Seminole State College

Approved May 2005

Seminole State College

Expanded Statement of Institutional Purpose

Evaluation of Associate in Arts in General Studies

2005

Mission Statement:

Seminole State College is maintained as a two-year public college authorized by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education to offer courses, provide programs, and confer associate degrees. Seminole State has the primary responsibility of providing post-secondary educational programs to residents of Hughes, Lincoln, Okfuskee, Seminole, and Pottawatomie counties in east central Oklahoma. The College exists to enhance the capabilities of individuals to achieve their goals for personal development by providing quality learning experiences and services that respond to diverse individual and community needs in a changing global society. Seminole State College prepares students to continue their education beyond the two-year level, trains students for careers and other educational opportunities, and makes available resources and services designed to benefit students and the community at large.

Transfer Degree Program Outcomes:

1.  Transfer degree programs at Seminole State College will successfully articulate to state baccalaureate institutions of higher learning in Oklahoma.
2.  SSC transfer degree graduates will demonstrate successful academic achievement at primary receiving state baccalaureate institutions of higher learning in Oklahoma. Successful academic achievement is defined as the maintenance of satisfactory academic progress toward degree completion as determined by the receiving institution.

Requirements for Degree:

General Transfer Degree Requirements: 41 hours (see page 57 of the Seminole State College 2004-2006 Catalog)
Major Field Recommendations: 15 hours; Elective Credit Hours: 3-5 hours; Freshman Seminar or PASS Credit Hours: 1-3 hours
Degree Program Objectives / Assessment Methods
and Criteria / Assessment Results / Analysis and Action /
This degree program satisfies the following Degree Program Objectives:
1.  Transfer degree programs at Seminole State College will successfully articulate to state baccalaureate institutions of higher learning in Oklahoma.
2.  SSC transfer degree graduates will demonstrate successful academic achievement at primary receiving state baccalaureate institutions of higher learning in Oklahoma. Successful academic achievement is defined as the maintenance of satisfactory academic progress toward degree completion as determined by the receiving institution. / Assessment of this degree program derives from a culmination of direct and indirect evaluation indicators. The focus of this evaluation is to determine the degree program’s achievement of relevant points of the Degree Program Objectives.
A variety of indicators and instruments are used to make this evaluation.
The primary direct indicators used are:
1.  Course-embedded assessment;
2.  ETS Academic Profile Test
3.  Transfer reports from four-year institutions.
Principal indirect indicators used are found in the SSC Graduate Opinion Survey
Supplemental statistical data is provided by the SSC Institutional Statistics Report and electronic database as a framework for understanding the makeup of the student body.
Specific Assessment Methods and Criteria used in each of the measures are detailed in the College’s Evaluation of General Education Outcomes report, the Discipline Assessment Reports, and Course-Embedded Assessment Reports.
ETS Academic Profile Test:
This nationally recognized test is designed to assist in assessing the outcomes of general education programs by focusing on the academic skills developed through general education courses. The Academic Profile does this by testing college-level reading, college-level writing, critical thinking, and mathematics within the context of the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.
·  131 students were tested in Fall 2004.
·  10 different courses (10 sections) were tested.
·  8 full-time instructors administered the tests with 10 full-time instructors serving as proctors.
·  74.05% (97 of the 131 students tested) had 45+ hours.
·  22.05% (97) of the 440 students campus-wide) had 45+ hours. / Documents referred to for specific assessment results are the College’s Evaluation of General Education Expectations, the Discipline Assessment Reports, Course-Embedded Assessment Reports, Institutional Statistics and specific program data, and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education Assessment Reports.
General Studies graduates:
01-02 59
02-03 63
03-04 48
04-05 22 (does not include spring)
General Studies declared majors:
Sp 02 (227 male; 222 female; 170fresh; 279 soph)
F 02 (250 male; 239 female; 201 fresh; 288 soph)
Sp 03 (217 male; 217 female; 167 fresh; 265 soph)
F 03 (231male; 268 female; 257 fresh; 242soph)
Sp 04 (205 male; 253 female; 227 fresh; 231 soph)
F 04 (195 male; 209 female; 252 fresh; 152 soph)
Sp 05 (131 male; 144 female; 169 fresh; 106 soph)
General Studies ACT scores 19 & under:
<5 5-9 10-14 15-19 Total <19 Total records
Sp 02 0 0 28 133 161 449(35.8%)
F 02 0 0 28 124 152 489(31.1%)
Sp 03 0 0 18 106 124 434(28.6%)
F 03 0 0 17 116 133 499(26.7%)
Sp 04 0 0 11 101 112 458(24.4%)
F 04 0 0 17 91 108 404(26.7%)
Sp 05 0 0 14 60 74 275(26.9%)
(note: over 50% of SSC students do not have ACT scores)
General Studies age categories:
<20 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50>
Sp 02 1 291 64 29 22 23 15 4
F 02 5 316 82 28 20 19 12 7
Sp 03 19 265 73 26 20 18 10 3
F 03 67 262 79 22 24 24 11 10
Sp 04 79 224 65 29 19 23 10 9
F 04 113 163 54 25 17 19 8 5
Sp 05 83 111 27 18 12 15 4 5
Results summary:
ETS Academic Profile Test:
Academic Profile based national norms on the scores of 24, 021 students enrolled in 61 Associate of Arts Colleges from across the nation. The scores, updated each July, represent several years of data collection.
The possible range of scores was 400-500. Scores for 131 SSC students ranged from 402-486. The primary analysis of test results focused on students with 45 or more credit hours. Of the 131 students whose scores were used in analyzing the test, 97 (74.05%) were in this category. The mean score for these students was 442.2. The national mean score was 441.4. The national mean was 441.7 for sophomores.
At SSC, ten different courses were tested. Of these courses, five (50.0%) addressed General Education Student Expectation No. 1 and 8 (80.0%) addressed General Education Student Expectations No. 1 and No. 3.
The possible range for scores for critical thinking (GESE No. 3) is 100-130. The SSC score is 108.6.
The following tables show comparisons between SSC and sophomore students from across the nation.
Code: P=Proficient; M=Marginal; NP= Not Proficient
Critical Thinking
No. / P / M / NP
SSC / 74 / 4% / 14% / 82%
Nation / 8675 / 3% / 11% / 86%
Reading Level 2
No. / P / M / NP
SSC / 74 / 20% / 39% / 41%
Nation / 8675 / 29% / 23% / 48%
Reading Level 1
No. / P / M / NP
SSC / 74 / 69% / 19% / 12%
Nation / 8675 / 64% / 22% / 14%
Writing Level 3
No. / P / M / NP
SSC / 74 / 5% / 22% / 73%
Nation / 8675 / 6% / 25% / 69%
Writing Level 2
No. / P / M / NP
SSC / 74 / 18% / 35% / 47%
Nation / 8675 / 13% / 38% / 48%
Writing Level 1
No. / P / M / NP
SSC / 74 / 61% / 30% / 9%
Nation / 8675 / 63% / 27% / 10%
Math Level 3
No. / P / M / NP
SSC / 74 / 4% / 3% / 93%
Nation / 8675 / 4% / 12% / 84%
Math Level 2
No. / P / M / NP
SSC / 74 / 11% / 39% / 50%
Nation / 8675 / 20% / 29% / 51%
Math Level 1
No. / P / M / NP
SSC / 74 / 49% / 34% / 18%
Nation / 8675 / 48% / 33% / 20%
/ ANALYSIS
The primary purpose of the Associate in Arts for General Studies Degree is to prepare students for transfer to a four-year institution. It is intended for persons who are not certain of their major field of study.
The degree requirements are listed on page 57 of the college catalogue. The General Studies Degree requirements are the 41 hours of General Transfer Degree course work. To complete the required 62 hours of course work these majors can choose to take their remaining course load from across the curriculum to explore their various academic interest and curiosity.
Traditionally this has been the degree the majority of Seminole State Students enrolled in and completed.
The number of declared General Studies majors has declined during the 2004-2005 academic year because there has been a concerted effort by the college officials to better inform students of the advantage of declaring a major early in their academic career so they can optimize their time and achieve their academic goals in a more timely manner.
The degree program continues to attract a large number of young, underprepared adults with unclear goals for whom career exploration would be beneficial.
ACTION
The Associate in Arts in General Studies Degree will continue to be an integral part of the Seminole State College Academic Program. One of the primary missions of this institution is to prepare students to transfer to a four-year institution. If students are unsure of their future academic and career plans upon beginning their college career and beyond a two-year degree program this degree will prepare them to have an appropriate freshmen and sophomore level of general academic coursework that will assist them to best decide what their future academic goals will optimize their particular talents and career interest.
SSC has a cooperative Title III Grant with East Central University to make the transfer of courses from SSC to ECU more student friendly. ECU is the institution that the highest number of SSC's graduates transfer into. If students declare a specific major within their first two years they can familiarize themselves with the 4-year degree requirements of the college they intend to transfer to.

Form Created: April 2003 4