knowledge through a culminating experience.
a. Identification of the culminating experience required for each professional public health degree program. If this is common across the program’s professional degree programs, it need be described only once. If it varies by degree or specialty area, sufficient information must be provided to assess compliance by each.
Overview: The PHC 6940 Public Health Capstone course and PHC 6945 Public Health Internship course also encompass the culminating experiences for the MPH Program students. The UNF MPH Program is a cohort based program with all students starting in fall semester and
following a sequenced course program; all courses are offered only once per year. During the last spring semester, students take the Capstone course, along with the final one or two courses (based on part-time or full-time status). During the last summer semester, students take only the Internship course. Students must complete all other required courses before being allowed to enroll in these courses so that they are academically prepared to practice the program competencies during the internship experience and to demonstrate knowledge of program competencies on the comprehensive exam. In addition to assessing program competencies, another significant component of the culminating experience is the development of professional skills which is assessed through the Capstone course. (See Resource File for both course syllabi.)
Capstone Course: The Capstone course is required before the internship as it consists of three pieces that serve as culminating experiences while preparing students for the internship and comprehensive exam. First, there is a professionalism piece of the class; students develop a resume, professional statement, and portfolio, and prepare for and practice interviewing skills. This piece helps prepare them for both internship and job seeking. Second, students set up the internship experience; this includes identifying potential sites, interviewing, developing an internship project proposal, and completing required paperwork (e.g., affiliation agreement, background check, release forms, etc.). The internship project proposal is first presented in class and then submitted as a research paper. It includes an overview of the agency, health issue and target population rationale, program/project development and proposed outcomes of the project. As students are in the end part of their final courses at this point, this
development process, along the presentation and paper, utilize and reinforce core
competencies they have learned throughout the program. They also complete some internship hours to ensure they are ready to begin the project at the start of the semester; this includes internship site required trainings, clearances, IRB paperwork if required, etc. Finally, students prepare for the comprehensive examination that is given during the following summer term including taking practice quizzes. This work also prepares them for the Certified in Public Health (CPH) and Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) exams if they choose to take them. Since this takes place at the end of the semester students have almost completed their
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last one or two courses. These assignments are all based on the Capstone course objectives outlined in the syllabus and each is assigned a grade. Students must complete each assignment in order to pass the course.
Internship: The Internship course is more than just completing hours at a public health agency. Students spend significant time and effort planning a project during the Capstone class that they will take the lead on implementing during their internship experience. This project gives students the opportunity to apply knowledge and skills from across the MPH curriculum, practice essential public health competencies and to develop professional skills necessary for employment as a public health practitioner in one of a number of community health settings. Students reflect on their experience during the semester through regular required site updates and the internship site visit. Additionally, students must prepare and present a poster
summarizing their entire internship experience, including the results and implications of their project. This process utilizes knowledge and skills gained throughout their MPH curriculum, while broadening and honing their skill proficiency through a meaningful internship experience. Students are able to view first-hand the expertise and leadership skills necessary to the practice of public health by working with their field preceptor. For these reasons, we consider the internship to be part of the culminating experience.
Comprehensive Examination: The comprehensive exam is given over the final summer
semester so that students have completed all required courses and have ample time to prepare for the exam. The exam is ‘housed’ within the internship class for management purposes. The exam is threefold in purpose: 1) to assess student proficiency in program competencies; 2) to help prepare students for the national CPH exam; and 3) to help prepare students for the national CHES exam. Since the program competencies are aligned with nationally identified public health core areas and competencies (e.g., ASPH Core Competencies) on which the CPH exam in based, and with the Responsibilities and Competencies for Health Education Specialists on which the CHES exam is based, the exam allows the program to assess learning outcomes as well as helps to prepare students for national certification. The exam includes questions addressing the five core areas of public health: Biostatistics & Research, Environmental Health, Epidemiology, Health Management & Policy, and Social & Behavioral Health. The exam also includes questions addressing the seven responsibilities for health educators: Assessing, Planning, Implementing & Evaluating Health Programs, Acting as a Resource Person in Health Education, and Communicating and Advocating for Health Education. (See Resource File for sample comp exams.)
Questions for each of the areas are developed by the faculty teaching in those areas. Faculty are familiar with the CPH and CHES review materials and exam question content/format; hence they are able to align the questions. All questions are subject to review by the PD and program faculty. The exam is set up as six tests on Bb (five core and specialization). All questions are multiple choice. There are 150 questions; 20 per core area and 50 for the specialization. Students take the exam in an on-campus computer lab on a day/time designated in the
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syllabus. The instructor proctors the exam and students have three hours to complete it. The exams are graded through Bb. Students are able to see their scores immediately after
completing each section. (See Resource File for Comp Exam Directions.)
Through summer 2013, students have had to receive a passing score on the entire exam. Students not passing the overall exam were required to retake all sections they failed and bring the overall score up to a passing grade. Starting summer 2014, students will have to pass each of the six sections of the exam. If a student does not pass a section, they will have to retake that section(s). If they do not pass the section on the second attempt, the results will be
brought to the Capstone Committee for review and to make a decision on next steps. As of yet, we have not had this situation occur.
b. Assessment of the extent to which this criterion is met and an analysis of the program’s strengths, weaknesses and plans relating to this criterion.
Criterion 2.5 is met with commentary.
Strengths: The UNF MPH Program requires a culminating experience that includes
development of professional skills, proposal and completion of a public health project during students’ practice experience, and passing a comprehensive exam. During the Capstone course students hone professional skills and prepare for both the internship and the comprehensive exam. Students are required to demonstrate skills and integration of knowledge through required course assignments. During the Internship course students carry out their internship and complete the comprehensive exam. These components of the culminating experience allow multiple means for evaluating student’s mastery of competencies via knowledge
acquisition and integration, and practical skills applied via actual public health work experience. Students take great responsibility in setting up, developing, and evaluating their internship. MPH program faculty and site preceptors collaborate in evaluating students’ performance and demonstration of knowledge and skills related to the program’s competencies. The
documentation required throughout the internship provides a means to assess the process and student knowledge and experiences, as well as the program’s performance in preparing the next generation of professional public health practitioners. The comprehensive exam results allow faculty to examine specific content areas in need of more thorough instruction in order to assure all students master the program competencies.
Weaknesses & Plans: Some students do not pass each section of the comprehensive exam in the first attempt and are thus required to retake those sections. Several steps have been taken and more are planned for the upcoming year to improve this process, including improvement of exam questions and coverage, and ensuring all required courses are taught by tenure-track UNF faculty or well-qualified adjuncts.
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2.6 Required Competencies. For each degree program and area of specialization within each