Outcomes and Assessments

The Walla Walla University Chemistry Department conducts a two-level assessment.  One level includes majors in our department (Chemistry or Biochemistry), while the other level includes all students who take classes in our department (majors, minors, cognates, pre-professional, etc.). In the table that follows the term students refers to all students in our courses, regardless of their major, while the term majors refers to Chemistry or Biochemistry majors. 

Student learning outcome (SLO)

Discipline-specific Knowledge—Knowledge of Basic and Advanced Chemical Principles: Students, particularly our majors, will understand chemistry/biochemistry principles preparing them for careers or entry into graduate or professional school.  

Assessment

  • Students take the American Chemical Society (ACS) exams for General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Biochemistry (3 separate exams, one during each of those course sequences).  The course mean for WWU students for each exam in a given year will be at or above the national mean for that ACS exam. 

  • Majors will take the Major Field Test (MFT) Chemistry exam near the end of the senior year.  This exam requires knowledge from more than one area of chemistry (including biochemistry) at the degree-level. The overall (not individual) mean percentile score for all majors in a given year will be at or above the national mean for this exam. 


Student learning outcome (SLO)

Discipline-specific Knowledge—Chemistry Laboratory-based Knowledge: Our majors will acquire laboratory and data analysis skills required for careers in chemistry/biochemistry, or for entry into graduate or professional school through laboratory courses and independent student research either with us directly or via an external partnership.  

Assessment

  • Majors will achieve 80% or better for each quarter of CHEM 405: Integrated Chemistry Laboratory. This course emphasizes the recording and analyzing the data collected in addition to discussing the data and making correct conclusions. 

  • Majors will achieve 80% or better on their research experience in CHEM 479. (BIOL 414 is only an option for biochemistry majors, but course is outside of our departmental assessment.) 

 


Student learning outcome (SLO)

Communication Skills: This SLO involves only our majors and involves both oral and written communication skills. 

Assessment

  • Majors will achieve 80% or better on their teaching talk oral presentation in the Communicating Chemistry course sequence. (CHEM 496, 497). 
  • Majors will achieve 80% or better on their major writing assignment (currently a grant proposal) in the Communicating Chemistry course sequence. (CHEM 496, 497). 

  • Majors will achieve 80% or better for each quarter of CHEM 405: Integrated Chemistry Laboratory. This overlaps with Chemistry Laboratory-based Knowledge SLO assessment above. 

 


Student learning outcome (SLO)

Critical Thinking Skills: This SLO involves only our majors and involves both lecture-based and laboratory-based critical thinking.

Assessment

  • Assessment described above under Basic and Advanced Chemical Principles SLO above. 

  • Assessment described above under Chemistry Laboratory-based Knowledge SLO above.