Student Learning Goals and Assessment

Communication Studies invites students to engage in the theoretically-informed practice of communication in their personal, professional, and public lives. Students who succeed in  Communication Studies can expect to meet the following goals:

1. Presentations: Increased confidence and competence in public presentations.
2. Relationships: knowledge of the manner in which communication creates, maintains and transforms relationships, and the ability to engage in effective and productive relational communication.
3. Contexts: knowledge of the crucial role communication plays in community, professional and civic contexts, and the ability to use communication behaviors ethically and effectively in various contexts.
4. Diversity: Knowledge and respect for the role of culture and diversity in communication, and the ability to effectively communicate within and across cultures.
5. Influence: Competency in reflective construction and analysis of arguments and discourse intended to influence beliefs, attitudes, values, and practices.
6. Technology: Ability to effectively use communication technology and to critically evaluate how technology affects communication.
7. Research: Competency in systematic inquiry, including the process of asking questions, systematically attempting to answer them, and understanding the limitations of the conclusions reached.

Assessment

The Department of Communication Studies is committed to enhancing teaching and learning. The Department has developed and implemented an assessment plan to evaluate student learning and to determine the degree to which students have attained the goals of the program.

1. Daley, J., Chesebro, J., Duncan, R., Jayes, J., Levin, S., Long, L., Palmerton, P. & White-Newman, J.B. (1995, summer). Final Definition: Defining the field of communication, Symposium conducted at the meeting of the Association of Communication Administrators Summer Conference.
2. Based on Zarefsky, D. (1995). The roots of American community. The Carroll C. Arnold Distinguished Lecture. Allyn & Bacon: Boston.
3. Based on Boyer, E. (1990). Scholarship reconsidered: Priorities of the professorate. Princeton, NJ: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.