Philosophy
Assessment Plan

A. Assessment (Gen Ed Perspective courses): 

            There are several Gen Ed philosophy perspective courses, and there is much  variability from one instructor’s course to another’s. Accordingly, each instructor will assess his/her courses using tools appropriate to that course, including surveys and exams. Course variability notwithstanding, a common core of learning in each perspective course will also be identified and assessed by a generic test (e.g. in Intro to Ethics and Thinking Intelligently). This should also include writing samples (early and later) from each student to help in course assessment and, for philosophy majors and minors, in program assessment.

            Similar methods of assessment will be used by the philosophy department as the university begins the transition to the new Gen Ed program in 2004. 

B. Assessment (Programmatic): 

1. Philosophy majors and minors, in their final year, will be given a comprehensive exam to measure their achievement regarding #1 and #2 above. Students’ written work (papers from  Great Philosophers course or some other upper level course) will also be used as part of the AO.

2. Philosophy majors and minors, in their final year, will be given a questionnaire to ascertain achievement regarding #3 above.

 3. Philosophy alumni and other alumni who have taken more than one philosophy course at PSC will be surveyed regarding achievement of objectives pertaining to #4 above.

             The PSC Department of Philosophy will begin to assess its program’s effectiveness in the 2003-04 year. While we believe that assessment will be useful, we are mindful of philosophy’s unique subject matter and nature which make attempts to quantify and measure educational achievement somewhat problematic. The American Philosophical Association has given this subject special thought, and we note their words of caution in a recent publication (Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association, 1996, Vol. 69, No. 2, pp. 94-95):

            The APA is concerned that requirements placed upon departments of philosophy and upon individual instructors to implement OA [outcomes assessment] in its more radically conceived recent guises .. may be neither well warranted nor pedagogically wise. We observe that little work would appear to have been done to assess the value of OA itself in improving teaching and learning. It is moreover pointless to prepare extensive assessment programs in the absence of evidence that the means of assessment already iin place can be improved upon with tangible educational benefits great enough to justify the costs and other disadvantages.

            ...The APA urges administrators and public officials to be judicious  and reasonable in applying the concept , however; to recognize practical application; to consider whether the means of assessment already in place at an institution can actually be improved upon; and to give due regard to the important fact that some of the most important sorts of education cannot be captured by Outcomes Assessment, and indeed, may be endangered by it.