College of Arts & Sciences. Political Science Major

College of Arts & Sciences

Political Science Major

Political Science Major

•

Overview

•

Recent Improvements

– Program

– Troy Campus

– Montgomery Campus

– eCampus

•

Expected Outcomes and Results

– Program

– Troy Campus

– Montgomery Campus

– eCampus

•

Plans for Further Improvement

– Program

– Troy Campus

– Montgomery Campus

– eCampus

President Barack Obama delivering his State of the Union Address to a joint session of Congress

,

Program Overview

•

Troy University offers an undergraduate Political Science Major at the

Troy Campus, Montgomery Campus, and through the online facilities of

eCampus

•

In-class and eCampus undergraduate Political Science courses also

support Troy University’s General Studies Program and Political

Science Minor

•

Troy University’s Undergraduate Political Science Major provides

focused study in three concentrations

– American Politics

– International Politics

– Public Administration

Program Overview

Troy University Political Science full-time faculty are assigned as follows:

Full-time

Adjunct

– Troy

6

2

– Montgomery

1

3

– eCampus

4

13

– Dothan

1

0

Full-time faculty from Montgomery, Dothan, and Troy may also teach

online courses for eCampus.

Academic Discipline Committee (ADC)

•

ADC Representatives

– Troy Campus – Charles Krupnick

– Montgomery Campus – Thomas S. Kolasa

– Dothan Campus – Richard Martin

– eCampus – William McDaniel

•

ADC Annual Meeting

– Date and Location – March 18, 2010 at the Troy Campus

– Attendees – Charles Krupnick, Thomas S. Kolasa, William McDaniel, and

Samuel Shelton (Political Science instructor at the Troy campus); the

meeting proposals and recommendations were vetted with Richard Martin

by e-mail – he contributed to the courses of action

– Topics covered

• Program Strengths and Weaknesses

– A strength of the Political Science Majors program was the high quality of its instructors and the growth of the program on eCampus and the Montgomery campus – A weakness of the program was the low percentage of courses taught on eCampus by

full-time Troy instructors; this could be aggravated over the next few years by the possibility of retirement by two or three full-time Political Science instructors

– The pending hiring of four full-time Master of International Relations instructors will provide additional Political Science resources, but the management of instructor assets in the coming years will require difficult tradeoffs

Academic Discipline Committee (ADC)

•

ADC Annual Meeting (continued)

– Topics covered

• Student Learning Assessment – The Political Science Major Field Test (MFT) currently used is adequate but includes comparative government, a

concentration not offered by Troy University; the MFT also has a low rate of participation

– Action: Continue using the MFT through fall 2011; work to change the assessment means for spring 2011

• Student Research Assessment – POL 3300 Foundations of Political Science is a required course for the Political Science Major; it has a research methods

component and is a suitable measure of undergraduate research achievement

– Action: Adopt POL 3300 as the Political Science Major measure of student research achievement; the assessment measure will be that 60% of students taking POL 3300 will achieve a B or better in the course; strengthen the emphasis on research intent and measurement in the course objectives

• Update course offerings for the Political Science Major to include new courses on Southern Politics and the Politics of Asia

– Action: The Chair will prepare and submit an Undergraduate Catalog change

proposal by June 1, 2010, to include the addition of courses on Southern Politics and the Politics of Asia

Academic Discipline Committee (ADC)

(continued)

•

ADC Annual Meeting (continued)

– Topics covered

• General Studies course POL 2241 American National Government has used

American Government: Institutions and Policies by James Q. Wilson and John J.

Dilulio, Jr. as its textbook for several years; while an excellent resource, it is also very expensive – considerably more so than some available alternatives

– Action: Retain the Wilson text for academic year 2010-2011, but negotiate potential lower cost alternatives for the text such as loose leaf and rented books; ADC members will evaluate alternative textbooks during academic year 2010-2011

• Student attitude survey data is currently drawn from a Troy University provided central data base; student participation is not high and reports are difficult to read

– Action: The Chair will look into improving the current survey process and investigate alternatives; he will report status and recommendations to the ADC by the end of fall semester 2010

As a result of prior assessment and plans for improvement, the

program has achieved these Recent Improvements:

•

Program

– A summer study abroad program to be held at the University of Padova, Italy, was fully organized; it will not be conducted, however, because an insufficient number of students were able to commit to the program

– General J. Gary Cooper – former US Ambassador to Jamaica – is Troy University Ambassador in Residence for 2009-2010; he participated in events at the Troy and Montgomery campuses during October 2009

•

Troy Campus

– Dr. Steven L. Taylor was selected for promotion to Professor

– Dr. Charles Krupnick was selected for promotion to Associate Professor

– The Department of Political Science and the Political Science Club ran a highly successful Constitution Day program that included in-class presentations, posters advertising the event with copies of the Bill of Rights, and an actual-sized Constitution that all students and faculty were invited to sign; pocket-sized Constitutions and

Political Science labeled tablets were also distributed

– A lighted display case was installed near the Department of Political Science Office in MSCX to highlight the department’s undergraduate major and graduate Students of the Year and the Troy University Ambassador in Residence

– Dr. Thomas Kolasa, a full-time instructor at the Troy Montgomery campus, has begun teaching Political Science courses at the Troy campus as well

Recent Improvements (cont.)

•

Montgomery Campus

– Dr. Thomas Kolasa was certified and selected to teach the master’s level course IR 6685 Terrorism and Political Violence during summer 2010 at the Troy University site in Kadena AFB, Okinawa, Japan

– Dr. Kolasa created a new POL 4494 Select Topics course called “20th_{Century Wars”}

– Dr. Kolasa went to the Teaching & Learning Conference of the American Political Science Association to present a paper on Troy University and the challenges it faces with its diverse student body

– New state-of-the-art computer labs have been completed for use by all fields at the Montgomery Campus; Political Science intends to access them for future “political simulation” hybrid courses being developed by Dr. Kolasa

– Dr. Kolasa continued to be the Advisor for the History & Social Science Association (HSSA), which does workshops, educational films, and field-trips

– HSSA, which consists mostly of Political Science students, did a Constitution Day “table;” they handed out US Constitutions and answered questions from passersby – HSSA also had field trips to the U.S.S. Alabama Museum & Memorial (Mobile, AL)

and the Space Center (Huntsville, AL)

•

eCampus

– Undergraduate Political Science courses taught on eCampus are routinely evaluated through participation in the eCampus Quality Assessment program

Expected Outcomes and Results

The effectiveness of Troy University’s Political Science Program and its

offerings is measured by the following Expected Outcomes and Results (1-5

and 8-12 are Program Outcomes; 6-7 are Student Learning Outcomes):

1. Number of Political Science Majors

2. Number of Political Science Graduates

3. Number of Political Science Majors with overseas learning experience

4. Number of Political Science Majors participating in Political Science

related internships

5. Percentage of Political Science courses taught by full-time instructors

6. 60% of Seniors above the 50% percentile on the Political Science Major

Field Test.

•

Student learning outcomes assessed in this examination include:

– Student’s ability to define key terms and concepts in political science – Student’s ability to identify and analyze the major instruments of political

science.

•

The Major Field Test draws from material commonly offered in

undergraduate political science programs; questions are divided into

five major content areas (US Government, International Relations,

Comparative Government, Political Thought, and Methodology),

some of which evaluate student critical thinking and analysis.

Expected Outcomes and Results, cont.

The effectiveness of Troy University’s Political Science Program and its

offerings is measured by the following Expected Outcomes and Results (1-5

and 8-12 are Program Outcomes; 6-7 are Student Learning Outcomes):

7.

60% of Seniors received a B or better in POL 3300 Foundations of

Political Science – a measure of research achievement that addresses the

ability of a student to plan and execute a substantial research project to

investigate an issue in the field of political science.

8.

85% of Seniors are satisfied or highly satisfied with the overall quality of

the Political Science program.

9.

80% of students are “Satisfied” or “Highly Satisfied” with the University

library resources.

10. 80% of students are “Satisfied” or “Highly Satisfied” with faculty use of

technology to enhance teaching.

11. 80% of students are “Satisfied” or “Highly Satisfied” with advising.

12. 80% of students are “Satisfied” or “Highly Satisfied” with faculty

Program Outcomes

& Assessment Methods

Expected Outcomes

Supporting Courses

Assessment Method

1. Number of Political Science Majors

NA Databases

2. Number of Political Science Graduates

All courses and support Databases

3. Number of Political Science Majors with overseas learning experience

NA Management input

4. Number of Political Science Majors participating in Political Science related internships

NA Management input

5. Percentage of Political Science courses taught by full-time instructors

Expected Outcomes & Assessment Methods

Expected Outcomes (EOs)

Supporting Courses

Assessment Method

6. 60% of Political Science majors are above the 50th_{percentile in the}

Political Science Major Field Test total score

POL 2240/2241 POL 3300 POL 2260 POL 3330

Final Examination – Political Science Major Field Test; the test measures student

understanding of US Government, International Relations, Comparative Government, Political Thought, and Methodology

7. 75% of students receive a B or better in research achievement, i.e., POL 3300

POL 3300 Final Grade – POL 3300 has a methodological component; its grade measures student

understanding of Political Science research processes and goals

8. 85% of Political Science Seniors are Satisfied or Highly Satisfied with the overall quality of the Political Science program

All courses and support Survey

9. 80% of students are satisfied or highly satisfied with library resources

NA Survey

10. 80% of students are satisfied or highly satisfied with faculty use of technology to enhance teaching

NA Survey 11. 80% of students are satisfied or

highly satisfied with advising

NA Survey 12. 80% of students are satisfied or

highly satisfied with faculty accessibility

Expected Outcomes and Results 1

Number of Political Science Majors

Goal 2007-2008 2008-2009 Fall 2009 Average Result

Program

115

104

118

142

121

Troy

80

76

82

91

83

Montgomery

35

28

36

51

38

eCampus

200

224

209

255

229

Expected Outcomes and Results 2

Number of Political Science Graduates

Note: Fall 2009 data normalized to one year for Average calculation

Goal 2007-2008 2008-2009 Fall 2009 Average Result

Program

40

32

14

4

19

Troy

25

16

12

2

11

Montgomery

15

16

2

2

8

eCampus

50

24

48

13

35

Expected Outcomes and Results 3

Number of Political Science Majors

Participating in Overseas Learning Experiences

Goal 2007-2008 2008-2009 Fall 2009 Average Result

Program

6

0

0

0

0

Troy

4

0

0

0

0

Montgomery

2

0

4

0

1

Expected Outcomes and Results 4

Number of Political Science Majors Participating

in Political Science Related Internships

Note: Fall 2009 normalized to one year for Average calculation

Goal 2007-2008 2008-2009 Fall 2009 Average Result

Program

12

9

7

1

6

Troy

8

9

5

1

6

Montgomery

4

0

2

0

1

Expected Outcomes and Results 5

Percentage of Political Science courses taught by

full-time faculty

This outcome compares Program (in-class)

with eCampus (online) results

Goal 2007-2008 2008-2009 Fall 2009 Average Result

Program

50%

45/71

50/72

43/64

67%

Troy

50%

23/32

27/33

25/32

77%

Montgomery

50%

11/15

13/17

8/15

68%

eCampus

50%

33/92

37/94

30/80

38%

Expected Outcomes and Results 6

Percentage of Graduating Political Science Majors above

50% percentile on the Political Science Major Field Test

This outcome compares Program (in-class)

with eCampus (online) results

Goal 2007-2008 2008-2009 Fall 2009 Average Result

Program

60%

11/16

3/6

1/3

60%

Troy

60%

11/16

3/6

1/3

60%

Montgomery

60%

0/0

0/0

0/0

NA

eCampus

60%

0/0

0/0

0/0

NA

Expected Outcomes and Results 7

Percentage of Students Receiving a B or better in

POL 3300 Foundations of Political Science

(a measure of research achievement)

This outcome compares Program (in-class)

with eCampus (online) results

Goal 2007-2008 2008-2009 Fall 2009 Average Result

Program

75%

NA

NA

32/50

64%

Troy

75%

NA

NA

25/40

63%

Montgomery

75%

NA

NA

7/10

70%

eCampus

75%

NA

NA

20/26

77%

Expected Outcomes and Results 8

Percentage of Political Science Seniors who are satisfied

with the overall quality of the Political Science program

This outcome compares Program (in-class)

with eCampus (online) results

Goal 2007-2008 2008-2009 Fall 2009 Average Result

Program

85%

NA

54/56

14/14

97%

Troy

85%

NA

NA

11/11

100%

Montgomery

85%

88%

92%

3/3

93%

eCampus

85%

NA

NA

22/25

88%

Expected Outcomes and Results 9-12

•

EO 8 – Greater than 80% of students will be satisfied with library

resources.

– Result: 2009 student survey (n=36) indicates 75% satisfaction.

– Expectation not met.

•

EO 9 – Greater than 80% of students will be satisfied with faculty use

of technology to enhance teaching.

– Result: 2009 student survey (n=37) indicates 89% satisfaction.

– Expectation met.

•

EO 10 – Greater than 80% of students will be satisfied with advising.

– Result: 2009 student survey (n=37) indicates 81% satisfaction.

– Expectation met.

•

EO 11 – Greater than 80% of students will be satisfied with faculty

accessibility.

– Result: 2009 student survey (n=37) indicates 84% satisfaction.

– Expectation met.

Plans for Further Improvement

As a result of a review of the assessment data by the full-time faculty on March 18, 2010:

•

Program

– Continue using the Political Science Major Field Test as a Student Learning Outcome through fall 2010; ADC to develop and implement a new Student Learning assessment for spring 2011

– With POL 3300 as the Political Science Major measure of student research achievement, ADC to provide sample course learning objectives to emphasize research intent and measurement

– Department chair to investigate alternative student survey process and report back to the ADC by fall semester 2010 for possible implementation in 2011

– Department Chair prepare and submit Undergraduate Catalog change proposal to add courses on Southern Politics and Politics of Asia

– Retain Wilson text for POL 2241 American National Government for academic year 2010-2011; Department Chair to negotiate lower cost alternatives such as loose leaf books and rented books

– ADC to evaluate alternative textbooks for POL 2241for 2011/2012 academic year

– Less than 80% of Political Science Majors were satisfied with library resources; Department Chair to work with library staff and submit list of possible upgrades in library services to ADC for review by August 2010

Plans for Further Improvement

(cont.)

March 18, 2010

•

Troy Campus

– Expand internship and fellowship opportunities for Troy campus Political Science Majors – To improve communication with in the department, the Chair will schedule more frequent

Troy Campus Political Science faculty meetings

– To increase the vitality of the Troy Campus Political Science Club, two assistant professors will be assigned as faculty representatives

– The Troy Campus did not reach its goal of 25 Political Science Major graduates; this will be addressed by more rigorous and aggressive tracking of the progress of Political Science Majors by department administrative personnel and faculty advisors; this will include a twice annual report to the Department Chair

– The Troy Campus did not achieve its goal of 4 students receiving overseas learning experience; a summer study abroad program was scheduled for summer 2010 at the

University of Padova, Italy but too few students signed up to be conducted; advertising and request for University funding for the planned 2011 Italy program will begin early in the fall 2010 semester to give students more time to gather funds for the trip

– The Troy Campus did not achieve its goal of 5 students participating in internship opportunities; campus faculty and administrative personnel will inform students of internship opportunities and investigate possible supplemental funding sources to limit student expenses during internships

Plans for Further Improvement

(cont.)

March 18, 2010

•

Montgomery Campus

– Begin routine training to maintain quality among adjunct instructors; hire new adjuncts as necessary

– Plan and execute a “political simulation” hybrid class – Conduct student field trip to Washington DC

– The Montgomery Campus did not reach its goal of 15 Political Science Major graduates; this will be addressed by more rigorous and aggressive tracking of the progress of Political Science Majors by department administrative personnel and

faculty advisors; a twice annual report will be provided to the campus Political Science instructor

– The Montgomery Campus did not achieve its goal of 2 students receiving overseas learning experience; a summer study abroad program was scheduled for summer 2010 at the University of Padova, Italy, sponsored by the Troy Campus, but too few students signed up to be conducted; advertising and request for University funding for the

planned 2011 program will begin early in fall 2010 semester to give students more time to gather funds for the trip

– The Montgomery Campus did not achieve its goal of 2 students participating in internship opportunities; campus faculty and administrative personnel will inform students of internship opportunities and investigate possible funding sources to limit student expenses during internships; faculty to investigate both Montgomery and Washington, DC internship opportunities

Plans for Further Improvement

(cont.)

March 18, 2010

•

eCampus

– ADC to review teaching credentials of eCampus Political Science

instructors to ensure they are assigned at the proper level of course

difficulty

– eCampus did not meet its goal of 50% of courses taught by full-time

faculty; Department Chair and eCampus administrative personnel will

continue to monitor teaching assignments and work to increase the

percentage; full-time MPA instructors have been invited to teach eCampus

undergraduate Political Science courses and will be so-assigned depending

on course certification; the pending hire of four full-time Master of

International Relations instructors (one a replacement) will provide

additional Political Science resources, but the management of instructor

assets to reach 50% full-time instructors at all sites and campuses will

require difficult tradeoffs in the coming years