UNK Assessment: English Exit Interview

ASSESSMENT PLAN Initiated 1996-97 The Chair of the English Department will conduct oral and/or written interviews with graduating students to assess triumphs and consider weaknesses in the English major and minor programs.	1999-2000 ASSESSMENT Student response to exit interviews was poor this year, despite multiple letters sent to graduates by the Chair, both before and after graduation. No Spring 2000 graduates have responded, and only two of the Fall 1999 graduates returned completed exit interviews. One problem is that English Education majors are often student teaching during the final semester, residing elsewhere, and not returning for commencement. Another is that student workload during the final month of the semester, when exit interviews are solicited, is at its heaviest. Currently, we have neither a carrot nor a stick to entice or compel students to return these interviews. The next step is to attempt to obtain current addresses for 1999-2000 graduates from the Alumni office and resend the survey. Of the two Fall 1999 respondents, one was an English Education major & the other was an English major. Both felt that their writing and communication skills had improved in their career as a major and felt confident of their abilities in these areas for future employment. One respondent demonstrated his skill with metaphor in likening the progress in his writing skills to "building a house: Freshman comp lays the foundation, the General Studies courses provide the framework, and upper level courses are the finish carpentry." Other ways in which these students report that English coursework proved beneficial were in creating cultural awareness, greater tolerance, more openness to new ways of thinking, and well-roundedness. Suggestions regarding curriculum included more creative writing in the English Ed major, the addition of courses in editing/proofreading/tech writing, and expansion of Continental lit courses. One student singled out being involved in student research activities as an excellent experience that helped validate her work and her personal growth, and encouraged us to promote such involvement. The department’s diversity and professors’ interest in seeing students succeed received praised. Both respondents indicated a willingness to return and talk to current majors about their work experience and its relation to their major.
	1998-99 ASSESSMENT We received six exit interview responses in Spring 1999. All students gave high marks to their preparation as writers. Most expressed satisfaction with the program and curriculum. One student expressed a need for more instruction in grammar to prepare for teaching, although two others mentioned grammar as an area in which they had definitely improved; one suggestion was that a course in the teaching of grammar should be added to our curriculum. Another student expressed a need for coursework aimed at improving communication skills outside of writing. Enhanced coursework in creative writing for teaching candidates also was a concern. One area of criticism involved courses at the introductory level (101 and 102) that "too many composition teachers are using ... for their own agendas rather than teaching how to write." Another general criticism emphasized teachers’ openness to student thought and opinions.
	1997-98 ASSESSMENT The Chair again sent exit interviews to Spring 1998 graduates, but he did not hold group or personal interviews with these nine graduates since many of them were student teaching in locations outside the immediate area. Only two of these surveys were returned, making generalizations difficult. One respondent seemed mildly disgruntled with her experiences in writing, noting that improvement did not come about largely because of lack of time to engage in all steps of the writing process. She did note that her critical thinking skills have improved as a result of her courses and that she might pursue jobs in writing or management, though some jobs of interest were not related to the major. The other respondent noted that her vocabulary has increased, knowledge has grown, and thought processes have advanced as a result of her studies. She was more satisfied with her writing skills, but thought that more oral activities in front of groups might have been beneficial. Courses in multi-media education and teaching methods were singled out as most useful, the former for its challenge and the latter for preparation for teaching.
	1996-97 ASSESSMENT The Department Chair, Rob Luscher, initiated the practice of exit interviews in Spring 1997 by inviting all graduating English majors and minors to an exit interview; two sessions were held in order to accommodate the busy schedules of students during the final week of the term. Students were asked to respond in narrative fashion to a brief written questionnaire before coming to the interview. Out of fourteen graduating seniors, six attended one of the two interview sessions; five students (four of whom attended the interview) returned the written questionnaire. Response to the department's role in improving the writing and communication skills was uniformly positive: students felt that the faculty instruction challenged them to express themselves in ways that required critical and analytical thinking, as well as focus and creativity. Students cited both creative writing and literature courses as instrumental in learning about writing, as well as courses in language and the methods course. Generally, they felt well prepared for future employment given their current skills, but realized that there still might be room for growth and improvement that would be gained through work experience. Specific classes that were cited as most beneficial included: poetry (teaching form and shape of language, as well as generating excitement about literature), linguistics (teaching grammar), multimedia communication (learning to read texts besides books), "in-depth" literature classes (i.e. focused on a narrow period of topic), and the senior seminar (which demanded independent, self-motivated work). While the students were not uniform in suggestions for change to the curriculum, those in teacher education wanted an even stronger foundation in prescriptive grammar. Someone expressed a wish for more diversity of professors in courses in the major, and others felt that the choices for courses were often limited (sometimes as a result of schedule conflicts with courses in a second endorsement). Some expressed a wish to see a bit more structure in the major. The Chair elicited suggestions for ways that the department might promote itself better and encourage more interaction and camaraderie among majors. Four of the five responding to the written portion indicated a willingness to return to UNK and speak to majors concerning their career; all five indicated some interest in continuing future studies in English. Overall, students rated their experience in the department as very positive and felt that they had received a quality education from a professional, intellectual, and very helpful faculty.v