2011 - 2012, we received 14
responses for this SLO.
Presentation quality and
poise were judged at 93%
(students performing at
level 4 or 5), mastery of
research was 86%, and
ability to answer questions
was 71%.
SLO 4: A graduate student
should be able to write up
his or her research in the
form of a manuscript for
publication in a scientific
journal. Link to UNCW
Learning Goal: thoughtful
expression, information
literacy, critical thinking,
inquiry.
Thesis is successfully
completed. The student’s
committee evaluates the
quality of the thesis with a
form.Each student in the program
is assessed by each of
his/her committee
members. Data on the
quality of the writing,
mastery of the research,
and likelihood of being
published in a peer-review
journal are collected.
Department moved to
online forms in 2010- 2011
to improve faculty
participation.Student performance on
this SLO was a bit lower
than last year. In 2013-
2014, 39 faculty responses
were recorded. Thesis
quality was at levels 4 or 5
for 59% of cases, mastery of
research was 64% for levels
4 or 5, and the likelihood of
the thesis being published
was high (4 or 5) for 54% of
cases. However, 82-97% of
cases had students
performing at adequate
(level 3) or higher. In 2012-
2013 we had 9 respondents.
Faculty judged student
performance on thesis
quality at 78%, mastery of
research at 77%, and
likelihood of publication at
78%. In 2011- 2012 we had
22 respondents. Faculty
judged student
performance to be
acceptable, with thesis
quality at 86%, mastery of
research at 82%, and
likelihood of publication at
91%. For 2010- 2011 (n=19),Performance on this SLO is
lower than last year,
although still very much
adequate (>82% at 3 or
above). The faculty
discussed the results of
assessment to date at the
2014 retreat and decided to
continue to monitor
performance for another
year before deciding if there
is a trend over time. At the
September 12 2014
departmental faculty
meeting, the following
motion for an action item
was passed by the faculty:
“2. Continued monitoring
of performance on SLO #4
(thesis quality) for M.Sc.
students in Marine Biology
to determine whether data
collected from 2013- 2014
represents a trend or a
spurious result.”