New Grading Rubrics for Signature Assignments: Tropical Agriculture and the Environment

Abstract

The undergraduate programs from two departments, Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences (TPSS) and Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences (PEPS), merged into a single, new program that began in Fall semester 2016. In this poster, the development of grading rubrics for the signature assignments associated with the various tracks of this new program, named Tropical Agriculture and the Environment (TAE), are presented. The signature assignments used were: (1) an internship; and/or (2) an internship plus a capstone course (PEPS 495). Rubric assessment, review, revision and subsequently approval by the TAE curriculum committee in November 2016 are outlined. Findings of the assessment project are provided including successful strategies using a top-down approach. Action plans and next steps are also described.