Name of Program/Department: Environmental Studies BA
Name of College/School: College of Arts & Sciences
Assessment Overview
We assess six learning outcomes on a three-year cycle for the Environmental Studies Program. We use our capstone
course and a variety of other courses to evaluate overall quality of student work in areas including use of the scientific
method, and lab and field competency, as well as oral and written communication and information literacy skills.
Results & Actions Taken
In Fall 2016, we assessed sophomore-level students’ abilities with lab and field techniques through a lab practical at
the end of an Introduction to Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences course. Over 90% of ENVI students achieved average or
better competency in lab and field skills. In future years we hope to assess this learning outcome in upper-division
courses as well to determine how these skills develop in our students throughout the program. We also assessed
students’ knowledge and comprehension of the scientific method through a comprehensive lab report based on a
research project in a junior-level writing-intensive course. At least 90% of ENVI students achieved average or better
competency in all criteria assessed, including identifying a research question, describing methods in detail, presenting
results in written and graphical formats, and interpreting results. However, student performance varied among the
criteria. This assessment thus allows us to determine which aspects of this learning outcome are more challenging for
students, which provides us with a guide of how to target our effort in this newly developed course moving forward.
30 November 2016