OATdb Archive - Sam Houston State University

OATdb Archive

2013 - 2014

Family And Consumer Sciences MS

Goal

Student Knowledge Of Content Area

Students enrolled in the MS in Family and consumer Sciences, will graduate with an in-depth knowledge of the content area of interest.

Objective

Knowledge And Skills

Students graduating from the MS in FCS program will demonstrate adequate knowledge and skills necessary for upper-level employment positions in their selected fields including teacher education in family and consumer sciences, interior design, fashion merchandising, and nutrition.

Indicator

Knowledge And Skills

Comprehensive exams for Family and Consumer Sciences covers all major and minor course areas undertaken by each student; scores are assigned on a High Pass, Pass, or Fail basis. These exams are scored holistically, and must cover content of specific course work taken for the degree. The answers are written into "blue books" and are scored by the faculty under whom the work was completed. Any student who does not score a High Pass in every area is required to take an oral exam over every area where a score of High Pass was not awarded.

Criterion

80% Of Students Scoring At Least Pass On Knowledge And Skills

At least 80% of the students who complete the master's program in FCS will score a Pass or higher on each area of the comprehensive exam AND/OR will pass a follow-up oral exam.

Finding

Knowledge And Skills

Only one student took the comprehensive exams and graduated with the MS in General Family and Consumer Sciences during the 2013-2014 academic year. This one student was the first person to totally finish this degree in the online format. Because she was not able to come to campus for her comprehensive exams, the format of the exam questions was changed so that the questions were appropriate for administration online. We were pleased and excited with the results, not only of her responses (she passed each area of the exam), but also with the process and its suitability for the online format of the program.

Action

Knowledge And Skills

As questions are drafted that are especially suited for the online format (more program planning, more synthesis of information rather than relying on recall), these questions are being stored in a way so that the department will build a bank of questions to be used for comprehensive exams in that are open book, open note, but a limited time frame for completion.

Goal

Increase Enrollment

The MS program in Family Consumer Science will increase enrollment with the goal of producing graduates during the coming academic year (2013-2014).

Objective

Increase Program Enrollment

Increase numbers of students enrolled in the Master of Science in Family Consumer Sciences Program at Sam Houston State University

KPI

Increase Enrollment In MS In FCS

An increase in the number of declared majors and graduates in Master of Science in Family Consumer Sciences Program.

Result

Increased Enrollment

There is definitely increased enrollment in this online program, a result of marketing it to a population that is working full time and is seeking a program with a content base in Family and Consumer Sciences in the online format. Aside from the student who graduated this past December, there are two more who graduated in August and two more who are slated to graduate in December. Four more students are in-process and there is a list of students wanting to be admitted as soon as the Graduate Director returns from an international conference in the first half of August.

Action

Increase Enrollment

Recruitment for this program will continue, along with admission of qualified applicants (there are nine on a list that need to be evaluated for Fall 2014 admission). Again, the population that is being targeted is people who are currently working full-time in family and consumer sciences and who are seeking an online program. Others will be accepted who are living within commuting distance and can serve as graduate teaching assistants.

Update to previous cycle's plan for continuous improvement During the 2013-2014 academic year, Dr. Keen was approved by the group of associate deans to serve the department as Graduate Director. She has fulfilled her duties in that role, learning the programs associated with graduate admissions and working with Mary Pascarella in Graduate Admissions. The department still is searching for a person to fill the role of Director for the undergraduate Didactic Program in Dietetics (Food Science and Nutrition, an accredited program).

Efforts at recruitment continue. We have hired a graduate assistant who has worked this summer on updates to the website. We continue to emphasize the benefits of the online format for students enrolled in the MS in FCS.

We have requested new faculty positions, and are not where we would like to be in regard to this faculty recruitment. We HAVE hired a new department chair/teacher educator who is slated to come on board July 1, 2015. She will come with tenure. We are seeking a Ph.D., RD as another faculty position who would be able to teach in either graduate program, and that search continues. Additionally, Dr. Keen has put the FACS 5367 Consumer and Biotechnology course into an online format during the Summer 2014 session, therefore allowing for three solid populations for this course: Students from the MS in Dietetics, students enrolled in the MS in FCS, and students in a new (and online) Agriculture MS program that is geared toward the "hobby farm" and "specialized products" niche markets.

For the course in the area of administration of family and consumer sciences programs, progress was made but the course still is not ready to be offered, primarily because the person who is slated to teach it needs a course release in order to have a spot in her schedule. The Consumer and Biotechnology course offered online is now available for the general FCS major.

Plan for continuous improvement The course in administration of program in family and consumer sciences is planned to be offered under the 5079 ("Special Topics") designation for the Spring 2015 semester. A graduate teaching assistant in the FACS 1330 course will allow the time for the faculty member to carry an overload and therefore accomplish that task.

Recruitment will continue, as will partnerships with programs where we can "borrow" courses that are relevant and appropriate for our students in departments such as Communication Studies (Family Communication) and Health (Consumer Health Education).

Recruitment to fill the open position will also continue as will updates to the website.

Overall, this program is showing sustained growth and is obviously appealing to this population of working professionals in the field of family and consumer sciences.