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home > Assessment > Assessment Plan
Department of Physics

  Assessment Plan

 
Strategy: Because the typical BS/BA student cohort is relatively small, the Physics Department is able to assesses attainment of its Learning Objectives using individual faculty evaluation of each student's progress. This is done through Touchstone Courses, a Capstone Course, and Exit interviews. The department has also used Informal Feedback and External Reviews to effectively assess and improve its programs.  Details are below.

The assessment data are evaluated by the faculty as a whole during the annual Faculty Retreat; action items are created as appropriate.

Touchstone courses: The Physics Department performs longitudinal assessment of learning objectives via five "touchstone"  courses which span several semesters of work.  These courses are PHYS 3870 (Intermediate Lab), PHYS 3880 (Advanced Lab), PHYS 3600 (Electromagnetism I), PHYS 4600 (Electromagnetism II), and PHYS 4900 (Research in Physics). These courses build heavily on the learning objectives and so provide an excellent point for assessment of progress.   Physics 4900 (described in more detail below) is the capstone experience and so provides a final evaluation of attainment of learning objective. At the conclusion of each of the courses listed below faculty members assess each students progress on the physics Learning Objectives using a standardized rubric. The faculty evaluations of learning objectives are submitted to the departmental assessment committee for analysis and archive.  The learning objectives these courses address are as follows.


3870
3880
3600
4600
4900
Physics Knowledge
x
x
x
x
x
Problem Solving and
Mathematical Analysis
x
x
x
x
x
Laboratory Skills
x
x


x
Computer Skills
x
x


x
Research
x
x


x
Communication
x
x
x
x
x
Capstone Assessment: All physics majors are required to take the course Research in Physics (PHYS 4900), normally at the end of their degree program.  In this course the student teams with a faculty mentor and they execute a research project in physics.  A written and oral presentation on the outcomes of this project are required.  These projects have resulted in scientific publications and frequently get presented at professional conferences.  The written presentations are collected here. This course initiates the student into the world of the professional physicist. As such, to brings to bear all the learning objectives acquired by the student in a real-world context.  For this reason this capstone experience provides an ideal programmatic assessment tool.  The attainment of each Learning Objective is evaluated according to a standard rubric for each student and the results are archived and analyzed by the departmental assessment committee.
Exit interviews. This tool assesses all Learning Objectives. The department head interviews each graduating senior with the goal of gleaning what worked and what didn't work in the physics program.  The interview is based upon a questionnaire that the student reviews/completes prior to the interview. The questionnaire inquires about the goals the student has for his/her physics degree, the various strengths and weaknesses of the physics program relative to supporting these goals, and the student's self-assessment of the degree to which the Physics Department Learning objectives have been implemented.  A copy of the interview questionnaire can be found here The students provide feedback regarding the USU Physics program in the areas of: curriculum, course quality, laboratory quality, infrastructure, advising and overall satisfaction.  Students are explicitly asked to comment on their perceptions of attainment of all learning objectives.  The College of Science also  conducts its own exit interview.  Three of the questions on the College of Science are directly relevant to our Learning Objectives.  The responses from both interviews which concern learning objectives are scored and the data used to detect trends.
Informal feedback from students, teachers, and other stakeholders.  This assessment tool addresses progress toward all Learning Objectives.  A variety of formal and informal interactions with students and faculty feature in this most traditional of assessment schemes. These interactions include faculty meetings, faculty retreats, interaction with our physics student advisor, regular faculty-graduate student meetings, etc. A good number of improvements in our program have arisen through this mechanism.
External Reviews. Periodically the department's programs are reviewed by physicists from other institutions.  The most recent review took place in 2017.