Housed in the Sociocultural Studies Department, Political Science promotes student success, completion and transfer. Political Science seeks to create lifelong learners who understand and appreciate the significance of politics and government, as well as civic engagement.
The Political Science program creates a transfer pathway for students who plan to complete a four-year degree at a California State University. Upon completion of an AA-T degree in Political Science, students will possess the requisite foundational knowledge as well as the practical skills necessary for subsequent completion of the baccalaureate degree. Upon successful completion of the Political Science program, the student will be able to: 1. Identify major aspects of governmental systems of the United States, for individual states (especially California), and compare governmental systems on a global basis. 2. Place various governmental systems within a developmental/historical framework. Methods of description, analysis, and theory will also be important factors for students who select Political Science as their major. The AA-T degree in Political Science is a recent development, listed for the first time in the 2013-2014 catalog. Three students have graduated from this program as of Fall 2015, but there are currently 65 majors and the program continues to grow introduced to students. The courses that comprise the AA-T degree are also for Butte and transfer General Education. With almost sixty sections offered each school year, Political Science serves a significant number of students and meets an array of important General Education and transfer requirements. Political Science is one of five disciplines that comprise the Sociocultural Studies Department. Currently, there are two full-time faculty in the discipline, and nine associate faculty. In Spring 2016, a little over sixty-five percent of courses offered in Political Science are taught by associate faculty.
From recent "deep-dive" SLO assessment activities, Political Science faculty have identified two areas of focus to improve student learning:
- One recommendation is that POS 12 instructors highlight main concepts, like federalism, throughout the semester, even if the textbook does not. This is something that is already done, but could be improved upon. An agreed upon method for doing this, is to use the newspaper and current events. Another important step seems to be revising the POS 12 SLOs, so that faculty feel they accurately reflect the content of the course.
- An important POS 2 course outcome for students is, "analyze how to effectively participate in politics at the national, state, county and/or city levels." The faculty are excited about Chico State's Town Hall Meeting event, and how well this supports students in achieving this outcome. A planned improvement is to make participation in this event more consistent, and to also try to create more events where students are able to discuss their research with policy actors more available on the Butte College campus.
|
|
|
|
College |
|
|
Program |
|
|
Indicator |
Source |
2013-2014 Performance |
Standard |
Five Year Goal |
Fall 2014 Performance |
Standard |
Five Year Goal |
|
Course Success |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Overall |
PDR |
71.1% |
70% |
73% |
|
|
|
|
- Transfer/GE |
PDR |
71.5% |
|
73% |
69.1% |
67% |
72% |
|
- CTE |
PDR |
75% |
|
77% |
|
|
|
|
- Basic Skills |
PDR |
51.7% |
|
55% |
|
|
|
|
- Distance Ed (all) |
PDR |
62.5% |
|
64% |
|
|
|
|
Persistence (Focused). Note: The Persistence (Focused) that is included in the PDR is a different indicator than the three-primary term persistence indicator, from the state Student Success Scorecard, that is used to measure institutional persistence. The Focused Persistence indicator measures the percentage of students that took a second course in a discipline within one year. There is no relationship between the college and program standards in this area. |
PDR |
72.6% (Three-Term) Scorecard |
67% (Three-Term) Scorecard |
75% (Three-Term) Scorecard |
10.1% |
9% |
12% |
|
Degrees |
PDR |
1,455 |
|
1,600 |
3 |
3 |
10 |
|
Certificates |
PDR |
366 |
|
475 |
|
|
|
|
Developmental Strand Completion |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- English |
State |
42% |
35% |
45% |
|
|
|
|
- Math |
State |
30.7% |
25% |
33% |
|
|
|
|
- ESL |
State |
25% |
|
28% |
|
|
|
|
Licensure Pass Rates |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Registered Nursing |
SC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Licensed Vocational Nursing |
SC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Respiratory Therapy |
SC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Paramedic |
SC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Cosmetology |
SC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Welding |
SC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Job Placement Rates |
PIV |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current efforts in the Political Science program are classroom centered. Committed to excellence in the teaching of rich and rigorous course content, discipline faculty play a key role in supporting the college to meet this Strategic Direction:
Ensuring that programs provide students with intellectual and analytical skills to effectively contribute to society. (1.c.3)
To support these classroom efforts, in conjunction with ANTH, GEOG, and HIST faculty, instructors in Political Science participated in the first two Sociocultural Studies Department Forums. The first forum was held in Spring 2015, and included presentations on Reading Strategies, Helping International Students Succeed, and Tried-and-Test Teaching Ideas. Held in Fall 2015, the second forum included presentations on Helping Student Athletes Succeed, No/Low Cost Textbooks, and Tried-and-Tested Teaching Ideas. Forum topics are "just-in-time" -- meant to help instructors with recent and/or ongoing teaching challenges. The next forum is scheduled for Fall 2016. The SCS Department Forum supports the college mission to meet this Strategic Direction:
Providing just-in-time and scheduled Professional Development opportunities. (2.b.1)
Finally, participation by our Political Science faculty and students in Chico State's Town Hall Meeting event aligns with these elements of the College's Strategic Direction:
Creating a culture of meaningful interactions with students. (2.a.1)
Engaging students in campus life (e.g. student government, participatory
governance, activities, clubs, and committee service). (2.a.2)Part of the first-year Political Science course on American Government, the Town Hall
Meeting occurs in both fall and spring and “provides students with a public arena for
discussing current policy issues with other students, faculty, administrators, and
community members.”
Political Science completed its most recent Program Review in May 2012. The Validation Team provided three Recommendations. Below is an abbreviated version of the Recommendations, with comments.
- Recommends a full-time faculty hire. *** Cynthia Bynoe was hired as a full-time instructor in the discipline, starting in Fall 2013.
- Recommends a dedicated classroom for the Political Science program, preferably in the LRC building or in LB 105. *** Political Science now has priority scheduling in LB 106. However, the room has limitations. It is small, and difficult to use with a full class. The room was twice its size when it was first designated as a POS classroom. Since then, however, it was cut in half to make room for workspace for the Technology Center. Additionally, it is difficult for students to hear in that room, and students in the back two rows cannot see the bottom of the screen.
- Look into the transferability and/or articulation of POS 12 to the UC. *** Still to be addressed.
1. Refine and update existing curriculum to better align with the C-ID and needs of transfer students.
2. Indentify majors through events, mentioned previously, and research.
3. Continuing to develop events on and off campus to generate awareness about the program. For example, strengthen ties with Associated Students and support the PALAC (Political Advocacy and Legislative Affairs Club).
Strategy 1 - Program Promotion and Tracking
Now that Political Science is a degree program, identify and implement processes for promoting, tracking, evaluating and generally stewarding the program.
The new associate degrees for transfer award students an associate degree and prepare them for special benefits/guarantees upon transfer to CSU. To maximize student completion and success, the new degree programs must be thoughtfully stewarded in terms of program learning outcomes, supporting curriculum, and scheduling of courses. Students must also be made aware of the existence of the degrees, the potential benefits upon transfer, career prospects, and how best to move through our programs. The following is a list of promotion strategies:
Strategy 2 - Curriculum and Related Professional Development
Create new courses as needed and encourage professional development and collaboration among faculty to support new and existing courses.
Political Science will create new courses as needed and work to revise and update existing courses with C-ID alignment and alignment to CSU transfer insitutions. Political Scinece will continue to encourage professional development and collaboration among faculty to support new and existing courses. Faculty are encouraged to develop and teach courses that are deemed necessary for students to achieve Program Learning Outcomes and/or General Education Learning Outcomes, and to assess courses and make changes based on student performance relative to stated learning outcomes.
Political Science would like to have a designated classroom in the LRC building. The library basement room is a very difficult room to use with a full class, especially now that the classroom has been reduced by half. Our classes are often full, on the main campus, and students are cramped. The classroom makes it very difficult to apply innovative teaching methods because students have no room to move. Students often complain that they are not able to hear or see. It is not possible to use the PowerPoint in slideshow mode because students in the back two rows are unable to see the bottom of the screen. The lighting is also a major problem when the class is full (40 or more students). The active full-time faculty member has brought this to the attention of the department, and has requested a meeting with facilities to work on solutions for the lighting concerns.
The Butte College General Fund is the sole source of financial support for the Political Science discipline. The annual budget allocation is $1617.