DePaul University's Ten Learning Goals

Methodology
Graduation coordinators assisted OIPR in the administration of the survey[1]. Coordinators were asked to administer the survey to all undergraduates at the time they submitted their application for graduation.  It was understood that many students would have already applied for graduation prior to the college office receiving the new version of the survey. Therefore, we have students who completed the “old” survey instrument, but the majority of graduates completed the revised instrument.  Applicants also had the option to complete this survey on-line, although only students in CTI used this option. Students were asked to provide their student ID number on the survey so that their responses could be linked to other institutional data.

Results
The primary analytical procedure used in this report is a box plot (or sometimes called a box-and-whiskers plot).  Appendix A provides a description of how to interpret box plots.  In this case, scores for each goal were distributed by college. Students responded to 28 items that pertain to the 10 Learning Goals.  These items asked students to indicate their perceived gains since starting at DePaul for the identified knowledge, skill or ability, using a 4-point scale ranging from 1=”Not at All” to 4=”Very Much.”  These 28 items were grouped into the 10 Learning Goals (see Appendix B for the items, grouped by goal).  For each goal, a summary score was calculated by taking the total number of 3’s and 4’s for all items within the goal and dividing that by the total number of responses.  This was done within college and survey year and overall.  The college scores (overall and by year) were used as the data points in the box plots. In each point, a line has been drawn at 75% indicating one possible reference point of success (i.e., 75% of student feel that they have made considerable gains in this goal).  This 75% line is an arbitrary reference point as, ultimately, it is up to each college to determine what goals should be their students’ primary foci.

Overall
Before going into the details of each learning goal, a cross-goal comparison has been provided.  The boxplot and a table provide the results for each college.  Note that these scores are combined across the three years.  From the chart, we can easily see that, as an institution, DePaul is strongest in Goals 1 (Mastery of Content), 3 (Accomplishing Goals Independently and Cooperatively), 6 (Critical and Creative Thinking) and 9 (Self-Reflection/Life Skills).  We tend to fall short on Goals 7 (Development of Multiple Literacies), 8 (Development of a Personal Arts and Literature Aesthetic) and 10 (Historical Consciousness).  We also note a large degree of variability in the percentages across colleges for Goal 2 (Articulate Communication) and Goal 7 (Multiple Literacies).  For the most part, the college scores tend to fall within the range of the whiskers (1.5 IQRs), with the only outlying score being the School of Music for Goal 6 (Critical and Creative Thinking).

Goal 1: Mastery of Content

“A DePaul graduate will establish mastery of a body of knowledge and skills in depth and breadth.”

Three items were used to assess students’ perceived gains in this area. Responses for these items were combined within college and year and the resulting scores are presented in the following box plot and table.  Appended to this report are tables providing the scores for each individual item by college.

As was shown in the overall goal comparison plot, from the perspective of the student DePaul as an institution does very well in advancing this goal.  In 2003, all college percentages were above the 75% threshold.  Compared to the other colleges, Music and Theatre tended to have the lower scores relative to the rest of the colleges.

Goal 2:  Articulate Communication

“A DePaul graduate will be able to communicate articulately in both the spoken and the written word, being able to read and to listen critically in order to understand the conversation in progress, and to adjust diction and style to the anticipated audience, to the subject matter and to the purpose of the communication. This goal recognizes the necessity that a student's ability to communicate keeppace with the increasing subtlety, precision and depth of the student's knowledge, sensibilities and deliberative powers.”

Two items were utilized in assessing this goal.  The following boxplot and data table show the values for the combined scores. The appended tables provide the results for each item.

Here we see more variability among the college scores in 2001 than in 2002 or 2003.  Note that Music was an outlier in 2001, yet has shown improvement in 2003.  Overall, DePaul as an institution does a good job in providing opportunities for achieving this goal.  SNL and Education had considerable higher scores on this goal than the other colleges.

Two items were used to assess this goal and as is apparent from the boxplot, DePaul as an institution does a very good job in facilitating student achievement of this goal.

Across the three years, the median score is well above 75% and there is relatively little variation across colleges in the later two years suggesting similar perceptions among students regardless of college.  This homogeneity across college is also shown in the data table to the left.  In 2003, LAS had the lowest score on this goal, and SNL the highest.

Goal 3: Capacity to Work Toward Accomplishing Goals Both Independently and Cooperatively

Goal 4: Knowledge of and Respect for Individuals and Groups Who are Different from Themselves

“DePaul graduates will have knowledge of and respect for individuals and groups who are different from themselves. This goal recognizes the importance of multicultural and global approaches to teaching and learning as core strands in our curriculum and that the study and examination of differences and diversity are integral to and interwoven throughout one's education at DePaul University.”

Five items were used to assess students’ perceptions of their development in this goal.  The college-level responses for each item can be found in the appended tables. Compared to previous years, there is considerably less spread among the scores in 2003, as is evident by the span of the whiskers in the boxplot.  Education scored higher than the other colleges in 2003.  Theatre had the lowest score (it was tabbed as an outlier). Note, though, that this score for Theatre is a composite based on the previous years’ data as no surveys were received for 2003.

Goal 5: Development of Service-Oriented, Socially Responsible Value and Ethical Framework.

“A DePaul graduate will developor enhance his/her value and ethical framework and respect the religious and ethical foundations that are central to DePaul's mission. This goal requires the University to provide opportunities, incentives and resources to helpstudents appreciate their responsibilities to others and to society.”

Three items were used to assess students’ perceived gains in this domain. Music and Theatre had the lower scores on this item.  In general, with the exception of SNL, DePaul as a university is not performing as well in this area as it had in the previous four goals.

Goal 6. Critical and Creative Thinking

“A DePaul graduate will be capable of thinking critically and creatively, integrating knowledge and ways of knowing, making reflective judgments, identifying significant ideas and their underlying assumptions, biases, and presuppositions.”

Two items were used to assess students’ perceived gains in this area. Overall, students perceived making the strongest gains on this goal. While Music and Theatre had lower scores than the other colleges, most college scores were over 80%.  Note in the boxplot that, for 2002, Music was an outlying score (although this score was a composite based on surveys returned in 2001 and 2003).

Goal 7. Development of Multiple Literacies

“A DePaul graduate will developmultiple literacies, including computer literacy, information literacy, math literacy or numeracy, linguistic literacy, visual literacy and scientific literacy.”

It is in this goal where we see probably the largest degree of spread among scores across college, with 2003 scores ranging from below 30% (Theatre) to above 80% (CTI).  This may be a function of the four items making upthis goal (see attached data tables), or a function of the different foci of the various programs within the colleges.  Regardless, we are seeing increasing levels of spread over the last three years.

Goal 8. A Personal Arts and Literature Aesthetic in Formation

“A DePaul graduate will form a personal arts and literature aesthetic as a component of keen judgment, flexible imagination, self-expression and moral sensibility.”

Three items were utilized to assess achievement of this goal.  As would be expected, here we see Music and Theatre ahead of the rest of the colleges (except SNL) in the development of this learning goal in their students.  Only about one-half of Commerce students indicated substantial gains in this goal and about two-thirds of students from the other colleges.  Thus, overall achievement in this goal falls well below the 75% threshold.

Goal 9. Self-Reflection/Life Skills

“DePaul graduates will be able to apply their DePaul education to life and learning, to reflect on learning and experiences, and discover what choices are available to them and how to make life's choices wisely.”

Only one item (“My DePaul learning experiences have improved my ability to continue learning throughout my life”) was used to assess this goal, and, as can be seen in the table, students across colleges perceive making great strides in this area.  We see this particularly in CTI and SNL.  The median of the college scores is well above the 75% threshold, as can be seen in the boxplot.

 Goal 10. Historical Consciousness

“A DePaul graduate will developknowledge and appreciation of the past and its role in shaping the present and the future.”

Two items were used to assess this goal, the individual results for which can be found in the appended tables.  None of the colleges reached the 75% threshold, with Education coming the closest in 2003 being the only college over 70%. Music and Theatre were considerably lower than the other colleges.

Conclusions

Three years of graduating senior survey data were analyzed to identify trends in students’ perceptions of gains made in the institutional learning goal domains.  These data show that:

• For goals associated with the more traditionally academic components of a university experience (Mastery of Content, Communication, Accomplishing Goals Independently and Cooperatively, Critical Thinking), DePaul serves its students well.  Students perceived greater gains in these areas.

• For goals associated with social responsibility and citizenship (Knowledge and Respect for Diversity, Developing a Service Orientation, Personal Arts and Literature Aesthetic, and Historical Consciousness), DePaul tends to fall short.

• In terms of college comparisons, we tend to see what one would expect: