Hea 540 Final Paper - Jamestown College’s School of Arts and Sciences

Jamestown University: Program Plan

Shanna N. Hayes

Southern New Hampshire University

Institutional Overview:

Institution:

Jamestown College, a privately funded higher education institution, was founded in 1975 within the suburban Rhode Island on 155 acres of open land.  Today, Jamestown has approximately 2,750 undergraduate students and is home to a variety of degree programs.  Of their program offerings, Business, Economics, English, Mathematics, and Science are amongst the most popular today (Case Study Scenario Jamestown College, 2017).

Institutional Mission:

Jamestown College exists to provide an efficient student learning environment focused on the discovery, development, declaration, and application of knowledge through a variety of academic programs. Through its high-quality undergraduate programs, students are prepared to accept roles in leadership, business, science, and mathematics as facilitated by faculty dedicated to teaching and learning as well as the success of all students (Case Study Scenario Jamestown College, 2017).  Furthermore, Jamestown College strives to maintain the quest for academic excellence by cultivating critical thinking, creativity, and professionalism in their student – centered community (Case Study Scenario Jamestown College, 2017).

Program:

Jamestown College’s School of Arts and Sciences understands the increasing need for highly educated individuals in the fields of arts and science.  This need aims to address the diverse learning needs that exist within the current globalized society of the 21st century.  Jamestown’s School of Arts and Sciences programs develop students to (Case Study Program Overview Jamestown College, 2017):

• Think critically and creatively

• Use effective communication skills
• Conduct thorough analyses of data
• Understand how people and the world around them work throughout the decision – making process.  

Within Jamestown’s School of Arts and Sciences, graduates of the Bachelors of Arts Program in Mathematics will differentiate themselves with their problem – solving skills, computational and modeling abilities, and excellent communication skills.  These skills and the appropriate knowledge to accompany Jamestown graduates will set them up for success in scientific or technical careers within the industry, education, or government sectors post – graduation (Case Study Program Overview Jamestown College, 2017).  

Graduates of the BA Mathematics Program will be able to do the following post – graduation:

• Apply critical thinking skills in understanding how mathematics relates to everyday problems.
• Ave the requisite knowledge and skills for immediate acceptance into a graduate program or gainful employment.
• Acquire knowledge of mathematical and technical aspects that is adaptable to changing tools and environments and provides a solid foundation for future learning.
• Demonstrate an understanding of analysis and extensive experience with the tactics of problem solving and logical thinking.
• Conduct relevant quantitative analysis and figure out the right questions to ask.

According to Jamestown’s current Program Overview, Bachelors of Arts in Mathematics Student Learning Outcomes are as follows (Case Study Program Overview Jamestown College, 2017):

• Perform computations by applying mathematical concepts and models.
• Solve problems using mathematics.
• Represent mathematical relationships with graphs and charts.
• Demonstrate a solid understanding of proofs and other sophisticated mathematical skills.
• Communicate own understanding of mathematical concepts and reasoning to a variety of audiences.
• Use appropriate software and other technologies for making mathematical models and analyzing quantitative information.
• Appreciate the uses of abstract mathematical reasoning.
• Demonstrate the capacity to apply mathematical abilities to a wide span of contexts.

Areas of Opportunity:

Jamestown College’s BA in Mathematics program has a variety of areas in which it can strive to improve in.  The largest area of opportunity lies within their steady decline of student enrollment within their BA MAT programs.  According to Appendix A, over five years, spanning from 2010 – 2015, Jamestown saw their enrollment in these programs decline by over 30% overall (Case Study Scenario Jamestown College, 2017).

While there are a variety of factors that may contribute to the overall decline of student enrollments recently, Jamestown has an opportunity to educate current and prospective students on the importance of such degree programs; as well as post – graduation career opportunities.  The institution has the ability to stress projected job growth in various areas that require BA MAT degree programs and include appropriate median salaries to further attract students to the programs (Case Study Scenario Jamestown College, 2017).

Jamestown can also improve not only within their student satisfaction scores based upon their previous Student Feedback Reports, but also in the percentage of students who are completing the reports.  Student Feedback Reports feature student program ratings, spanning from 0 (worst) to 5 (best) and a feedback portion to allow students to fill in individual comments pertaining to their course(s).  Of 12 students who complete the Term 2 Student Feedback Report, only 3 (25%) ranked the program above a score of 3 (average).  Not only can there be a vast improvement within the student satisfaction ratings, but a less than 11% of the students enrolled in BA MAT programs completed the Term 2 rating.  In order to increase student participation in such reports, it is essential for Jamestown to stress the importance of such feedback and provide explicit examples as to how relevant student feedback on prior reports has been used to improve the programs/courses moving forward (Case Study Student Feedback, 2017).

External Data:

Jamestown College cannot limit their evaluation and improvement efforts internally, as they need to included external data/factors as well.  For example, the Commission on Institutions in Higher Education (CIHE) have created a standard list that includes 9 key program attributes institutions must consider when evaluating programs; such standards include (New England Association of Schools and Colleges, 2016):

• Mission & Purpose
• Planning & Evaluation
• Organization & Governance
• Academic Program(s)
• Students
• Teaching, Learning, & Scholarship
• Institutional Resources
• Educational Effectiveness
• Integrity, Transparency, & Public Relations

As noted above within the ‘Areas of Opportunity’ portion of this report, Jamestown College should gather relevant data pertaining to their current BA MAT programs.  This data should include current graduate employment rates, median/average salaries, percentage of graduates employed within the field vs. out of field, and other relevant data regarding further career/employment opportunities for students upon graduation.  

Supplemental Data:

Jamestown College has not yet exploited their alumni as valuable resources.  The above data can be gained from alumni focus groups and or surveys.  Further data can be collected to include satisfaction with knowledge/skill sets upon graduation and its impact or relevancy to their current role within the field of mathematics.  To increase alumni response, Jamestown will need to include incentives for alumni to partake in such focus groups and surveys depending upon the time commitment involved.  To maximize ease of use, Jamestown can feature interactive online surveys, see Appendix A Figure B, that allow alumni to complete them on a variety of electronic devices, not limited to a computer or laptop.  Focus groups can be created regionally, depending upon graduate residency demographics.  

Recommendations:

Introduction:

As a program evaluator, viewing a program’s patterns of success not only allow for valuable insight into the areas the program is currently excelling in, but also allow the evaluator to uncover areas in need of improvement.  The areas are typically lacking supportive data to show success, or simply visually show the area is under performing institutional expectations.

Recommendations:

Currently, Jamestown College has undergone an extension program evaluation process that has shed light as to where institutional adaptations have the potential to increase program success.  Examples of such areas specific to the Mathematics programs at Jamestown College include course expectations, enrollment rates, and student satisfaction.  Course expectations and enrollment rates both had less than positive results during Jamestown’s program evaluation process (Case Study Scenario Jamestown College, 2017), while the data collected regarding student satisfaction is far from adequate to accurately measure such (Case Study Student Feedback, 2017).