Assessment Results.
A)The specific quantitative and qualitative data collected.
Data were taken in each section of Philo 300, 301, 320, 330, 340, 525, 585, 635 and 640 from the Fall of 2005 on, for each SLO assessed in that class. Data have been taken for each section of Philo 535 and 645 from Fall of 2008 and Fall of 2009 respectively. Subjective measures of writing quality have been assessed in all sections of all of the above courses beginning in Fall 2009. SLOs are assessed in classes as below:
CoursesDepartmental SLOs / 300 / 301 / 320 / 330 / 340 / 525 / 535 / 585 / 635 / 640 / 645
3 / X / X / X / X / X / X / X / X / X / X
9 / X
10 / X / X / X / X / X / X / X
11 / X
12 / X
However, because of a hard drive failure in Spring of 08, course-specific data were lost. Three year running averages for individual SLOs were, however, recovered, with the exception of SLO 12.
B)The sample of students from whom data were collected. Because Philo 300, 301, 320, 330 and 340 are core classes required of every major and minor in the philosophy program, all majors and all minors have been assessed. Because the upper division course (5 and 6 hundred level courses) comprise those most frequently taken by our majors, all majors have been assessed in both lower and upper division courses by the time of their graduation.
C)Results (3 year rolling average):
SLO 3. Students should be able to critically evaluate the merits of particular arguments and systems of such, identifying those that are invalid, those that are valid and those that, while valid, rely on contentious premises.
Competency / Evaluation of ArgumentsAvg Score / 83.5
SLO 9. Students should be able to use semantic methods to assess the validity of arguments in sentential logic, and should be able to construct derivations in 1st order logic.
Competency / Semantic Methods / Syntactic MethodsAvg Score / 88.4 / 81.0
SLO 10. Students should be familiar with a range of important contemporary theories in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics and social and political philosophy.
Competency / Knowledge of Theories, ContemporaryAvg Score / 77.89
SLO 11. Students should be familiar with central philosophical theories in ethics, metaphysics and epistemology in ancient philosophy, and the place of these theories in the history of ideas.
Competency / Knowledge of Theories, AncientAvg Score / 91.89
SLO 12. Students should be familiar with the transitional early modern philosophical theories of epistemology, metaphysics, ethics and social and political philosophy, and with the place of such theories in the history of ideas.
Competency / Knowledge of Theories, Early ModernAvg Score / ------
SLO 14. Students should be familiar with a diversity of opinions regarding the origin and nature of moral obligations, the relation between law and morality, and the proper forms and limits of political association and other social institutions.
Competency / Knowledge of Theories, Early ModernAvg Score / 83.64