Departmental Assessment Plan

Assessment statement:

The Department of Tourism and Hospitality is committed to develop and continuously revise learning outcomes for the program and all its courses. The process is faculty driven and owned. Learning outcomes, measurement and evaluative tools are developed, and revised based on the knowledge and experience of the faculty and as reflective of the state of and changes in the industry to which we send our students. We are committed to the process on an ongoing basis. We believe that data collected and resulting evaluation should be used to assess the program and make alterations as needed.

Activities to date:

1. During the 2003-2004 school year, the Department established an assessment committee to oversee the development of learning outcomes for the TAH program and all departmental courses.

2. The committee conducted several workshops for faculty members to introduce the assessment tool developed by the College-wide Assessment Committee.

3. The faculty developed a plan to review each course taught in the department to ascertain the learning outcomes associated with each course. It was also decided that overall outcomes for the departmental program was to be determined and measurement and evaluation tools developed.

4. Faculty teams were created to examine courses and to use the college wide assessment template to determine learning outcomes, standards of measurement and evaluative tools to be used in each course.

5. Several meetings were held to report on progress and discuss issues related to the development of outcomes. Of particular concern was ensuring that listed outcomes were measurable.

6. An assessment plan for each course was submitted to the departmental committee who commented and asked for revisions.

7. The resulting assessment plan was placed in a file for each course.

8. The departmental committee then examined all course plans to develop department-wide outcomes.

9. Through a synthesis of course-level outcomes, fifteen departmental outcomes were identified. These were submitted to faculty members for discussion, five additional outcomes were added and the resulting twenty departmental outcomes were adopted at a faculty meeting.

10. In a reverse of the synthesis process, departmental outcomes are being coded and assigned to specific courses as appropriate.

11. In the Spring 2005 semester, learning outcomes are being incorporated into all course outlines given to students.

12. Evaluative tools for assessing the departmental learning outcomes are being developed in the Spring 2005 semester.

13. The Virtual Enterprise program and related activities have the subject of extensive and ongoing assessment. This includes evaluations of the program by the Center for Advanced Study in Education which identified learning outcomes which occurred in the course. Several additional studies have been conducted by faculty members. These determined student perceptions of their learning in the program.

14. Several evaluative instruments have been pilot tested in relation to the Introductory course.
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Ongoing activities:

1. Each semester, professors who are assigned to teach various courses in the department are issued the course assessment plan.

2. The learning outcomes will be communicated to students at the start of the term. At the start of this semester, a model for incorporating learning outcomes into course outlines has been considered and adopted. Thereafter, learning outcomes will be incorporated into each course outline in the department.

3. The departmental assessment committee continues to monitor the use of the course outcomes by faculty.

4. Assessment is discussed at each faculty meeting. As a method of creating an ongoing review process, the assessment plan for at least one course is highlighted and discussed at each meeting.

5. The program outcomes are under continuous review in conjunction with an industry advisory board.

6. With input from the faculty and students, a TAH Student Handbook has been developed and was adopted by the faculty at the start of the Spring 2005 semester. Among other items such as course requirements, departmental activities, college and department resources, included in the handbook are the Department Learning Outcomes, reference to the course-level learning outcomes, the department assessment policy and an indication that, at the course and departmental levels, surveys will be taken to measure the perceptions of progress toward the desired outcomes by students. The Handbook now appears on the Department’s web page.

7. To assess the effectiveness of the program in achieving the identified learning outcomes, several initiatives are being considered. The department will consider the development of a voluntary exit examination and survey. With assistance from industry partners, questions will be determined. The exit examination and survey would be administered for the first time in the Spring 2005 semester. Ultimately , the exam and survey will be put on-line.
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Collection of data:

1. Students in TAH are required to participate in an internship. Reports from internship supervisors are collected and analyzed to determine strengths and weaknesses of individual students which may reflect on program strengths and weaknesses. Data is provided to the faculty by the departmental internship supervisor(s).

2. Students are also required to take TAH 90, Virtual Enterprise (VE), an experiential learning platform which requires students to perform business activities in a simulated environment. Meetings of the VE faculty, which includes faculty members from other departments, take place regularly. Ongoing assessment of this course and an examination of program issues that surface are discussed and addressed.

3. In individual courses, faculty use the measurement standards developed in the evaluation of individual students and analyze collective results. Multiple measures of assessment including examinations, both short and essay type, quizzes, presentations, portfolio, demonstrations, reports, papers, participation, are used as appropriate and as indicated in each course assessment plan.

4. Students have participated in certification courses and examinations offered by various certifying agencies such as CLIA and Safeserve. Results of certifying examinations are used to modify instruction.

5. Additional data will be collected in Spring 2005.

Department of Tourism and Hospitality
Departmental Goals/Learning Outcomes

· Knowledge of products and services offered by various segments of the tourism/hospitality industry

· Knowledge of how tourism/hospitality products are marketed and sold

· Developing knowledge of the distribution of tourism/hospitality products

· Developing an appreciation of the importance of service in the tourism/hospitality

· Learning about the world and the importance of place in destinations

· Learning about the characteristics of destinations (culture, history, geography, food, attractions, etc.)

· Developing a specialized vocabulary used by industry professionals

· Assisting students to develop personally and professionally to create leaders for the tourism and hospitality industry

· Developing psycho-social skills

· Assisting students to develop basic skills in reading, writing, communication, computation and analysis

· Using technology related to business, in general, and the tourism/hospitality industry, in particular

· Developing and using research skills

· Developing a knowledge of business processes related to and used in the industry

· Developing knowledge about and using systems used in various segments of the industry

· Explaining the relationship of the industry to regulators, government, certifying agencies, professional organizations

· Developing an understanding of the economics and cost structures related to doing business in tourism/hospitality

· Developing entrepreneurial skills

· Exploring careers in tourism/hospitality

· Exposing students to current events in the industry and the world

· Having students use a variety of learning strategies, including traditional lecture, experiential learning, active learning, applied learning, individualized instruction, computer-assisted learning, collaborative learning, role playing, internships, volunteer opportunities, and experience in the real and virtual economies