the Master of Science Curriculum, will demonstrate a global perspective of agriculture while also gaining scientific and technical knowledge with research and analytical skills in agriculture and related sciences. |
| Indicator |
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All MS students pursuing the thesis route are required to successfully complete an oral examination, and all MS students pursuing the non-thesis route are required to successfully complete a written comprehensive exam. A committee of faculty members with expertise in the subject area will evaluate students’ oral and written performances using a faculty-developed scoring mechanism rating depth of knowledge base, theoretical concepts, soundness of argument, critical thinking, and originality/insight. Scoring results in Fail, Low Pass, Pass, and High Pass. |
| Criterion |
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| Faculty expect that at least 80% of graduate students will pass their exam on their first attempt of their oral or written comprehensive examinations. 100% will pass on their second attempt. Scientific depth of answers will be assessed with appropriate documentation. |
| Finding |
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There were no theses completed during this assessment period. All students were non-thesis and completed comphrehensive exams with a 100% success rate. Fall Examinations: One student complete their examination during this term with assessment from the committee as: 1 high pass and 2 pass. Spring Examinations: Six students took their comprehensive examinations and all successively completed. Five students completed their exams on the first submission and the majority were assessed as pass or high pass. One student received a marginal pass with 2 passes from the faculty committee. One of the six students had to retake a quesiton on their exam. The student had been diagnosed with a learning disability, the questions was reformatted to accommodate the condition and received pass from all members and successfully completed the program. Summer Examinations: Two students completed their exams and and received pass to high pass for their questions and successfully completed the examinations. |
Actions for Objective:
| Action |
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| Faculty will continue to maintain the expectations from the comprehensive examinations. The student must demonstrate a mastery of their subject area with both scientific and practical knowledge. The student must successfully assimilate information/data from various sources and to arfticulate a comprehensive response to the question at a level that would demonstrate a global understanding of agriculture. |
| GOAL: Professional Development |
| Objective |
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| Students pursuing a Master of Science in Agriculture will demonstrate competency in skills required for the professional in the marketplace. |
| Indicator |
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All students seeking a MS Degree will be required to complete AGRI 6350, which addresses essential and advanced skills necessary to compete in the professional market place and scientific research. Faculty will review student assignments and access student performance on selected assignments using a faculty-developed scoring system. Students will be expected to review scientific documents and perform written and oral reviews of literature. Professional posters will be developed and presented to faculty. |
| Criterion |
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Faculty evaluations will indicate that at least 80% of the students enrolled in AGRI 6350 will perform at an acceptable level and score a 4 (meets expectations) or higher on a scale of 1-5. Clarity and scientific information will be reviewed closely - weakness last year. |
| Finding |
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Expectaions were increased for the student. All students were very professional in their appearance, presentation skills and reports. Each was assessed for clarity and scientific knowledge. The average score was 4.2. A few students had grammatical errors and needed to work on organization of presentation. Objective was met. |
Actions for Objective:
| Action |
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| Students will continue to be assessed for their scientific knowledge, professional skills and presentation. |
| Previous Cycle's "Plan for Continuous Improvement" |
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Scientific interpretation and expression of scientific information will be a major emphasis in the MS program. Faculty will discuss more scientific writing and reviews in the curriculum to improve clarity and information. Grammar will always be an important criterion.
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| Update on Previous Cycle's "Plan for Continuous Improvement" |
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Scientific writing was emphasized across the curriculum and emphasized in this class. Improvements were noted from previous assessment periods.
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| Plan for Continuous Improvement |
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The deparment will continue emphasizing scientific writing and oral presentations for graduate students. This should continually improve the students ability have global perspective of agriculture but also to articulate information into written documents and oral presentations. Likewise, the student should be able to formulate opinions based on scientific and practical knowledge to a master level.
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