Academic Program Review

ACADEMIC YEAR	2014-2015	Basic Skills Transfer Career Technical Education (CTE)
PROGRAM	Physical Science
DESCRIPTION/PURPOSE	Physical Science is a branch of science, identified as a natural science, which encompasses the study of non-living systems, in contrast to the life sciences. Physical sciences are those fields of study that analyze the natural state and properties of energy paired with any non-living matter. Physics, chemistry, geology (earth science), and astronomy are physical sciences.
DIVISION	Health and Sciences
DEPARTMENT	Science, Math, and Engineering
SUBMITTED BY:	Daniel Gilison

INSTITUTIONAL GOAL 1	INSTITUTIONAL GOAL 2	INSTITUTIONAL GOAL 3	INSTITUTIONAL GOAL 4
INSTITUTIONAL MISSION AND EFFECTIVENESS – The College will maintain programs and services that focus on the mission of the College supported by data-driven assessments to measure student learning and student success. 1.1 Develop systems and procedures that establish the mission of the college as the central mechanism for planning and decision making. 1.2 Develop an institutional score card to assess student learning that drives integrated planning and resource allocation. 1.3 Develop systems and procedures to ensure that the college maintains a collegial and self-reflective dialogue that improves effectiveness. 1.4 Develop systems that are inclusive, cyclical, and understood by all stakeholders.	STUDENT LEARNING PROGRAMS AND SERVICES – The College will maintain instructional programs and services which support student success and the attainment of student educational goals. 2.1 Ensure that all instructional programs, regardless of location or means of delivery, address and meet the current and future needs of students. 2.2 Review program learning outcomes annually (or biennially) to assure currency, improve teaching and learning strategies, and raise student success rates. 2.3 Ensure that all Student Services programs, regardless of location or means of delivery, address and meet the current and future needs of students. 2.4 Ensure that all Student Services programs engage in a process of sustainable continuous quality improvement by annual review of Service Area Outcomes, and annual Program Review. 2.5 Ensure that the Library meets as closely as possible that “Standards of Practice for California Community College Library Faculty and Programs” of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges. 2.6 Ensure that instructional labs continue to collaborate in sharing financial and human resources, thus maintaining continuous quality improvement.	RESOURCES – The College will develop and manage human, technological, physical, and financial resources to effectively support the College mission and the campus learning environment. 3.1 Develop and implement a resource allocation plan that leads to fiscal stability. 3.2 Implement a robust technological infrastructure and the enterprise software to support the college process. 3.3 Build new facilities and modernize existing ones as prioritized in the facility master plan. 3.4 Design and commit to a long-term professional development plan. 3.5 Raise the health awareness of faculty, staff, and students.	LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE – The Board of Trustees and the Superintendent/President will establish policies that assure the quality, integrity, and effectiveness of student learning programs and services, and the financial stability of the institution. 4.1 Review all Board policies annually to ensure that they are consistent with the College mission statement, that they address the quality, integrity, and effectiveness of student learning programs and services, and that they guard the financial stability of the institution. 4.2 Maintain a clearly defined Code of Ethics that includes appropriate responses to unprofessional behavior. 4.3 Ensure that the Board of Trustees is informed and involved in the accreditation process. 4.4 Ensure that processes for the evaluation of the Board of Trustees and the Superintendent/President are clearly defined, implemented, and publicized. 4.5 Establish a governance structure, processes, and practices that guarantee that the governing board, administration, faculty, staff, and students will be involved in the decision making process.

I. INSTITUTIONAL GOALS

II. PROGRAM GOALS

PAST – EVALUATION OF PREVIOUS CYCLE OBJECTIVES/PROGRAM GOALS (SET IN PREVIOUS YEAR)

List your previous objectives/goals and associated Institutional Goals. All program goals must address at least one of the institutional goals.

1	PAST PROGRAM GOAL #1	INSTITUTIONAL GOAL(S) (Select one primary goal.)
Identify Program Goal and Budget request, if any, from the Program Review completed in 2013-2014 (Section II C): Increase student transfer opportunities by hiring more Chemistry instructors to meet student demand in Chemistry classes, and to be able to offer higher-level Chemistry courses.	1 Mission & Effectiveness 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.4 2 Student Learning Outcomes 2.1 2.4 2.2 2.5 2.3 2.6 3 Resources 3.1 3.4 3.2 3.5 3.3 4 Leadership & Governance 4.1 4.4 4.2 4.5 4.3
Met	Partially Met	Not Met
Describe how this program goal increased student achievement and/or program effectiveness in 2014-2015: While we did hire a new Chemistry instructor in the Fall 2013 semester, there is still great student demand for Chemistry classes that is currently not being met. Meeting this goal will allow students to get the 200-level Chemistry courses that they need (Organic Chemistry) to be able to transfer to 4-year universities to pursue their educational goals.

2	PAST PROGRAM GOAL #2	INSTITUTIONAL GOAL(S) (Select one primary goal.)
Identify Program Goal and Budget request, if any, from the Program Review completed in 2013-2014 (Section II C): Increase success and retention rates in general science courses, including ASTR 100.	1 Mission & Effectiveness 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.4 2 Student Learning Outcomes 2.1 2.4 2.2 2.5 2.3 2.6 3 Resources 3.1 3.4 3.2 3.5 3.3 4 Leadership & Governance 4.1 4.4 4.2 4.5 4.3
Met	Partially Met	Not Met
Describe how this program goal increased student achievement and/or program effectiveness in 2014-2015: This would help students succeed in science courses by examining prerequisites at other schools for certain science courses to better prepare students for them. This will increase student success (achievement) in these courses and make the program more effective.

3	PAST PROGRAM GOAL #3	INSTITUTIONAL GOAL(S) (Select one primary goal.)
Identify Program Goal and Budget request, if any, from the Program Review completed in 2013-2014 (Section II C): Consistency in education among multiple sections of the same course.	1 Mission & Effectiveness 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.4 2 Student Learning Outcomes 2.1 2.4 2.2 2.5 2.3 2.6 3 Resources 3.1 3.4 3.2 3.5 3.3 4 Leadership & Governance 4.1 4.4 4.2 4.5 4.3
Met	Partially Met	Not Met
Describe how this program goal increased student achievement and/or program effectiveness in 2014-2015: While this goal has not yet been met, it will help students by ensuring that their education will be similar no matter which section of a course they may take.

PRESENT – DATA ANALYSIS AND PROGRAM HEALTH – ACCREDITATION

Summarize and analyze all disaggregated data by day, evening, gender, ethnicity, and distance education. Narrative only. Submit electronic excel file with graphs or trend data.

Enrollment and Fill Rates

Discuss the trends in enrollment and fill rate for each program by day and evening at the program level.

Enrollment and fill rates in the Physical Science classes have been very high. In the day, it ranges from 94-102%, in the evening it ranges from 83-91% fill, and online it ranges from 106-135% fill.

Productivity

What are the trends in productivity?

Productivity in Physical Science classes range from 468 to 556, with an average of 503 WSCH/FTEF. These numbers pretty close to the goal of 525, due to high enrollment classes with large caps, such as ASTR 100 and AG/ENVS 110.

Success and Retention

Discuss the success and retention rates by day, evening (extended day), and online classes in each program and identify gaps.

Retention rates in all Physical Science classes (day, evening, and online) are decent, averaging around 77.5% retention. Success rates for day and online classes averaged 59% and 57%, respectively, but are at 53% in the evening. Overall, while these numbers are okay, they could be improved, and further discussion amongst the science faculty would be necessary to identify the issues and how best to solve them.

Success and Retention by Ethnicity

Discuss the success and retention rates by demographic diversity of students.

Overall, the retention rates for African-Americans, Hispanic, White, and Non-responsive students are pretty similar, ranging from 72-79% retention (with the Hispanic group, being the largest group, having the highest retention rate). The “Other” group has a 94.5% retention rate, but has fewer students as compared to most of the other groups, so it is difficult to analyze their data to any level of significance. The success rates in these groups show a similar trend, with success ranging from 58-70.5% success (with the Hispanic group having the lowest success rate), and the “Other” group having a 93% success rate.

Degrees and Certificates

Discuss the trends in the number of degrees and/or certificates awarded.

There have been a total of 5 Physical Science degrees awarded since Fall 2011 – 1 in Fall 2011, 1 in Spring 2013, and 3 in Spring 2014. While our Physical Science courses are full, many students are likely taking these classes either because they need to fulfill a general graduation requirement. Also, perhaps if some General Science majors have an interest in the physical sciences, they should change their major to Physical Sciences, so we can more accurately capture their data, and students can get a degree that is more specific to their academic needs.

Program Changes

What program changes, if any, do you expect to have a positive effect on students?

The biggest change the program could make to have a positive effect on students is to expand the program. There are still students trying to get into CHEM 100 classes that are being turned away, and there are upper-level Chemistry classes that we have not offered in many years due to low enrollment. Hiring more qualified faculty to teach these courses would help the program, and our students, immensely.

Summarize revisions, additions, deletions, and alternate delivery methods to courses and/or program based on the last program review.

We recently changed the class cap of AG/ENVS 110 from 30 to 35 to meet student demand for the class.

Evaluate the program’s viability by addressing program completion, size (FTES), projections (growing/stable/declining), and quality of outcomes.

While the number of students who complete the program is low, the size of the program, and the ability for the program to easily grow in size, make the Physical Science program and overall healthy program.

C. FUTURE – LIST OF “SMART” (SPECIFIC MEASURABLE ATTAINABLE RELEVANT TIME-LIMITED) PROGRAM OBJECTIVES FOR NEXT ACADEMIC YEAR TO ADDRESS PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT, GROWTH, OR UNMET NEEDS/GOALS. ALL PROGRAM GOALS MUST ADDRESS AT LEAST ONE OF THE INSTITUTIONAL GOALS.

FUTURE PROGRAM GOALS (Describe future program goals. List in order of budget priority.) You are not required to list 3 goals. Only list/identify goals that are viable in one year’s time or can be carried over a number of program cycles.	INSTITUTIONAL GOAL(S) (Select one primary institutional goal)
1	2015-2016 PROGRAM GOAL #1 Budget Priority #1	INSTITUTIONAL GOAL(S)
Identify Future Global Goal: Increase student transfer opportunities	1 Mission & Effectiveness 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.4 2 Student Learning Outcomes 2.1 2.4 2.2 2.5 2.3 2.6 3 Resources 3.1 3.4 3.2 3.5 3.3 4 Leadership & Governance 4.1 4.4 4.2 4.5 4.3
Objective: Increase number of sections of lower-level chemistry classes (CHEM 100, 200, 202), and offer upper-level chemistry classes (CHEM 204, 206).
RESOURCE PLAN (Check all that apply.)
Facilities Marketing Technology Professional Development Staffing
Task(s)
Hire another Chemistry instructor to teach additional CHEM 100 and upper-level CHEM sections via a STEM grant proposal.
Timeline: Expect to hire within 3 years if grant is approved.
Expense Type	Funding Type	Budget Request
One-Time Recurring	General District Categorical (Specify) STEM Grant	$___80,000________
Timeline:
Expense Type	Funding Type	Budget Request
One-Time Recurring	General District Categorical (Specify)	$________________
C.
Timeline:
Expense Type	Funding Type	Budget Request
One-Time Recurring	General District Categorical (Specify)	$________________
How will this objective be measured? This will be measured by the hiring of a Chemistry instructor, and the addition of CHEM 100 sections to the schedule.
How will the completion of tasks identified improve student/program success? This will allow students to more easily get into the Chemistry classes that they need, and the department would then be able to start offering Organic Chemistry classes that students would use to transfer to 4-year universities.
Who are the responsible party(ies) and assigned user(s)? Tina Aguirre – Health and Sciences Dean, Daniel Gilison –Science, Math, and Engineering Department Chair, Jim Fisher – Chemistry Professor (lead on STEM grant).
FUTURE PROGRAM GOALS (Describe future program goals. List in order of budget priority.) You are not required to list 3 goals. Only list/identify goals that are viable in one year’s time or can be carried over a number of program cycles.	INSTITUTIONAL GOAL(S) (Select one primary institutional goal)
2	2015-2016 PROGRAM GOAL #2 Budget Priority #1	INSTITUTIONAL GOAL(S)
Identify Future Global Goal: Increase success and retention rates in general science courses.	1 Mission & Effectiveness 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.4 2 Student Learning Outcomes 2.1 2.4 2.2 2.5 2.3 2.6 3 Resources 3.1 3.4 3.2 3.5 3.3 4 Leadership & Governance 4.1 4.4 4.2 4.5 4.3
Objective: Ensure that our courses are similar to those offered at other community colleges and 4-year universities.
RESOURCE PLAN (Check all that apply.)
Facilities Marketing Technology Professional Development Staffing
Task(s)
Examine prerequisites for similar classes at other community colleges.
Timeline: This can be done by the end of the fall 2014 semester.
Expense Type	Funding Type	Budget Request
One-Time Recurring	General District Categorical (Specify)	$________________
Incorporate any needed changes into the curriculum for courses.
Timeline: While this could be done by the end of the academic year, changes would not go into effect until the 2015-16 or 2016-17 (if it requires a catalog change, such as changing a prerequisite) academic year depending on the curriculum change being made.
Expense Type	Funding Type	Budget Request
One-Time Recurring	General District Categorical (Specify)	$________________
C.
Timeline:
Expense Type	Funding Type	Budget Request
One-Time Recurring	General District Categorical (Specify)	$________________
How will this objective be measured? Objective will be measured by examining student success and retention rates in science classes.
How will the completion of tasks identified improve student/program success? Completion of this task will allow students to know that classes offered at IVC are the same as at other community colleges, similar to what is being done with the TMC/ADT degrees.
Who are the responsible party(ies) and assigned user(s)? Tina Aguirre – Health and Sciences Dean, Daniel Gilison –Science, Math, and Engineering Department Chair, Science faculty
FUTURE PROGRAM GOALS (Describe future program goals. List in order of budget priority.) You are not required to list 3 goals. Only list/identify goals that are viable in one year’s time or can be carried over a number of program cycles.	INSTITUTIONAL GOAL(S) (Select one primary institutional goal)
3	2015-2016 PROGRAM GOAL #3 Budget Priority #1	INSTITUTIONAL GOAL(S)
Identify Future Global Goal: Consistency in education among multiple sections of the same course.	1 Mission & Effectiveness 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.4 2 Student Learning Outcomes 2.1 2.4 2.2 2.5 2.3 2.6 3 Resources 3.1 3.4 3.2 3.5 3.3 4 Leadership & Governance 4.1 4.4 4.2 4.5 4.3
Objective: Improved coordination and consistency of the level of instruction for the different sections of PHSC 110, and other multi-section courses, taught by different instructors.
RESOURCE PLAN (Check all that apply.)
Facilities Marketing Technology Professional Development Staffing
Task(s)
Instructors should share class schedules, assessments, etc. to examine similarities and differences.
Timeline: This could be done by the end of the fall 2014 semester.
Expense Type	Funding Type	Budget Request
One-Time Recurring	General District Categorical (Specify)	$________________
B. Student grade distributions should be examined for different sections to see what differences exist in student success.
Timeline: This could be done by the end of the fall 2014 semester.
Expense Type	Funding Type	Budget Request
One-Time Recurring	General District Categorical (Specify)	$________________
Faculty work together to have more consistently structured classes.
Timeline: This work could start in the spring 2015 semester, and continue for 1-2 years.
Expense Type	Funding Type	Budget Request
One-Time Recurring	General District Categorical (Specify)	$________________
How will this objective be measured? This can be measured by examining syllabi for similar course content, and student grade distributions to ensure that different sections of the same course are neither too simple, nor overly challenging (above the level of rigor that the course should have).
How will the completion of tasks identified improve student/program success? This will allow any student who takes a particular course, no matter with which faculty member they take the course, to have a similar educational experience to other students in other sections of the same course. This will provide consistency in their education and ensure that the students are learning what they need before transferring to a 4-year university.
Who are the responsible party(ies) and assigned user(s)? Tina Aguirre – Health and Sciences Dean, Daniel Gilison – Science, Math, and Engineering Department Chair, Science faculty members

(WSCH/FTEF) The goal is 525 as per state guidelines. A low number means that we are below target levels for productivity. For example, in a small class that has a mandated cap of 15 students, the fill rate may be 100% but the productivity number (WSCH/FTEF) will be very low. A class with a cap of 40 students with a 100% fill rate will have a productivity number close to or above 525.