Post on 30-Aug-2018
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The Comprehensive Instructional Program Review
Report
1. College: Merritt College
Discipline, Department or Program: Physics
Date: Oct. 5, 2015
Members of the Comprehensive Instructional Program Review Team:
Division Dean
o Rosemary Delia
Department Chair, Program Coordinator, or discipline designee:
o Dan Lawson and Tae-Soon Park (co-chairs)
Additional faculty members
o Tom Renbarger
______________________________________________________________________________
2. Narrative Description of the Discipline, Department or Program:
The Physics discipline’s mission is to offer lower division college physics courses for students transferring to
four year colleges and higher level institutions as well as students desiring to enhance their knowledge of
science.
______________________________________________________________________________
3. Curriculum:
Please answer the following questions and/or insert your most recent curriculum review report (within the past 3
years) here.
Attach the Curriculum Review Report or Answer these Questions:
Have all of your course outlines of record been updated or deactivated in the past three years? If not, list
the courses that still need updating and specify when your department will update each one, within the
next three years.
Physics 4A and 4C were updated in May 2014, and Physics 4B in May 2015. Physics 2A, 2B, and
10 have not been updated in the past three years and will be updated by the end of the Spring
2017 semester.
What are the discipline, department or program of study plans for curriculum improvement (i.e., courses
or programs to be developed, enhanced, or deactivated)?
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Instructor Renbarger will attend a curriculum development seminar during Summer 2016 with an
eye towards eventually expanding Physics 10 to include a laboratory section.
Merritt Physics should offer both the Physics 2A/2B sequence and the Physics 4A/4B sequence
each year. This will require hiring a part-time instructor for the Fall 2016 semester.
Please list your degrees and/or certificates. Can any of these degrees and/or certificates be completed
through Distance Education (50% or more of the course online)? Which degree or certificate?
n/a
______________________________________________________________________________
4. Assessment:
Please answer the following questions and attach the TaskStream “At a Glance” report for your discipline,
department, or program for the past three years. Please review the “At a Glance” reports and answer the
following questions.
Questions:
How does your discipline, department or program ensure that students are aware of the learning
outcomes of the courses and instructional programs in which they are enrolled? Where are your
discipline, department or program course and program SLOs published? (For example: syllabi, catalog,
department website, etc. If they are on a website, please include a live link to the page where they can
be found)
Learning outcomes are written into each course syllabus, and covered on the first day of class.
The course syllabus is then posted on the corresponding Moodle website for continued student
access during the semester. (http://eperalta.org/fall2015/)
Briefly describe at least three of the most significant changes/improvements your discipline,
department or program made in the past three years as a response to course and program assessment
results. Please state the course number or program name and assessment cycle (year) for each example
and attach the data from the “Status Report” section of TaskStream for these findings.
Improvement 1. Order of introducing gravitation in its inverse square law form has been moved
back to later in the semester for Physics 4A than it was in Physics 2A. This re-ordering will also
be done in Physics 2A in the Fall of 2016. (See attached PHYS 02A Fall 2014 Assessment Findings
and Action Plan .pdf files.)
Improvement 2. Additional circuit bread boards and electronic components have been purchased
for use in the Physics 10 Ohm’s Law activity. In future years, it is the plan to establish a lab
component of the Physics 10 course in order to give students hands-on learning experience as a
vital component of the course. (See attached PHYS 010 Fall 2014 Assessment Findings and Action
Plan .pdf files.)
Improvement 3.
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Briefly describe three of the most significant examples of your discipline, department or program
plans for course and /or program level improvement for the next three years as result of what you
learned during the assessment process. Please state the course number or program name and attach the
data from the “Assessment Findings and Action Plan” section for each example.
Plan 1. Instructor Renbarger will be attending the July 2016 curriculum development seminar
with an eye towards more fully integrating lab-based activities into the Physics 10 course.
Plan 2. Hire a part-time instructor so as to be able to offer both the Physics 2 and Physics 4
sequences during the same academic year. Presently Merritt College only offers each course every
other year, in alternating fashion.
Plan 3.
Describe how assessment results for Distance Education courses and/or programs compare to the results
for the corresponding face-to-face classes.
N/A, Physics does not presently offer any Distance Education programs.
Describe assessment results for courses with multiple sections. Are there similar results in each section?
N/A (All physics courses offered at Merritt since 2012 have had only one section.)
Describe your discipline, department or program participation in assessment of institutional level
outcomes (ILOs).
ILO assessments are a regular agenda item at departmental meetings. In Spring of 2014 and
Spring of 2015, the Math and Physical Sciences Department were part of campus-wide
assessments of the Critical Thinking and Communication ILOs.
How are your course and/or program level outcomes aligned with the institutional level outcomes?
Please describe and attach the “Goal Alignment Summary” from TaskStream.
______________________________________________________________________________
5. Instruction:
Describe effective and innovative strategies used by faculty to involve students in the learning process.
Small group learning and active participation are strongly encouraged in the classroom. Students
are required to participate in laboratory sections.
Instructor Renbarger has begun to administer homework quizzes as a way to give both students
and the instructor early feedback as to how well the students are learning the material.
How has new technology been used by the discipline, department or program to improve student
learning?
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How does the discipline, department, or program maintain the integrity and consistency of academic
standards with all methods of delivery, including face to face, hybrid, and Distance Education courses?
All physics courses during the 2014-15 academic year were taught by the same instructor,
ensuring uniformity of standards. There were no hybrid or distance learning courses offered in
this time.
How do you ensure that Distance Education classes have the same level of rigor as the corresponding
face-to-face classes?
Presently there are no online physics courses offered by Merritt College.
Briefly discuss the enrollment trends of your discipline, department or program. Include the following:
o Overall enrollment trends in the past three years
o An explanation of student demand (or lack thereof) for specific courses.
Physics 10 enrollment was unusually low during the 2014-15 academic year. This may have arisen
from a combination of factors including a change in the usual time the course was offered (moving
from mid-afternoon to mid-morning) and a new faculty hire lacking “name recognition” amongst
the student populace. Physics 10 enrollment has increased to 36 registered students during the
Fall 2015 semester after moving to a mid-afternoon (2:30-4:20 PM) time slot from the mid-
morning (10:30-12:20) time slot it was offered in the 2014-15 academic year.
Physics 2A and 2B are combined lecture and laboratory courses, as are Physics 4A and 4B. The
section sizes tend to be limited as a result of the lab requirement. Merritt College only offers the
73
57 55
2012 Fall 2013 Fall 2014 Fall
PHYS Fall Enrollments
PHYS
5
Physics 2 and Physics 4 sequences in alternate years. This may have an adverse impact on
enrollment numbers, as it can be difficult for students to plan on enrolling in courses only offered
every other year.
o Productivity for the discipline, department, or program compared to the college
productivity rate.
College productivity rate ____________
o Salient factors, if known, affecting the enrollment and productivity trends you
mention above.
Large lab sections are difficult to maintain for safety and effectiveness of teaching reasons.
The overall health of the Merritt College Physics Department may have also suffered from
not having a full-time contract faculty member to oversee to the general well-being of the
department between the Fall 2008 and Spring 2014 semesters.
Are courses scheduled in a manner that meets student needs and demands? How do you know?
Merritt College is the only Peralta District college to offer the Physics 2 sequence, owing to the large
Allied Health department that Merritt College supports.
Recommendations and priorities.
Hiring a part-time instructor to allow for annual concurrent offerings of both the Physics 2 and
Physics 4 series is a high priority. Annual concurrent offerings of both the Physics 2 and Physics 4
series will serve student needs, particularly in the case of Physics 2 for Allied Health students. A
healthy Physics 4 series has the ancillary benefit of making the Math 3 series at Merritt College a
0.00
5.00
10.00
15.00
20.00
25.00
2012 FALL 2013 SPRING 2013 FALL 2014 SPRING 2014 FALL 2015 SPRING
Productivity
Merritt
PHYS
Target
6
more attractive option for students. Re-invigorating the Math 3 series at Merritt College is a
priority for the Math discipline.
______________________________________________________________________________
6. Student Success:
Describe course completion rates (% of students that earned a grade “C” or better or “Credit”) in the
discipline, department, or program for the past three years. Please list each course separately. How do
the discipline, department, or program course completion rates compare to the college course
completion standard?
College course completion standard ________________
Please insert the data chart here or complete the section below.
Department/discipline course completion rates:
PHYS 10 - INTRO TO PHYSICS 67.18%
PHYS 2A - GENERAL PHYSICS 74.68%
PHYS 2B - GENERAL PHYSICS 90.44%
PHYS 4A - GEN PHYSICS W/CALCULUS 65.38%
PHYS 4B - GEN PHYSICS W/CALCULUS 80.95%
Discussion:
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
90.00%
2012 Fall 2013Spring
2013 Fall 2014Spring
2014 Fall 2015Spring
%
Success
Merritt
PHYS
7
Describe course completion rates in the department for Distance Education courses (100% online) for
the past three years. Please list each course separately. How do the department’s Distance Education
course completion rates compare to the college course completion standard?
College course completion standard ________________
Please insert the data chart here or complete the section below.
N/A
Describe course completion rates in the department for Hybrid courses for the past three years. Please
list each course separately. How do the department’s Hybrid course completion rates compare to the
college course completion standard?
College course completion standard ________________
Please insert the data chart here or complete the section below.
N/A
Are there differences in course completion rates between face to face and Distance Education/hybrid
courses? If so, how does the discipline, department or program deal with this situation? How do you
assess the overall effectiveness of Distance Education/hybrid course?
N/A
Describe the discipline, department, or program retention rates (After the first census, the percent of
students earning any grade but a “W” in a course or series of courses). for the past three years. How
does the discipline, department, or program retention rate compare to the college retention standard?
College retention standard ________________
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Discipline, department, or program retention rates
Year 1.____87.14%___________________
Year 2. .___73.78%____________________
Year 3. .___82.27%____________________
Discussion:
What has the discipline, department, or program done to improve course completion and retention rates?
What is planned for the next three years?
At present the baseline for the physics discipline success and retention rates for Instructor Renbarger are
being established.
What has the discipline, department, or program done to improve the number of degrees and certificates
awarded? Include the number of degrees and certificates awarded by year, for the past three years.
What is planned for the next three years?
N/A ______________________________________________________________________________
7. Human, Technological, and Physical Resources (including equipment and facilities):
Describe your current level of staff, including full-time and part-time faculty, classified staff, and
other categories of employment.
Full-time faculty headcount ______1_____
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
90.00%
100.00%
2012 Fall 2013Spring
2013 Fall 2014Spring
2014 Fall 2015Spring
%
Retention
Merritt
PHYS
9
Part-time faculty headcount ______0_____
Total FTEF faculty for the discipline, department, or program ______1.0______
Full-time/part-time faculty ratio ___undefined (infinite)__
Classified staff headcount ___One classified at 0.25 load (combined Physics/Astronomy)__
Describe your current utilization of facilities and equipment.
Physics lectures and labs are presently held in S-220, which is designed more to be a lab space
than a lecture space. Physics 10 lectures make use of the overhead projector in S-220.
What are your key staffing needs for the next three years? Why? Please provide evidence to support
your request such as assessment data, student success data, enrollment data, and/or other factors.
A part-time instructor to permit more than four combined physics and astronomy courses (i.e.
a full load for Instructor Renbarger) is essential for the restoration of the Physics Department
to historic levels of course offerings. Annual concurrent offerings of both the Physics 2 and
Physics 4 series will serve student needs, particularly in the case of Physics 2 for Allied Health
students. A healthy Physics 4 series has the ancillary benefit of making the Math 3 series at
Merritt College a more attractive option for students. Re-invigorating the Math 3 series at
Merritt College is a priority for the Math discipline.
What are your key technological needs for the next three years? Why? Please provide evidence to
support your request such as assessment data, student success data, enrollment data, and/or other
factors.
Data analysis is an essential component of physics laboratories. It would be beneficial to have
a computer for each lab group (typically there are six lab groups in a lab section) to use to
analyze experimental data immediately after they have collected it.
What are your key facilities needs for the next three years? Why? Please provide evidence to
support your request such as assessment data, student success data, enrollment data, and/or other
factors.
Physics lectures would be better held in a room designed specifically for lectures. S-220 has
lab benches and stools without backs, which put a strain on students in lectures that last 2-3
hours. Furthermore, typical enrollment for Physics 10 is of order 35 students, and S-220 is
designed for no more than 24 students, and that for a lab setting, when students need not be
facing the front of the room at all times while they perform their experiments.
Please complete the Comprehensive Instructional
Program Review Prioritized Resource Requests
Template included in Appendix A.
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______________________________________________________________________________
8. Community, Institutional, and Professional Engagement and Partnerships:
Discuss how faculty and staff have engaged in institutional efforts such as committees,
presentations, and departmental activities. Please list the committees that full-time faculty
participate in.
Instructor Renbarger presently sits on the Professional Development Committee (PDC) and
the College Educational Master Planning Committee (CEMPC). He also sits on two of the nine
College Recommendation Committees (CR1 and CR5) for the accreditation efforts underway
at Merritt College.
Discuss how faculty and staff have engaged in community activities, partnerships and/or
collaborations.
Instructor Renbarger volunteered as a moderator for Middle School and High School Science
Bowl during Spring Semester 2015.
Discuss how adjunct faculty members are included in departmental training, discussions, and
decision-making.
There are presently no adjunct physics faculty that work at Merritt College.
______________________________________________________________________________
9. Professional Development:
Please describe the professional development needs of your discipline or department. Include
specifics such as training in the use of classroom technology, use of online resources, instructional
methods, cultural sensitivity, faculty mentoring, etc.
Instructor Renbarger will be attending a curriculum development seminar in July with an eye
towards eventually incorporating a lab section into Physics 10.
How do you train new instructors in the use of Distance Education platforms? Is this sufficient?
N/A, no distance education physics courses are offered.
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_____________________________________________________________________________
10. Disciple, Department or Program Goals and Activities:
Briefly describe and discuss the discipline, department or program goals and activities for the next three
years, including the rationale for setting these goals. NOTE: Progress in attaining these goals will be
assessed in subsequent years through annual program updates (APUs).
Then fill out the goal setting template included in Appendix B. which aligns your discipline, department
or program goals to the college mission statement and goals and the PCCD strategic goals and
institutional objectives.
Goal 1. Curriculum:
Activities and Rationale: Re-establish annual offering of both Physics 2 and Physics 4 sequences.
Merritt College is the only school in the Peralta District to offer Physics 2 at all, and offering it every
year will better serves those students who require the course for transfer purposes. Annual offering of
Physics 4 will also make the Math 3 series at Merritt College a more attractive option for students.
Goal 2. Assessment:
Activities and Rationale:
Goal 3. Instruction:
Activities and Rationale:
Goal 4. Student Success:
Activities and Rationale:
Goal 5. Professional Development, Community, Institutional and Professional Engagement and
Partnerships:
Activities and Rationale: Instructor Renbarger will attend the July 2016 Curriculum Development
Seminar with the purpose of eventually integrating lab instruction into the Physics 10 course offered by
Merritt College.
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Please complete the Comprehensive Instructional
Program Review Integrated Goal Setting
Template included in Appendix B.
Appendices
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Appendix A
Comprehensive Instructional Program Review
Prioritized Resource Requests Summary for Additional (New) Resources
College: ______________________Merritt College_________________________________
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Discipline, Department or Program: _____________Physics_________________________
Contact Person: __________________Thomas Renbarger___________________________
Date: ____October 5, 2015______________
Resource Category Description Priority
Ranking
(1 – 5, etc.)
Estimated Cost Justification
(page # in the
program review
narrative report)
Human Resources:
Faculty
Part-time physics instructor 1 0.25 FTEF
equivalent
Pages 4, 5, and 9
Human Resources:
Classified
Human Resources:
Student Workers
Technology
6 desktop computers 2 $9,000 Page 9
Equipment
Supplies
Facilities
Professional
Development
July 2016 Curriculum Institute
workshop
3 $1,000 Pages 2, 10
Other (specify)
Appendix B
PCCD Program Review
Alignment of Goals Template
College: ______________________________________________________________________
Discipline, Department or Program: _____________________________________________
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Contact Person: ______________________________________________________________
Date: ____________________________
Discipline, Department or
Program Goal
College Goal PCCD Goal and
Institutional Objective 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Appendix C
Program Review Validation Form and Signature Page
College:
Discipline, Department or Program:
Part I. Overall Assessment of the Program Review Report Review Criteria Comments:
Explanation if the box is not checked
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1. The narrative information is complete and all
elements of the program review are addressed.
2. The analysis of data is thorough.
3. Conclusions and recommendations are well-
substantiated and relate to the analysis of the data.
4. Discipline, department or program planning goals
are articulated in the report. The goals address noted
areas of concern.
5. The resource requests are connected to the
discipline, department or program planning goals and
are aligned to the college goals.
Part II. Choose one of the Ratings Below and Follow the Instructions.
Rating Instructions
1. Accepted.
2. Conditionally Accepted.
3. Not Accepted.
1. Complete the signatures below and submit to the Vice President of Instruction.
2. Provide commentary that indicates areas in the report that require improvement and
return the report to the discipline, department or program chair with a timeline for
resubmission to the validation chair.
3. Provide commentary that indicates areas in the report that require improvement and
return the report to the discipline, department or program chair with instructions to
revise. Notify the Dean and Vice President of Instruction of the non-accepted status.
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Part III. Signatures
Validation Team Chair
___________________________ _________________________________________ _________________
Print Name Signature Date
Discipline, Department or Program Chair
___________________________ _________________________________________ _________________
Print Name Signature Date
Received by Vice President of Instruction
___________________________ _________________________________________ _________________
Print Name Signature Date
AtaGlance Status Report
Course Assessment & Continuous Improvement Plan
Legend: In Progress (Not Shared) Shared (Not Reviewed) Reviewed
Organizational Area
StandingRequirements
20102011 Assessment Cycle 20112012 Assessment Cycle 20122013 Assessment Cycle 20132014 Assessment Cycle 20142015 Assessment Cycle 20152016 Assessment Cycle
LearningOutcomes
AssessmentPlan
AssessmentResults
Actions toImproveLearning
StatusReport
AssessmentPlan
AssessmentResults
Actions toImproveLearning
StatusReport
AssessmentPlan
AssessmentFindings
Actions toImproveLearning
StatusReport
AssessmentPlan
AssessmentFindings
Actions toImproveLearning
StatusReport
AssessmentPlan
AssessmentFindings
Actions toImproveLearning
StatusReport
AssessmentPlan
AssessmentFindings
Action PlanStatusReport
Merritt College
Total Course List
PHYS 002A GENERALPHYSICS
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PHYS 002B GENERALPHYSICS
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PHYS 010 INTRODUCTIONTO PHYSICS
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Printed on: 10/04/2015 02:15:32 PM (EST)
Q1: Please select the program you are reviewing: PHYSC
Q2: Name of Reviewer Samantha Knappenberger
Q3: Is the narrative information complete and allelements of the program review are addressed? (Q.1)
Incomplete,
COMMENTSNo task stream report attached - he is getting anerror?
Q4: Is the analysis of data thorough? (Q.2) Complete
Q5: Are the conclusions and recommendations well-substantiated and relate to the analysis of the data? (Q3)
Complete
Q6: Are the discipline, department or program planninggoals articulated in the report with the goals addressednoted with areas of concern? (Q.4)
Incomplete,
COMMENTSGoal alignment in Appendix B may need revision -incorrect college and district goals. In addition, thereare only 2 goals stated in section 10. Do all need to becompleted?
Q7: Are the resource requests connected to thediscipline, department or program planning goals andaligned with the college goals? (Q.5)
Complete
Q8: What rating do you recommend? Conditionally accepted ,
COMMENTSSee comments regarding the Appendix B, and goals,and Taskstream report.
COMPLETECOMPLETECollector:Collector: Web Link 1 Web Link 1 (Web Link)(Web Link)Started:Started: Tuesday, December 01, 2015 4:23:21 PMTuesday, December 01, 2015 4:23:21 PMLast Modified:Last Modified: Tuesday, December 01, 2015 4:31:26 PMTuesday, December 01, 2015 4:31:26 PMTime Spent:Time Spent: 00:08:0500:08:05IP Address:IP Address: 209.129.165.18209.129.165.18
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2015 Program Review Validation V.2
Q1: Please select the program you are reviewing: If the program you reviewed was not listed, pleasestate below.Physics
Q2: Name of Reviewer Rosemary Delia
Q3: Is the narrative information complete and allelements of the program review are addressed? (Q.1)
Complete,
COMMENTSItem #2 Narrative Description of the Discipline: a morefully developed mission statement or purpose wouldprovide powerful support for any requests. Item #3Curriculum: What is the rationale for making Physics10 a lab science? Provide the rationale for offeringPhysics 2A/2B sequence and the 4A/4B sequencesince it is linked to the hiring a part-time instructor.
Q4: Is the analysis of data thorough? (Q.2) Complete,
COMMENTSUse data to support the request for the part-timefaculty person to teach the Physics 2 and 4 series.What data can you use to support request forcomputers to use for data analysis in your courses?
Q5: Are the conclusions and recommendations well-substantiated and relate to the analysis of the data? (Q3)
Complete,
COMMENTSAssessment: Improvement #1 needs to haveexplanation as to why curriculum was reordered.Improvement #2 supports its claim well. Is there anImprovement #3?? Course scheduling: how doesPhysics serve or connect to students in Allied Health?Expand on Recommendations and priorities,especially around the Physics 2/4 sequence andPhysics 4 and Math. Student success: Expand onwhat Physics is doing to improve course completionand retention rates, discussing plan for next 3 years.
Q6: Are the discipline, department or program planninggoals articulated in the report with the goals addressednoted with areas of concern? (Q.4)
Complete,
COMMENTSCommunity Engagement and Partnerships: how dothe named activities contribute to the growth,sustainability of the program and support of studentlearning?
COMPLETECOMPLETECollector:Collector: Web Link 1 Web Link 1 (Web Link)(Web Link)Started:Started: Monday, November 30, 2015 11:46:12 AMMonday, November 30, 2015 11:46:12 AMLast Modified:Last Modified: Monday, November 30, 2015 5:46:44 PMMonday, November 30, 2015 5:46:44 PMTime Spent:Time Spent: 06:00:3206:00:32IP Address:IP Address: 209.129.165.18209.129.165.18
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2015 Program Review Validation V.2
Q7: Are the resource requests connected to thediscipline, department or program planning goals andaligned with the college goals? (Q.5)
Complete,
COMMENTSAlignment of program goals should be more powerfullylinked to college goals
Q8: What rating do you recommend? Accepted
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2015 Program Review Validation V.2