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Political Science, BA/BS

Student Outcomes

Assessment of Student Outcomes

Outcome PLS-A Knowledge of key structures, actors, issues (PLS)

Students will demonstrate knowledge of key structures, actors, and issues in the political science discipline.
Objective 1 Students will demonstrate, on a comprehensive multiple-choice exam, an understanding of the key structures, actors, and issues in the political science discipline.

Measure 1

2021 Status
Achieved
The mean for December 2021 was 62 percent.

2018 Status
Achieved
The mean for December 2018 was 68 percent.

2017 Status
Achieved
The mean for December 2017 was 68 percent.

Objective 2 Students will show, by self-evaluation on a survey, that their education in the major has challenged them intellectually.

Measure 1

2021 Status
Achieved
97 percent of students in December 2021 agreed or strongly agreed that the political science curriculum has challenged them intellectually.

2018 Status
Achieved
97 percent of students in December 2018 agreed or strongly agreed that the political science curriculum has challenged them intellectually.

2017 Status
Achieved
96 percent of students in December 2017 agreed or strongly agreed that the political science curriculum has challenged them intellectually.

Outcome PLS-B American politics (PLS)

Students will demonstrate knowledge of the American politics subfield.
Objective 3 Students will demonstrate, on a comprehensive multiple-choice exam, an understanding of American politics.

Measure 1

2021 Status
Achieved
The mean for December 2021 was 68 percent.

2018 Status
Achieved
The mean for December 2017 was 71 percent.

Objective 4 Students will show, by self-evaluation on a survey, that their education in the major has significantly broadened their understanding of politics, government, and policies in the United States.

Measure 1

2021 Status
Achieved
The mean for December 2021 was 90 percent.

2018 Status
Achieved
97 percent of students in December 2018 agreed or strongly agreed that the political science curriculum has significantly broadened their understanding of politics, government, and policies in the United States.

Outcome PLS-C Comparative Politics (PLS)

Students will demonstrate knowledge of the comparative politics subfield.
Objective 5 Students will demonstrate, on a comprehensive multiple-choice exam, an understanding of comparative politics.

Measure 1

2018 Status
Achieved
The mean for December 2017 was 70 percent.

2017 Status
Achieved
The mean for December 2017 was 68 percent.

Objective 6 Students will show, by self-evaluation on a survey, that their education in the major has significantly broadened their understanding of politics, government, and policies of other countries.

Measure 1

2018 Status
Achieved
91 percent of students in December 2018 agreed or strongly agreed that the political science curriculum has significantly broadened their understanding of politics, government, and policies in other countries.

2017 Status
Achieved
96 percent of students in December 2017 agreed or strongly agreed that the political science curriculum has significantly broadened their understanding of politics, government, and policies in other countries.

Outcome PLS-D International Relations (PLS)

Students will demonstrate knowledge of the international relations subfield.
Objective 7 Students will demonstrate, on a comprehensive multiple-choice exam, an understanding of international relations.

Measure 1

2019 Status
Achieved
The mean for December 2019 was 63 percent.

2017 Status
Achieved
The mean for December 2017 was 71 percent.

Objective 8 Students will show, by self-evaluation on a survey, that their education in the major has significantly broadened their understanding of international relations.

Measure 1

2019 Status
Achieved
84 percent of students in December 2019 agreed or strongly agreed that the political science curriculum has significantly broadened their understanding of international relations and important international issues.

2017 Status
Achieved
88 percent of students in December 2017 agreed or strongly agreed that the political science curriculum has significantly broadened their understanding of international relations and important international issues.

Outcome PLS-E Political Theory (PLS)

Students will demonstrate knowledge of the political theory subfield.
Objective 10 Students will show, by self-evaluation on a survey, that their education in the major has helped them to understand political perspectives other than their own.

Measure 1

2021 Status
Achieved
93 percent of students in December 2021 agreed or strongly agreed that the political science curriculum has significantly broadened their understanding of political perspectives other than their own.

2019 Status
Achieved
97 percent of students in December 2019 agreed or strongly agreed that the political science curriculum has significantly broadened their understanding of political perspectives other than their own.

2017 Status
Achieved
92 percent of students in December 2017 agreed or strongly agreed that the political science curriculum has helped them to understand political perspectives other than their own.

Objective 9 Students will demonstrate, on a comprehensive multiple-choice exam, an understanding of political theory.

Measure 1

2019 Status
Achieved
The mean for December 2019 was 63 percent.

2017 Status
Achieved
The mean for December 2017 was 65 percent.

Outcome PLS-F Writing (PLS)

Students will demonstrate effective college- and professional-level writing skills.
Objective 11 Students will demonstrate, through a capstone course writing assignment, effective college- and professional-level writing skills.

Measure 1

2017 Status
Achieved
Nearly all students earned a B or better on a capstone writing assignment.

Objective 12 Students will show, by self-evaluation on a survey, that their education has directly contributed to the improvement of their writing skills.

Measure 1

2021 Status
Achieved
93 percent of students in December 2021 agreed or strongly agreed that their political science courses have directly contributed to the improvement of their writing skills.

2017 Status
Achieved
92 percent of students in December 2017 agreed or strongly agreed that their political science courses have directly contributed to improvement of their writing skills.

Outcome PLS-G Critically analyze political data (PLS)

Students will demonstrate proficiency in the ability to analyze critically political data in the field of political science.
Objective 13 Students will demonstrate, through performance on an exam, proficiency in the ability to crtically analyze political data in the field of political science.

Measure 1

2017 Status
Achieved
81 percent of students in PLS 300 earned a B or better on an exam relating to analysis of political data.