Bachelor of Science in Forensic Science

Assessment Report, 2014-2015

COST, Forensic Science

Assessment Identifiers

College / School:
College of Sciences & Technology

Department:
Chemistry & Forensic Science

Program / Major / Certificate:
Forensic Science

Assessment Coordinator(s)
Karla-Sue Marriott

Has there been a change to the Assessment Coordinator(s) since the last assessment plan?
No

Person(s) responsible for writing and/or submitting this report:
Karla-Sue Marriott

Program Mission Statement

The mission of the Forensic Science Degree Program is to provide forensic science majors with a solid scientific understanding of the applications of forensic science to the judicial system while promoting scientific integrity, critical thinking and communication skills. Develop within our students an understanding of ethical behavior at the highest level. This program will maintain cutting-edge awareness by exposing majors to current technological advances and laboratory instruments and equipment used in forensic science. The program will promote intellectual diversity, interactive and creativity centered learning experiences, resulting in a highly marketable interdisciplinary degree.

Has this mission statement been revised since the last plan?
No

PSLOs

1. Students will develop in-depth understanding of scientific concepts, theoretical principles and their application within the field of forensic science.

2. Students will demonstrate competency in the use of advance technology, analytical instruments, as well as, proper techniques involved in the recognition, processing, documentation, and analysis of forensic evidence.

3. Students will demonstrate competency in oral and written communications, with ability to relate to diverse populations.

4. Students will develop awareness and understanding of scientific integrity and ethical standards as related to the legal system governing the admissibility of evidence.

LINK TO: Assessment Report, 2014-2015 – Supporting Documents

Assessment Results (PSLOs)

SSU Strategic Plan Goal	PSLO	Semester	Professor	Courses	Assessment Artifacts and Instruments	Target Levels	Results and Analysis of Results	Actions in Response to Results
Academic Engagement and Achievement	1. Students will develop in-depth understanding of scientific concepts, theoretical principles and their application within the field of forensic science.	Fall 2014	K. Marriott	FSCI 4401	Blood Spatter Analysis Part I -- AAC&U Critical Thinking Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 3 or higher	TARGET 1 MET 100% of students scores and Capstone level on every rubric element	OVERALL: TARGET PARTIALLY MET Description of projected use of results from the 2013-2014 academic year that is being addressed in the 2014-2015 academic year: We revised our PSLOs to be measurable outcomes. Description of the expected use of results that will be addressed in the 2015-2016 academic year: We will give more writing assignments to hone critical thinking skills, add a practice section after each chapter, and implement case studies.
			E. Ekuase	FSCI 1101	Quiz -- AAC&U Critical Thinking Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 2 or higher	TARGET 2 NOT MET 53% of students scores level 2 or higher
			K. Shen	CHEM 3801	Midterm -- AAC&U Critical Thinking Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 3 or higher	TARGET 3 MET 92% scored at Level 3 or higher
			K. Shen	FSCI 4101	Midterm -- AAC&U Critical Thinking Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 3 or higher	TARGET 4 NOT MET 100% of students scored at level 2 on all rubric elements
Academic Engagement and Achievement	2. Students will demonstrate competency in the use of advance technology, analytical instruments, as well as, proper techniques involved in the recognition, processing, documentation, and analysis of forensic evidence.	Fall 2014	K. Marriott	FSCI 4401	Blood Spatter Analysis Part I -- AAC&U Information Literacy Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 3 or higher	TARGET 1 MET 100% of student score level 3 or higher on all rubric elements	OVERALL: TARGET PARTIALLY MET Description of projected use of results from the 2013-2014 academic year that is being addressed in the 2014-2015 academic year: We revised our PSLOs to be measurable outcomes. Description of the expected use of results that will be addressed in the 2015-2016 academic year: The program will give more writing assignments to hone critical thinking skills, add a practice section after each chapter, and implement case studies.
		Fall 2014	K. Shen	FSCI 4101	Midterm -- AAC&U Information Literacy Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 3 or higher	TARGET 2 NOT MET 100% of students scored at level 2
		Spring 2015	K. Shen	FSCI 3301	Exam -- AAC&U Quantitative Literacy Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 2 or higher	TARGET 3 NOT MET 91% scored at level 2 or above on all rubric elements
			K. Shen	FSCI 3301L	Exam -- AAC&U Quantitative Literacy Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 2 or higher	TARGET 4 MET: 100% of students scored at level 2 or above on all rubric elements
			K. Marriott	FSCI 4402	Blood Spatter Analysis Part II -- AAC&U Integrative Learning Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 3 or higher	TARGET 5 MET 100% scored at the capstone level overall
Academic Engagement and Achievement	3. Students will demonstrate competency in written communication, with an ability to relate to diverse populations.	Fall 2014	K. Marriott	FSCI 4401	Blood Spatter Analysis Part I -- QEP Writing Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 3	TARGET 1 MET 100% of students scored at level 3 overall	OVERALL: TARGET PARTIALLY MET Description of projected use of results from the 2013-2014 academic year that is being addressed in the 2014-2015 academic year: We revised our PSLOs to be measurable outcomes. Description of the expected use of results that will be addressed in the 2015-2016 academic year: The program will assign more in-class case writing assignments, increase the number of case study reports, hold a mini-workshop on scientific report writing, schedule a library workshop, and add one reading/review section on new progress in Forensic Science.
			E. Ekuase	FSCI 1101	Quiz -- QEP Writing Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 2 or higher	TARGET 2 NOT MET Overall 50% of students scored level 2 and 50% scored at level 1
			K. Shen	FSCI 4101	Midterm -- QEP Writing Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 3	TARGET 3 MET 100% scored at level 3 overall
Academic Engagement and Achievement	4. Students will develop awareness and understanding of scientific integrity and ethical standards as related to the legal system governing the admissibility of evidence.	Spring 2015	K. Marriott	FSCI 4201/FSCI 4201L	GC/MS Analysis of Cocaine and Codeine -- Ethical Reasoning Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 3 or higher	TARGET 1 PARTIALLY MET On average, 96% scored at level 3 or above across rubric elements; 1 student scored at benchmark level on one rubric element	OVERALL: TARGET PARTIALLY MET Description of projected use of results from the 2013-2014 academic year that is being addressed in the 2014-2015 academic year: We revised our PSLOs to be measurable outcomes. Description of the expected use of results that will be addressed in the 2015-2016 academic year: We will have more written assignments, presentations, and hands-on experiences to showcase their ethical reasoning.
Academic Engagement and Achievement		Spring 2015	E. Ekuase	FSCI 3201	Ethical Issues Essay -- Ethical Reasoning Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 2 or higher	TARGET 2 NOT MET On average 65% of student scored level 2 or above

Assessment Results (POs)

SSU Strategic Plan Goal

PO Goal

Enabling Strategies

Measures

Targets

Results and Analysis of Results

Actions in Response to Results

Academic Engagement & Achievement

Increase number of new students majoring in forensic science

Community presentations and outreach workshops

a) Conduct 1 student workshop per semester (open to all students).

b) Promote awareness at local high School, middle schools and career fairs.

c) Documentation will be gathered from Admissions to obtain the necessary enrollment data and to track new student progress.

d) Host a Forensic Science evidence processing demonstration for high school students.

Blackboard Analytics data

For AY 2014-2015 increase the number of forensic science majors by 30 newly enrolled students.

TARGET MET

For the AY 2014-2015 we have 31 (same as previous year) newly enrolled students

a) Explorer Post high school workshop, January 27^th, 2015 from 12:45pm-3:00pm at Savannah State University. This event included a Crime Scene Investigation Workshop with interactive, hands-on lab activities such as collecting and processing crime scene evidence. Conducted by FSCI faculty: Marriott, Ekuase, Shen and FSCI students Shakema Bowman and Diamond Rogers.

b) Upward Bound Super Saturday: Dr. Marriott conducted two (2) (December, 2014 and March 2015) Super Saturday informative workshop events assisted by Daniel Meis and Shakema Bowman.

c) Savannah High School Career Day September 9th, 2015 at Savannah high. Dr. Marriott was invited to present interactive, hands-on lab activities such as collecting and processing crime scene evidence. Conducted by FSCI faculty: Marriott and FSCI student Shakema Bowman (FSCI Club President).

OVERALL: TARGET MET
Description of the expected use of results that will be addressed in the 2015-2016 academic year: We will continue the invasive strategies employed last AY was once again successful. We will still partner with internal and external student programs on campus and in the community.

Academic Engagement & Achievement

Increase number of forensic science students involved in research and/or interdisciplinary creative projects

Notify students of research opportunities on-campus and off-campus

a) Host a Genetic Finger Printing demonstration workshop for students interested in genetic finger printing research.

b) Host a Drug Enforcement Administration workshop for research students.

c) Host a Mock Crime Scene demonstration workshop for students interested in crime scene research.

Project tallies

For AY 2014-2015 at least 6 new forensic science students will be involved in research and/or creative projects.

TARGET MET

Five (5) students participated in a mock crime scene research project that was presented at SSU’s 5^th Annual research day conference: Reconstruction: Blunt Force Trauma Blood Spatter Analysis.

Two forensic science students were awarded first 1^st place (Diamond Rogers and Tiffany Villanueva) at SSU’s 5^th Annual Research Day conference. They competed in the chemistry and biology.

Off-Campus Summer Research: a)Diamond Rogers- (Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine)-Forensic Science major participating in the NIH-MARC U*STAR Program. Summer Research 2015: “Identification of Trans-Acting Factor in Mediating Transcriptional Induction Through LZA”

b) Chantrell Frazer (Univ of Miami; Mentor: Dr. Zafar Nawaz) Forensic Science major participating in the NIH-RISE Program. Summer Research 2015 Paper: “E6-Associated Protein & Its Transcriptional Co-Activation of Estrogen Receptors”

c) Tiffany Villanueva- (Princeton University -Forensic Science major participating in the NIH-NIBIB Program. Summer Research 2015: “Pre-mRNA Splicing”

On-Campus Summer Research: The Forensic Science Program established its first creative student team over the Summer 2015 “Creative BEEings” for a 4-week summer 2015 creative research experience. Two FSCI students participated in the development of a creative product.

OVERALL: TARGET MET
Description of the expected use of results that will be addressed in the 2015-2016 academic year: Based upon the success of Crime Scene 1 and 2 in engaging students with complicated scientific research by allowing the students to lead, we decided to embrace more creative research projects primarily student driven. This in combination with rigorous traditional scientific research is proving to be successful and appeals to our diverse student population. We will continue these efforts.

SSU Strategic Plan Goal

PO Goal

Enabling Strategies

Measures

Targets

Results and Analysis of Results

Actions in Response to Results

Academic Engagement & Achievement

An increase in the number of student and faculty scholarly presentations at relevant conferences, seminars, community events.

Conduct Interdisciplinary Workshops for students

a) Host a Genetic Finger Printing demonstration workshop for students interested in genetic finger printing research by May 2015.

b) Host a Drug Enforcement Administration workshop for research students.

Faculty development: support faculty attendance to workshops and conferences

Scholarship tallies

More students and faculty will attend conferences and workshops, and be informed on current developments in the field, certifications, collaborations and network. At least 8 presentations will be made

TARGET MET

Facilitated undergraduate training workshops and research experience: DNA and Drug Analysis workshops were conducted.

Additionally, Ms. Jessica Romanoski an agent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) was an invited guest speaker. Her presentation titled “The Life of a Forensic Scientist” was attended by FSCI students and Club members, F14.

In the Spring ’15, Ms. Fripp Lab manager and agent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) was an invited guest speaker. Her presentation titled “A look inside the State Crime Lab” was attended by FSCI students and Club members.

Faculty Development:

FSCI faculty attended various workshops and conferences, during which participants learn the latest progress in various aspects of forensic science.

a) All Faculty attended Southern Association of Forensic Scientists (SAFS) conference.

b) Dr. Edugie Ekuase attended the NSF/cCWCS Sponsored Forensic Science Workshop.

c) Dr. Shen attended the University of Kentucky/National Institute of Health Faculty Grant writing Workshop and he also attended the Argonne National Laboratory User Facilities Awareness Workshop.

d) Dr. Karla-Sue Marriott participated as a state of Georgia Governor’s Teaching Fellow (GTF) for 2015.

Student research presentations:

a) Diamond Rogers, Ashley Smith, and Michael Allen "Detection of Babesia microti in Ixodes Scapulars Ticks by PCR and Next Generation Sequencing", ABRCMS Annual Conference, November 12-15, 2014, San Antonio, TX.

b) Tiffany Villanueva, Nirmal K. Singh, and Terrance R. Flotte “Engineered External Guide Sequence/RNase-P against C9orf72 transcripts in a transgenic mouse model to treat human familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ABRCMS Annual Conference, November 12-15, 2014, San Antonio, TX.

c) Diamond Rogers, Shakema Bowman, Amber Johnson, Jaquisha Wright, Chyanne Hobley, Kristina Cookieanos and Karla-Sue C. Marriott, Ph.D.“Crime Scene Reconstruction: Blood Spatter Analysis”, 5^th Annual SSU Research Day conference, April 7^th, 2015, Savannah, GA.

d) Chantrel Frazier and Karla-Sue C. Marriott, Ph.D.“Synthesis of Sigma-1 Receptor Ligands”, 5^th Annual SSU Research Day conference, April 7^th, 2015, Savannah, GA.

OVERALL: TARGET MET
Description of the expected use of results that will be addressed in the 2015-2016 academic year: Will continue invasive advising and informing students about scholarship opportunities assists in getting students involved in research early. Also, all forensic science faculty are involved in rigorous scientific research.

Our success has enabled us to invite speakers from prominent agencies such as the GBI—these partnerships will persist.

Strong institutional support enables faculty development opportunities.

SSU Strategic Plan Goal

PO Goal

Enabling Strategies

Measures

Targets

Results and Analysis of Results

Actions in Response to Results

Academic Engagement & Achievement

Hire a new forensic science faculty

Conduct Faculty Search

a) Create search committee; b) interview applicants;

c) make hiring recommendation

One New forensic science faculty hired

TARGET MET
Hired a new forensic science faculty (Dr. Edugie Ekuase) in the area of toxicology.

OVERALL: TARGET MET
Description of the expected use of results that will be addressed in the 2015-2016 academic year: New faculty will assist with our growing student population.