Merging Graduate Degree Programs with the Program Assessment Tool Set

Abstract

Given the complex nature of the requirements for the 6 degree programs offered by the department of East Asian Languages and Literatures (EALL), the issue of student and advisor concern over the accessibility of accurate information regarding these requirements is addressed. This poster describes the strategies and effort taken by the EALL graduate chair and faculty to merge the 6 graduate programs into two: one MA and one Ph.D. program in EALL through powerful program assessment processes: consolidating student learning outcomes (SLOs) and unifying curricula through curriculum mapping (CM) activity. The poster first highlights the enormous challenges in the merge process: consolidating 13 sets of SLOs and unifying 13 sets of courses/degree requirements while leveraging diverse input and preferences of graduate faculty. SLOs consolidation and CM development process are then detailed along with how faculty were aided in seeing the big program picture and focusing on program commonality instead of individual differences. Faculty engagement strategies, such as meeting with senior faculty individually, SLO content analysis, research of peer institution, and developing mock products first are provided. With the unified degree programs and revised assessment tools, EALL is becoming a unified department sharing common educational goals across different languages and tracks.