This assessment report includes descriptions of projects for 1997-98 including the continuation of a standing Assessment Committee which sets the agenda on assessment for the School. Those projects were conducted by students (as noted above) as well as the entire faculty of the School. The faculty contributed to the assessment report not only through a review of the completed document, but by: (1) allowing access to classes for data gathering; (2) participating in the review of graduate students; (3) implementing changes in the curriculum prompted by past assessment efforts; (4) offering data to the Assessment Committee; (5) conducting exit interviews with undergraduate and graduate students.

The work of both students and faculty reflects that the School of Interpersonal Communication is committed to an inclusive, ongoing, and thorough process of assessment. The School has continued assessment projects implemented in previous years, yet continues to initiate additional projects that offer more perspectives on the question we, not unlike the former mayor of New York City, continue to ask, "How are we doing?"

InCo expects undergraduates to develop professionalism as oral and written communicators, conscious competence in dyadic and group communication, and skill at information gathering and critical thinking. We expect our graduate students to excel in these areas and to make original contributions to scholarly knowledge or to organizations in which such knowledge is applied. See Appendix A for a detailed list of Core Undergraduate Competencies, developed by the School’s Assessment Committee in response to concerns raised during the 1996 assessment report. The faculty adopted the competencies list in the spring of 1997.

A previous Assessment Committee developed outcome goals from the School mission statement (composed by the entire faculty in 1993-94). Our Core Undergraduate Competencies were drafted by the Assessment Committee based on a review of undergraduate syllabi for all core courses taught by faculty and teaching associates from 1994-96, a series of special core-curriculum meetings involving all InCo faculty and TAs, and recent research by our national professional organization, the National Communication Association.

For the undergraduate program, previous Assessment Committee members reviewed syllabi for 200 sections of undergraduate core courses taught over the past 3 years, and combined the goals and objectives identified by some 50 individual instructors--full time faculty, adjunct, and teaching associates--into a list of outcomes expected from our core curriculum. The Assessment Committee also reviewed outcomes identified by undergraduate departments of other communication programs and the research into outcomes reported by National Communication Association officers Sherwyn P. Morreale and Rebecca B. Rubin in "Setting Expectations for Speech Communication and Listening." The Assessment Committee presented this list of goals to the faculty for comments, confirmation, and approval. Similarly, goals for courses in the core curriculum were articulated in six meetings of all the faculty and teaching associates responsible for those classes. The Assessment Committee received reports from those sub-committees, and presented recommended changes to the faculty for confirmation and approval in two additional meetings.

Our goals remain intact from last year. They provide a framework by which we assess our efforts. As the remainder of this report reveals, the faculty of the School envision assessment as an ongoing process that helps us to evaluate our efforts to achieve our goals.

*undergraduate capstone course (InCo 445)

-enrolls 75% of senior InCo majors (approx. 150 students) in a demanding organizational setting, the Institute for Communication Improvement, with local clients.

-99% of the students demonstrate mastery of organizational communication track curriculum by completing the capstone course with grade of C or better.

-70% of clients request repeat services; 100% of the clients indicate satisfaction.

*undergraduate application of theory courses (InCo 342, 405, 430)

-in 1997-98, some sections of these three courses were taught through a service-learning pedagogy that allowed students and faculty to assess how well students were able to apply theory in work for clients on and off campus. Over 200 students were informally assessed through these courses. In addition, some of these students engaged in activities that provided assessment services to other units on campus.

*surveys and interviews of current majors

-focus group interviews and detailed survey conducted in Summer of 1997 by Institute for Communication Improvement (InCo 445 Class): N=62. Findings reported to Director and Assessment Committee of the School of Interpersonal Communication (see Appendix B for Executive Summary of report).

*surveys and interviews of graduating majors

-survey conducted in Spring 1998 InCo 405 and InCo 445 courses of graduating senior majors asking them to assess how well the School has taught them the skills listed in our Core Undergraduate Competencies (see Appendix C for results): N=48.

-focus group interview conducted in Spring 1998 InCo 405 course of graduating senior majors.

-exit interviews conducted in Spring 1998 by Director of Undergraduate Studies.

*interviews of graduating InCo minors

- focus group interviews conducted in Spring 1998 InCo 405 course of graduating senior majors: N=20.

*curriculum revision process

-responding to previous assessment efforts, the faculty continued to revise the undergraduate curriculum by: (1) developing pre-requisites for core courses that would reduce course overlap and manage enrollment; (2) discussing course overlap in InCo 205 and 206; (3) considering changes in courses listed in the core (a process that will continue into 1998-99).

*courses in applied communication sequence (InCo 631, 694, and 733) which produce outcome projects which can be measured against national norms.

*annual performance reviews of graduate students

-equivalent of portfolio assessment of graduate students.

-reports by individual students reviewed by Graduate Committee and Director of Graduate -Studies in light of individual programs of study, InCo requirements, and expectations for professional development.

*participation by graduate students at national and regional conferences

-25 papers presented, 5 panels chaired, 2 short courses taught at NCA alone, by InCo current graduate students.

-125 presentations, 35 panels chaired, 17 panels responded to at NCA by graduate alumni demonstrates professional-level research abilities developed through our graduate program (modeled by InCo faculty, who gave 39 presentations at this same meeting) demonstrates ongoing commitment to the growth of disciplinary knowledge by InCo's graduates

*employment survey of M.A. and Ph.D. graduates

-100% of Ph.D. graduates seeking academic employment for the past five years have found full-time, teaching positions.

-20 % of Ph.D. graduates seek and find other professional positions (e.g., consultant, editor, manager).

-80% of M.A. students have enrolled in Ph.D. programs, at OU or elsewhere; 20% have secured professional employment, including university administration, within 3 months of graduation.

*bi-annual site visits by InCo Advisory Board

-body of outside professional evaluators: 2 senior-level Fortune 500 corporate leaders, 1 academic leader, 1 private consultant, and 1 attorney, conducted the following activities:

interviewed students

visited classes

lectured in classes

met with faculty

reported on the health of the School and program, with reports to senior administrators (Dean, Provost, and President on various visits)

-OU Career and Further Education Study, Class of 1995-96

-Follow-Up Studies of Graduates, College of Communication, 1998

-First Year Student Attrition and Retention Report

-Institutional Impact and Assessment Plan

These institutional reports indicate to us that InCo has one of the highest retention rates in the university, in part due to students’ high rating of the advising process; 71% of 1996 graduates are extremely or very satisfied with the education they received in their major courses (an increase of 10% from the average figure reported in 1992-1995), that it takes nearly all of them no longer than 4-8 months to get a job upon graduation, that their salaries are the second highest in the college, that they need more help translating their skills into job requirements for recruiting officers, and they wish we had given them more training in the application of computers to their future jobs.

*survey of graduating seniors’ perceptions regarding how well InCo had taught them the skills listed in the Core Undergraduate Competencies

*focus group interviews with graduating seniors minoring in InCo

*use of service-learning pedagogy to assess students’ ability to apply and develop theory

*focus group interviews with graduating senior majors

*surveys of current InCo majors to focus on seniors’ assessment of core competencies

*undergraduate capstone course (InCo 445)

*graduate audit class (InCo 733)

*simi-annual site visits by InCo Advisory Board

*employment survey of M.A. and Ph.D. graduates

*annual performance reviews of graduate students

*participation by graduate student papers at national and regional conferences

*capstone course for communication consulting sequence

*institutional research reports

Data are first collected by a variety of means including the undergraduate capstone course, the Assessment Committee, School administrators in exit interviews, and alumni. Committees and sub-groups analyze the data sometimes using statistical analyses and sometimes using thematic analysis. Always, the data are then presented to the faculty as a whole either in writing or in a faculty meeting for discussion and approval of any recommendations for change.

Most of InCo's assessment activities involve qualitative data, and thus are interpreted in terms of student satisfaction (evidenced by exit interviews and follow-up surveys), faculty observation (evidenced by degree to which students need assistance meeting rigorous requirements and challenging goals), and standards of professional accomplishment (evidenced by employment for undergraduates and graduates, conference presentations for graduate students).

The annual performance reviews of graduate students result in individual written reports to each graduate student on their progress and meetings with those who the faculty feel are not meeting the goals of the curriculum. The Director also has two individual conferences with every faculty member to discuss their personal goals and to solicit their ideas for changes in the School. One of these interviews occurs in the late spring following the Assessment Committee’s report. Therefore, faculty have a chance to identify how they can contribute to the mission of the School and to assist with changes recommended as a result of the assessment process.

Employment and level of professional activity by M.A. and Ph.D. graduates demonstrate overall excellence of our graduate programs in preparing students for academic and professional life as well as national rankings.

Student performance in capstone courses (graduate and undergraduate) indicates readiness of advanced students to perform as communication professionals. Clients' repeated requests for service demonstrates excellence of students' work.

Five-year follow-up statistics indicate career benefits of undergraduate program. Over 94% of students who graduated with an InCo degree in 1992-1996 are satisfied with their major courses. The most recent graduates (1994-1996) are the most satisfied (over 97%), indicating that students increasingly find an InCo education worthwhile. Graduates in 1996 were the most satisfied of all; 71% were very or extremely satisfied with their major courses, an increase of over 10% from the 1992-1995 average in those categories.

Student exit interviews reveal high degree of satisfaction with major coursework. Moreover, the data from surveys of 1998 graduating seniors indicate that these students believe InCo has been effective in teaching them the skills outlined in the Core Undergraduate Competencies (see Appendix D).

Survey by InCo 445 students reports current students' satisfaction with core coursework as follows:

101 (Intro to Human Comm.) 74 % (N=61)

103 (Public Speaking) 95 % (N=60)

205 (Group Communication) 92 % (N=60)

206 (Interpersonal Comm.) 97 % (N=62)

234 (Comm. Theories) 78 % (N=55)

342 (Comm. & Persuasion) 96 % (N=49)

Student exit interviews and faculty observations confirm need to enhance writing instruction.

Advisory board members observed that students need clearer sense of their achievements and greater ability to articulate them, orally and in writing.

Exit interviews and curriculum overlap project suggest continued need to review curriculum with regard to outcomes.

Exit interviews and 5-year outcomes report suggest need to enhance students' computer skills.

-pre-requisites established for core courses

-continued discussion of potential course overlap

-initiation of review of core courses and major areas within the School

-use of 1997 assessment award to engage in additional assessment activities within the School

-expanded assessment efforts involving students (as researchers and subjects)

-a student leaders program was established to increase student involvement in our assessment process and to provide students with additional opportunities for learning outside the university

The assessment report is shared with every faculty member in the School. Faculty continue to refine and change their course content, based upon both their continued research and self-assessment but also as a result of increased student input. In addition, the School will continue its ongoing review of the undergraduate curriculum while initiating a discussion of the graduate curriculum. Data generated through surveys and interviews will be processed over the summer and used to establish an agenda for action in 1998-99.

The School is in the process of reviewing its undergraduate curriculum with the goals of reducing course overlap, enhancing the development of the Core Undergraduate Competencies, and increasing the academic challenge of its classes. In addition, the School will begin review of its graduate curriculum with the goals of clarifying course rotation and responding to new developments in the field of communication. Data gathered in 1997-98, and data currently being collected, will assist in these processes.

The School will reflect on the many additional forms of assessment implemented in 1997-98 to determine whether they should be altered in any way. In addition, the School will seek additional data regarding both the graduate and undergraduate programs. At the graduate level, the School will complete a broad survey of its graduate students, faculty, and alumni to assess the quality of the graduate program. This survey will be completed in conjunction with Educational Testing Services and provide the School with comparative data. The School will also analyze comparative data from selected universities with graduate programs that possess strong national reputations. At the undergraduate level, the School has been working with Institutional Research to survey recent graduates about how well it has taught them the Core Undergraduate Competencies and to have graduating seniors take the standardized COMPS exam (which will provide a rough measure--compared to college entrance exams--of how much InCo majors have developed their skills while at the university). Final collection and analysis of these data will occur in 1998-99.

Whereas our formal assessment process focuses on the 500 students enrolled as InCo majors and 75 graduate students, our informal assessment includes over 6,000 students that InCo serves each year, including approximately 100 students who elect an InCo minor. Actual enrollment is closer to 7,800 during the academic year and an additional 458 enrolled during the summer, including repeat enrollment by students. The popularity of InCo courses among students and faculty in other programs testifies to the skills and content that InCo provides. In addition to the 900 students who choose InCo 101 to meet their Tier II requirement each year, some 2,500 non-majors enroll annually in InCo 103, Public Speaking--some of them required to enroll by their own major programs. InCo's courses in communication theory, persuasion, and organizational communication are required for majors in Communication Systems Management. The College of Business has increased its communication requirements for all majors in their new curriculum redesign. Recently the School of Accountancy asked InCo to design an advanced course in professional communication for its new master's degree. The enrollment of students from across the university--sometimes, alas, to the exclusion of our own majors from classes--assures us that our courses have value unique to InCo, value that extends beyond the major.

Constituencies outside Athens also provide informal assessment of our programs. At the regional level, InCo has received requests from the Zanesville and Chillicothe campuses to offer M.A. programs for their students, all of them working professionals. Nationally, our graduate programs are ranked fifth in the country according to a national poll conducted by the National Communication Association in the fall of 1996. International recognition comes from requests for InCo to design programs and teach at universities abroad: in Hong Kong (B.S. in Organizational Communication at Hong Kong Baptist), in Bangkok, Thailand (joint Ph.D. in interpersonal communication at Bangkok University, the first such Ph.D. program in Asia, now entering its fifth year), and Malaysia ( MA in mass communication in Malaysia at the MARA Institute). To be sure, these informal means of assessment highlight areas of programmatic distinction and reflect InCo’s continual commitment to excellence.

School of Interpersonal Communication

Appendix A: Core Undergraduate Competencies

The InCo Faculty has adopted the following list of undergraduate outcomes for our core curriculum. Each track within the undergraduate InCo major offers additional, career-related outcomes specific to that pre-professional curriculum; these will be articulated separately by the faculty involved.

We expect this list to be implemented in several ways. Students will receive this list when they enter the School as majors, and should discuss their progress toward achieving independent mastery of these skills when meeting with their InCo advisors to plan their programs; students may well need to seek ancillary coursework to enhance their performance in the areas listed. For their part, faculty teaching core courses should endeavor to incorporate these core skills into their assignments and class activities, and evaluate student performance with these expectations in mind. Every InCo major should master each skill listed below at least to the point of performance with guidance by the end of the junior year. Independent mastery is a goal to be sought by graduation. The Five-Year Educational Outcomes Report produced by Institutional Research provides some assessment data on these items.

-demonstrates credibility through use of sound reasoning, research, and documentation

-manages multiple communication goals in speaking, writing, and listening

-demonstrates professionalism in following details of written and oral instructions

-takes the initiative to gain understanding or seek clarification

-identifies the main idea or key point of an oral or written message

-interprets graphs and charts relevant to course material

-distinguishes between a claim and its support

-uses professional (i.e., non-textbook) sources to support and develop student's own insights

-articulates and defends ideas rigorously and systematically

-evaluates options and makes choices based on carefully identified and articulated criteria

-applies course concepts to practical situations

-analyzes an argument, theory, or other information-set into its component parts, processes, etc.

-relates and interprets causes and effects

-compares and contrasts 2 sets of information to identify similarities and differences

-generates solutions to problems and identifies appropriate means for achieving them

-chooses and applies a suitable organization pattern for an oral presentation of 5-10 minutes

-articulates ideas fluently and grammatically

-contributes productively to fulfillment of a group task

-interacts appropriately with audiences in formal settings

-speaks effectively to both native and second-language speakers

-uses presentational aids (print, a/v, electronic) effectively

-chooses and applies a suitable organization pattern for a document of 5-10 pages

-writes without basic errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation

-communicates information about oral, print, and electronic resources using standard citation formats

-demonstrates competence with information by using research material appropriately

-can identify and locate suitable print resources using Alice

-can identify and locate suitable print resources using a scholarly database (e.g., ERIC)

-can identify and locate suitable electronic resources using internet search engines

-can generate a topic for extended discussion via electronic mail

-uses appropriate computer software to prepare and present material

Appendix B: Executive Summary of Summer InCo 445 Survey and Interviews

Appendix C: Results of Surveys of Graduating Majors

Regarding Core Undergraduate Competencies

KEY: A 7-point scale was used in this survey with 1 assigned to extremely effective, 2 to very effective, 3 to somewhat effective, 4 to neutral, 5 to somewhat ineffective, 6 to very ineffective, and 7 to extremely ineffective. Figures below refer to the mean score (N=48)

1. How effective has the School of Interpersonal Communication been in advising you regarding academic matters? [3.02]

2. How effective has the School of Interpersonal Communication been in developing your oral communication skills? [2.50]

3. How effective has the School of Interpersonal Communication been in developing your written communication skills? [2.92]

4. How effective has the School of Interpersonal Communication been in developing your critical thinking skills? [2.94]

5. How effective has the School of Interpersonal Communication been in developing your research skills? [2.90]

6. How effective has the School of Interpersonal Communication been in meeting your academic needs in general during your undergraduate experience? [2.77]