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Please
contact the Chair of the Department’s Assessment Committee,
Charles Varano at cvarano@csus.edu,
for more details. Only a few highlights are described below.
What are the perceptions of graduating seniors regarding
the extent to which the department's learning goals have been
attained?
Graduating seniors overwhelmingly believe that all of the department's
learning goals were somewhat or significantly attained. The
learning goals of "understanding social reality and society"
(98%); "knowledge about basic concepts" (98%); "understanding
how institutions like the family, education, and the economy
are interrelated" (98%); "understanding the significance
of variations by race, social class, gender, and age" (98%);
"ability to think critically about social events and to
present opposing viewpoints and alternative hypotheses on various
social issues" (96%); "research and statistical skills
for evaluating and gathering evidence about social life and
social relations" (98%); "knowledge about how the
self develops sociologically rather than psychologically (95%)
and "understanding the internal diversity of American society"
(88%) were the most significantly attained. The only learning
goals that was less significantly attained were "understanding
the place of American society in the international and global
world" (61%) and "basic computer skills necessary
to find, communicate, create and apply sociological knowledge
and information" (83%).
Graduating seniors strongly believe that the sociology major
helped them to increase their basic and general education skills.
Over three-fourths believe that their skills in reading, writing,
statistics, critical thinking, computer use, interpersonal and
people management skills, and data analysis were to a great
or to some extent helped by being a sociology major. Strongest
support (to a great or to some extent) was given to the basic
skills of writing (91%), reading, (82%) critical thinking (98%)
and data analysis (87%). Thus graduating seniors believe that
courses in sociology helped them to think more critically and
to improve their ability to read, write and perform data analysis.
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