Professional Writing and Communication 1 Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 10 pt

Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 10 pt

English 361: Advanced Composition Assessment Report Spring 2018 Style Definition: Style1: Space Before: 12 pt, After: 6
pt
Professional Writing & Communication Program
Style Definition: Heading 1 Style: Font: Bold, Left
Style Definition: Heading 2 Style: Font: Bold, Space
In spring semester of 2018, the English, Philosophy, Spanish, & Humanities Department Before: 9 pt, After: 0 pt
assessed English 361: Advanced Composition per the SMSUFA Writing Rubric. This was a pilot Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial
assessment of English 361 as we have never beforenever assessed the course. This report details Formatted: Style1
the assessment score outcome and recomendationsrecommendations for the future. This Commented [BHA1]: It would be best to write out what
assessment covers the programaticprogrammatic PWC goals as well as LEP goal one: this means, and then continue to use the abbreviation as
communicate effectively. neded
Commented [BHA2]: It would be beneficial for this to be
spelled out
Goals assessed
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial
English 361 is a third-year writing-intensive course, and as such we expect an outcome of “3”
(for third-year) on the Writing Rubric. The Writing Rubric is SMSUFA assemblysassemblies
approved method of evaluating Goal 1 for writing courses in the LEP. The rubric is also used to
evaluate the PWC program’s student learning objectives:
1. Demonstrate a mastery of rhetorical principles (e.g., consideration of purpose, audience, Formatted: Font: (Default) +Body (Calibri)
and context) when communicating
2. Apply appropriate document design principles to a variety of communication situations, Formatted: Font: (Default) +Body (Calibri)
including written, oral, and visual ones;
3. Demonstrate critical thinking, reading, and writing skills in responding to specific Formatted: Font: (Default) +Body (Calibri)
communication tasks or problems
4. Create documents that are ‘‘user-friendly’’ in content, structure, and design; Formatted: Font: (Default) +Body (Calibri)
5. Make use of credible, reliable, and relevant source material (both primary and secondary) in Formatted: Font: (Default) +Body (Calibri)
a manner that is appropriate for specific communication situations;
Formatted: Font: (Default) +Body (Calibri)
6. Utilize a variety of electronic environments proficiently to produce effective documents
Formatted: Font: (Default) +Body (Calibri)
7. Manage large projects effectively by allowing adequate time to research, write, revise, and
receive feedback; Formatted: Font: (Default) +Body (Calibri)
8. Demonstrate proficient use of situationally appropriate and ethically sensitive language; Formatted: Font: (Default) +Body (Calibri)
9. Produce a variety of documents that demonstrate grammatical and technical proficiency. Formatted: Font: (Default) +Body (Calibri)
Formatted: Font: (Default) +Body (Calibri)
Results
Scores ranged from 2.5 - 2.875. (See Table 1 and Figure 1 for specific outcomes.) We are Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 11 pt, Bold

pleased that scores came close to the “3” outcome. English 361 outcomes were, in most Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
categories, higher than the outcomes for English 251 and Philosophy 303, which were assessed
the same day (see Figure 2). This indicates student growth since their second-year writing-
intensive course and suggests an ability to transfer writing skills across courses.

Table 1: English 361 Spring 2018 Assessment Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman

Rubric Category Average Score Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman

Purpose and Audience 2.875 Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman

Main Idea 2.6875 Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman

Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 8 pt

Assessment Report Spring 2018

Professional Writing and Communication 2 Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 10 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 10 pt

Development and Support 2.5625 Commented [BHA3]: Would you prefer to use the & sign
or the word and
Organization 2.5625
Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
Style 2.75 Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
Sentence Structure 2.8125 Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
Mechanics & Presentation 2.625 Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
Vocabulary & Word Usage 2.8125 Commented [BHA4]: It would be a good idea to decide
how many numbers to have after the decimal for
Citing Sources 2.5 consistency.
Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman
Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman

Figure 1: English 361 Assessment Spring 2018

Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 8 pt

Assessment Report Spring 2018

Professional Writing and Communication 3 Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 10 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 10 pt
Figure 2: English 361 Assessment Comparison with English 251 and Philosophy 303

Conclusion
Although scores came close to meeting the third-year writing outcome improvement is possible
and ideally scores should meet the 3 level for third year writing. Professors in the program note
that the rubric does not adequately allow assessment of student learning objective two: Apply
appropriate document design principles to a variety of communication situations, including
written, oral, and visual ones. Additional work is needed on assessment of this objective.
We have a few recommendations for improvement for assessment purposes. It is
important to note that the sample size of essays in this course is small (eight essays were
assessed) and this may affect results. Because the sample size of essays is small (and will remain
so with only one section of the course offered each year), our recommendations should be
viewed as suggestions only as they may not improve assessment results or may not be viable in a
givenin each section.
Recommendations:
 Instructors of this course should work to better fit the assignment sheet to the Writing
Rubric.
 Instructors should consider requiring revision of the paper before final assessment.

Overall, scores show that students are meeting LEP goal 1: communicate effectively as well as
programmatic student learning objectives, though improvement is possible.

Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 8 pt

Assessment Report Spring 2018

Professional Writing and Communication 4 Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 10 pt
Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 10 pt

Style Sheet

A-E F-J K-P Formatted Table

Assemblies LEP
Q-U V-Z Numbers
SMSUFA Numbers after decimals Formatted: Font: Times New Roman, Not Bold
Miscellaneous Formatted: Heading 1 Style, Left
Formatted: Font: Times New Roman

Formatted: Font: (Default) Arial, 8 pt

Assessment Report Spring 2018