1.  Developing the Plan

An Undergraduate Outcomes Assessment Plan was appointed by Professor Edward Shoben, Head of the Department of Psychology.  The Committee included:

Ed Diener, Professor
Fritz Drasgow, Professor and Committee Chair
John Fiore, Associate Head for Undergraduate Affairs
Sarah Mangelsdorf, Associate Professor
 
The Committee met and developed the plan described in this report.  Subsequently, the plan was reviewed by Professor Shoben and the Department of Psychology Advisory Committee.

2.  Learning Outcomes

The Department of Psychology has the following expectations and goals for undergraduate Psychology majors:

• To learn the fundamental principles of psychology, including cognition, perception, individual behavior, personality, group processes, development, abnormal behavior, and the biological basis of behavior;
  
  
• To understand how to conduct psychological research, including experimental and quasi-experimental design;
  
  
• To understand how to analyze data via application of statistical methods;
  
  
• To be able to read and evaluate reports of psychological research;
  
  
• To be able to write clearly and communicate effectively

The Department of Psychology plans to evaluate the success of the outcomes listed above in the following ways:

• Chancellor’s Senior Survey on the Undergraduate Experience.
  
  
• Annual Reports of Faculty Activities -- The Department of Psychology requires all faculty members to provide annual reports of their activities; these reports are carefully reviewed by the Department’s Advisory Committee and each faculty member will be rated for his/her performance in teaching, research, and service during the preceeding three years.  These ratings are very significant in that they determine salary increases.  The teaching report includes sections on undergraduate teaching and graduate teaching.  The undergraduate teaching section includes a table listing all undergraduate courses taught during the past three years and their enrollments.  A narrative description of teaching activities is also included.  Assistant and Associate Professors are asked to provide documentation that conforms to the Campus’s promotion requirements: “Teaching evaluation requires presentation of descriptive data such as courses taught, grade distributions, and enrollment; self-review; ICES data; and peer evaluation.”
  
  
• Department of Psychology Senior Survey --  The Undergraduate Advising Office will distribute surveys to all graduating seniors a few weeks before graduation; a high response rate is expected.  A draft of the survey is attached as Appendix A.  The survey will ask about the students’ experiences as Psychology majors, using both rating scale items and open ended questions.  A 50% TA position is requested for a graduate student to conduct a statistical analysis of the rating scale items and a content analysis of the open ended questions.  A report summarizing the results will be written.

An annual report based on the information described in Section 3 will be developed by the Undergraduate Studies Committee and transmitted to the Department Head and the Advisory Committee.  The Undergraduate Studies Committee will make specific action recommendations that address issues that arise from the assessment of the undergraduate experiences of Psychology Majors.

BACKGROUND

1.  In total, how many semesters has it taken you to complete the requirements for a bachelor’s degree?

  ___ 6  ___  9   ___ 12
  ___ 7  ___ 10   ___ 13 or more
  ___ 8   ___ 11

2.  How many semesters have you been enrolled at UIUC?

  ___ 1  ___ 5   ___ 9
  ___ 2  ___ 6   ___ 10
  ___ 3  ___ 7   ___ 11
  ___ 4  ___ 8   ___ 12 or more

3.  For how many semesters were you a Psychology major at UIUC?

  ___ 1  ___ 5   ___ 9
  ___ 2  ___ 6   ___ 10
  ___ 3  ___ 7   ___ 11
  ___ 4  ___ 8   ___ 12 or more

4.  If you transferred to UIUC, where did you transfer from?

 ____________________________________

5.  What do you expect your cumulative grade point average to be at graduation?

  ___ 2.0-2.49    ___ 2.5-2.99
  ___ 3.0-3.49    ___ 3.5-4.0

6.  What do you expect your psychology grade point average to be at graduation?

  ___ 2.0-2.49    ___ 2.5-2.99
  ___ 3.0-3.49    ___ 3.5-4.0
 

7. Do you plan to attend graduate or professional school sometime after graduation?

  ___ Yes   ___ No

 7.a  If yes:  In what field?

 ___ Psychology   ___ Social Work
 ___  Law School   ___ Human Resources/Industrial Relations
 ___ Medical School   ___ Business School
 ___ Other (please specify ______________________)

 7.b  If attending graduate school in Psychology, what area are you specializing in?

 ___ Biological   ___ Industrial/Organizational
 ___ Clinical    ___ Personality
 ___ Cognitive    ___ Social
 ___ Developmental   ___ Quantitative
 ___ Other  (please specify ______________________)

 7.c Will you be attending graduate school next year or the following year?
 ___ Yes     ___ No
 
 7.d  Where you will be attending graduate school?
 
 I will be attending _______________________________

ACADEMIC

8.  How many Psychology courses did you take at UIUC?  ______

9.  How much do you feel that you learned as a Psychology major?

      A Great         Quite                              Not
        Deal            A Bit          Some      Very Much

          1       2        3        4       5        6       7
 

10.  Excluding laboratory sections and discussion sections, how many of the Psychology course that you took at UIUC were taught by graduate students?  ______

11.  Given the choice, would you rather have a large psychology lecture course (100 or more students in a class) taught by a faculty member, or a small psychology lecture/discussion course (40 or fewer students in a class) taught by a graduate student?  Please circle the number that best represents your preference.

      Greatly                  Somewhat           Somewhat                 Greatly
  Prefer Large            Prefer Large         Prefer Small            Prefer Small
 Lecture Taught       Lecture Taught       Class Taught           Class Taught
    by Faculty              by Faculty         by Grad Student      by Grad Student

          1             2             3             4             5             6             7
 

12.  How many students were enrolled in the smallest psychology class you had at UIUC (excluding labs and discussion sections)?

  ___ less than 10    ___ 31-40       ___ 76-100
  ___ 11-20            ___ 41-50       ___ more than 100
  ___ 21-30            ___ 51-75

13.  In some large lecture courses, it can be difficult to ask questions about course material.  What were your experiences in your large psychology lecture courses? (check all that apply)

 ___ I didn’t have questions
 ___ I asked in class
 ___ I talked with the TA after class or during office hours
 ___ I talked with the professor after class or during office hours
 ___ I e-mailed questions to the TA
 ___ I e-mailed questions to the professor
 ___ I was not usually able to have my questions answered

14.  As a freshman, did you enroll in one or more Discovery courses at UIUC?

  ___ Yes   ___ No

15.  Given a choice, would you rather have the Psychology Department use teaching funds to hire faculty to teach very small sections (20 students each) of 100/200 level courses for freshmen as part of the Discovery Courses program, or hire faculty to teach very small sections of 300 level advanced courses for juniors and seniors?

Greatly Prefer        Somewhat Prefer       Somewhat Prefer       Greatly Prefer
  Discovery              Discovery                  Small 300 Level        Small 300 Level
   Courses                Courses                         Courses                    Courses

        1              2              3              4               5               6             7
 

 16.  Were there any psychology courses that you wanted to take but were unable to do so because they were closed?

  ___ Yes   ___ No

16.a  If yes, please list them in the space below.  You may use the course number or titles.

17.  How many psychology courses have you taken that required a term paper or had a similar writing requirement?
 
 ___ All      ___ Most      ___About half    ___ Some       ___ None

18.  Did you ever participate in a Psychology 290 research project?

  ___ Yes   ___ No

 18.a  If yes, in how many different projects did you participate?

  ___ 1   ___ 3
  ___ 2   ___ 4 or more

 18.b  Please rate the overall quality of your Psychology 290 experience(s).
 
     Excellent          Good         Adequate         Poor
            1        2        3        4        5         6        7
 

 18.c  What were the most positive and beneficial results of your 290 experience(s)?
 
 
 

 18.d  What were the most negative, frustrating, and least beneficial results from your 290 experiences?

ADVISING

19.  During each year, about how times did you meet with an academic advisor from the Psychology Department’s Undergraduate Advising office?

  ___ 1   ___ 3
  ___ 2   ___ 4 or more

20.  Listed below are topics frequently discussed in advising sessions.  Check all topics discussed by your Psychology Department academic advisors.

 ___ Explanation of Psychology major
 ___ Discussion of options within the major
 ___ Review of graduation requirements
 ___ Check of progress toward graduation
 ___ Graduate school preparation
 ___ Graduate school application procedures
 ___ Career options in psychology
 ___ Career exploration outside of psychology
 ___ Identification and/or referral to psychology faculty for research experience or to answer questions
 ___ Referral to other offices on campus
 ___ Assistance in solving administrative problems
 ___ Personal issues
 
21.  Please use the rating scale shown below to rate your experiences during the advising process.
 
     Excellent           Good           Adequate          Poor
          1          2         3         4          5         6        7

 ___ Advisor’s knowledge or expertise
 ___ Advisor’s willingness to help
 ___ Sufficient time to meet with the advisor
 ___ Overall satisfaction with the advisor’s help
 

22.  At times, OTHER THAN EARLY REGISTRATION, was it possible for you to get an advising appointment within a reasonable amount of time?

  ___ Yes   ___ No

23.  During Early Registration periods, were you generally able to get an advising appointment?

  ___ Yes   ___ No

23.a  If no, please check all of the following statements that apply:
  ___ I used first-come/first-served advising.
  ___ I choose not to meet with an advisor.
  ___ I tried to use first-come/first served but had to wait too long.

 ___ Undergraduate handbook
 ___ Careers in Psychology
 ___ Applying to Graduate School
 ___ Lists of suggested support courses
 ___ List of approved general education courses

25.  Have you used the PSI Center?

  ___ Yes   ___ No

26.  What additions or changes would you suggest for improving the services of the Department of Psychology Undergraduate Advising Office?
 
 
 
 

SUMMARY

27.  What were your best academic experiences as a UIUC Psychology major?
 
 
 
 

28.  What were your worst academic experiences as a UIUC Psychology major?
 
 
 

29.  Please feel free to identify any UIUC Psychology Department faculty, staff, and/or graduate instructors who made a significant contribution to your educational experience.   In what way did the individual(s) make the impact?