the comprehensive instructional program review report · the comprehensive instructional program...

1

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)?

2

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.

3

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?

4

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



%

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?



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?



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%




%

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:


Goal 4. Student Success:


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

13

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

16

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.

17

Part III. Signatures

Validation Team Chair

___________________________ _________________________________________ _________________

Print Name Signature Date

Discipline, Department or Program Chair

___________________________ _________________________________________ _________________


Received by Vice President of Instruction

___________________________ _________________________________________ _________________


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


StatusReport

AssessmentPlan

AssessmentFindings


StatusReport

AssessmentPlan

AssessmentFindings


StatusReport

AssessmentPlan

AssessmentFindings


StatusReport

AssessmentPlan

AssessmentFindings

Action PlanStatusReport

Merritt College

Total Course List

PHYS 002A GENERALPHYSICS

Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started

PHYS 002B GENERALPHYSICS

Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started

PHYS 010 INTRODUCTIONTO PHYSICS

Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started Not Started

SUMMARY: 0 In Progress3 Shared0 Reviewed3 Total

0 In Progress3 Shared0 Reviewed3 Total
























Printed on: 10/04/2015 02:15:32 PM (EST)

https://www.taskstream.com/

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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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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