Bachelor of Science in Forensic Science

Assessment Report, 2015-2016

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, 2015-2016 – 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 2015	K. Marriott	FSCI 4401	Self-Directed Crime Scene Recreation -- AAC&U Critical Thinking Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 3 or higher	TARGET 1 NOT MET On average, 67% scored at level 3 or higher	OVERALL: TARGET PARTIALLY MET Description of projected use of results from the 2014-2015 academic year that is being addressed in the 2015-2016 academic year: We planned to design more assignments to allow critical thinking to be expressed in writing, and to add more case studies. For this PSLO, FSCI 1101 and 4101L incorporated these items. Description of the expected use of results that will be addressed in the 2016-2017 academic year: The program will create more assignments geared towards evaluating and analyzing a point of view in order for each student to form his/her own opinion will be provided in form of debates and/or writing.
			E. Ekuase	FSCI 1101	Chapter 1 Case Study -- AAC&U Critical Thinking Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 2 or higher	TARGET 2 NOT MET On average, 72% of students scored level 2 or above
			K. Shen	FSCI 4101	Final Exam -- AAC&U Critical Thinking Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 2 or higher	TARGET 3 MET 100% of students met level 2 or higher
			K. Shen	FSCI 4101L	DNA Typing -- AAC&U Critical Thinking Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 3 or higher	TARGET 4 MET 100% of students met level 3 or higher
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 2015	K. Marriott	FSCI 4401	Self-Directed Crime Scene Recreation -- AAC&U Information Literacy Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 3 or higher	TARGET 1 NOT MET 60% were at level 3 or higher	OVERALL: TARGET PARTIALLY MET Description of the expected use of results that will be addressed in the 2016-2017 academic year: The program will create more assignments geared towards evaluating and analyzing a point of view in order for each student to form his/her own opinion will be provided in form of debates and/or writing.
		Fall 2015	K. Shen	FSCI 4101L	DNA Typing -- AAC&U Information Literacy Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 3 or higher	TARGET 2 MET 100% scored at level 3 or above
		Spring 2016	K. Shen	FSCI 3301	Exam -- AAC&U Quantitative Literacy Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 2 or higher	TARGET 3 MET 100% of student scored level 3 or higher
			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 student scored level 2 or higher
			K. Marriott	FSCI 4402	Crime Scene 2 Self-Directed Experiment -- AAC&U Integrative Learning Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 3 or higher	TARGET 5 MET 100% of student scored level 3 or higher overall
Academic Engagement and Achievement	3. Students will demonstrate competency in oral and written communications, with ability to relate to diverse populations.	Fall 2015	K. Marriott	FSCI 4401	Self-Directed Crime Scene Recreation -- QEP Writing Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 3	TARGET 1 NOT MET 33% of students scored at level 3	OVERALL: TARGET PARTIALLY MET Description of projected use of results from the 2014-2015 academic year that is being addressed in the 2015-2016 academic year: We planned to design more assignments to allow critical thinking to be expressed in writing, and to add more case studies. For this PSLO, FSCI 1101 and 4101L incorporated these items. Description of the expected use of results that will be addressed in the 2016-2017 academic year: TARGETS 1 - 4: Students will improve their writing by having more writing assignments. We will also incorporate an oral communication element into this PSLO moving forward.
			E. Ekuase	FSCI 1101	Chapter 1 Case Study -- QEP Writing Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 2 or higher	TARGET 2 NOT MET 69% scored at level 2 or above
			K. Shen	FSCI 4101L	DNA Typing -- QEP Writing Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 3	TARGET 3 NOT MET 43% 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 2016		FSCI 4201	Whiskey Rebellion and 18th Amendment -- AAC&U Ethical Reasoning Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 3 or higher	TARGET 1 NOT MET On average, 77% of students scored level 3 or above	OVERALL: TARGET PARTIALLY MET Description of the expected use of results that will be addressed in the 2016-2017 academic year: More written assignments on reflective reasoning will be given. Previously, students were required to take a particular position on any ethical issue of their choosing. In the future, students will be encouraged to have a more open approach, and consider more than one perspective in their writings.
				FSCI 4201L	Science Fair Review -- AAC&U Ethical Reasoning Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 3 or higher	TARGET 2 NOT MET 75% of students scored at level 3 or above
				FSCI 3201	Ethical Issues and the Society -- AAC&U Ethical Reasoning Rubric	100% of students will score at a Milestone Level 2 or higher	TARGET 3 NOT MET 78% of students scored level 2 or higher

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 and Achievement	Increase number of new students majoring in forensic science	Community presentations and outreach workshops a) Host a Forensic Science evidence processing demonstration for high school 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.	Blackboard Analytics data	For AY 2015-2016 increase the number of forensic science majors by 30 newly enrolled students.	TARGET MET For the AY 2015-2016 we have 42 newly enrolled students. a) Spring 2016 we hosted the first Forensic Science Week with community outreach and participation from the Savannah Homeland Security, Customs Border Protection mobile lab unit. b) The program coordinator was an invited speaker for the session recommended for faculty and program administrators titled: “High-Caliber Research at Non-research Institutions: Models of Effective Undergraduate Research Programs” at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) in November, 2015. c) Forensic science Workshop for Explorer Post high school students conducted by the Forensic Science and Criminal Justice Programs. d) On June 14^th, 2016: Dr. Marriott assisted by Arielle Dallas (forensic science major) conducted an interactive forensic science workshop for students in the 2016 Savannah Chatham Metropolitan Police Department (SCMPD) Girls Summer Camp.	OVERALL: TARGET MET Description of the expected use of results that will be addressed in the 2016-2017 academic year: The program will continue invasive strategies employed last AY were once again successful. We will continue to partner with internal and external student programs on campus and in the community. We have a good working relationship with the Savannah DHS Customs laboratory. The program has been recognized nationally and the program coordinator was invited to a conference to speak about the success.
Academic Engagement and 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) Present 2-3 creative seminars per semester (open to all students). b) Host a Forensic Science workshop for students. c) Host a Drug Enforcement Administration workshop.	Project tallies	For AY 2015-2016 at least 6 new forensic science students will be involved in research and/or creative projects.	TARGET MET For AY 2015-2016 Twenty-four (24) students conducted true student-centered research and/or creative projects. This year 2015-2016 we have two creative/interdisciplinary scientific projects (via courses Crime Scene 1 and 2): 1) Trajectory Analysis with a High Velocity Instrument. 2) Strangulation Analysis using Clay Molds (collaboration with Professor Clark from the Department of Fine Arts and Wellness, CLASS). Both projects were presented at SSU’s 6^th annual Research day. Project #1 claimed first place. Forensic Science Club developed a newsletter titled “Forensic Insight”. This newsletter informs the campus community of FSCI club and program activities. Undergraduate workshops: a) Close Reading workshop: by Dr. Anne Katz to encourage students of all classifications to read with a purpose. b) Drug analysis workshop. c) Savannah Department of Homeland Security mobile unit demonstration. d) FSCI faculty (Dr. Shen) conducted an advance level DNA workshop.	OVERALL: TARGET MET Description of the expected use of results that will be addressed in the 2016-2017 academic year: The program will continue the successful strategy of student-directed creativity and scientific rigor. We will collaborate with faculty from liberal arts to bring another perspective to our creative research efforts. We have established a summer research program supported by the institution titled “Creative Beeings”. This is the second year and the student participants have doubled from two to four. The program will continue our invasive and highly creative student-directed strategies.
SSU Strategic Plan Goal	PO Goal	Enabling Strategies	Measures	Targets	Results and Analysis of Results	Actions in Response to Results
					Student Research presentations: a) Chantrell Frazier (2nd) and Diamond Rogers won (1st) place in the Life Sciences: Molecular and Cellular Biology poster Presentation Division at PSLSAMP conference. b) Two Forensic Science students Chantrell Frazier and Tiffany Villanueva attended and presented their research at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) in November, 2015. SSU Annual Research Day Student Participants: a) Chantrell Frazier: “E6-Associated Protein and it’s transcription coactivation function of estrogen receptors in neurons” Co-Research a) Dr. Kai Shen (Co-Director) conducted biochemistry research during the summer 2016 which included three (3) high school students and one (1) undergraduate forensic science major. Students were exposed to various instrumentation and procedures involved in cell culturing, protein purification and proper scientific documentation. b) Dr. Edugie Ekuase (forensic science faculty) conducted forensic toxicology research with one (1) undergraduate forensic science major during the summer 2016.
Academic Engagement and Achievement	An increase in faculty development activities relevant to promoting an enriched classroom environment	Faculty support for conference and workshop attendance	Faculty tallies attendance/ participation in educational, professional development and/or scientific research workshops/ conferences.	Faculty will attend at least 3 conferences and workshops, and be informed on current developments in the field, certifications, collaborations and network.	TARGET MET a) Spring 2016 FSCI faculty members attended the American Academy of Forensic Science conference. At this conference participants learnt about the most recent advances in various aspects of forensic science, including DNA analysis, trace evidence analysis, forensic ballistics, fingerprint analysis, crime scene processing and the latest application of 3-D technology in forensics. b) Dr. Shen collected Bio Small Angle X-ray Spectroscopy data for research; Argonne National Laboratory Advanced Photon Source SAXS 12-ID-B beam training and data acquisition; Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL; April 17-19, 2016. c) FSCI faculty attended a free webinar on “Arson and Crime Scene Photography Basics” offered by Sirchie, Fall 2015. d) Dr. Shen attended the Interdisciplinary Consortium for Research and Educational Access in Science and Engineering (INCREASE) User Facilities Awareness Workshop, Argonne National Laboratory, IL; September 17-18, 2015.	OVERALL: TARGET MET Description of the expected use of results that will be addressed in the 2016-2017 academic year: Strong institutional support will continue to enable 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 and Achievement

Create new courses in forensic toxicology

Develop toxicology course syllabi

Submit new course to Department, College, NPCC and faculty senate

2 new courses created

TARGET MET

A new forensic toxicology advance level lecture and laboratory combo course was developed and approved.

OVERALL: TARGET MET
Description of the expected use of results that will be addressed in the 2016-2017 academic year: These new additions to the curriculum gives students more advance level options.