Academic Programs

SELF-STUDY: Over the past few years the members of the Department of Psychology are have been involved in a very thorough self-study process. We, and all other academic programs do such a study at least once every ten years. One of the outcomes we have obtained from this self-study is a very detailed plan for the future growth and direction of the department. These plans were posted at this site once the preliminary phase of the self-study was completed. You may download a PDF file version of the self-study report by clicking here.

ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT LEARNING: We continue our self-study and review process by conducting detailed assessments of our core courses. During the self-study process we completed a thorough review of our objectives and practices in our PSY 100 classes, our writing intensive classes, and our capstone classes. Our efforts to enhance student learning have been recognized by Oakland University through the receipt of the Assessment Excellence Award in 2006 and by selecting our 2007 assessment report to serve as a model for other academic departments at OU. You may download a PDF file of the latest assessment report (the assessment plan is Appendix A within this report) by clicking here.

INDEPENDENT STUDY OPPORTUNITIES: During the Winter 2004 semester the members of the department completed the another set of objectives outlined in our self-study. First, we completed a thorough analysis of the practice and procedures surrounding the independent courses we offer. New guidelines pertaining to these courses have been endorsed and will go into effect during the Fall 2005 semester. A summary of these guidelines is posted on the bulletin board near the front door of Pryale Hall, or they may be downloaded by clicking here.

Also during the Winter 2004 semester we upgraded our practice of surveying recent graduates and alumni to learn their impressions of studying Psychology at OU. A summary of data obtained in this first survey can be found in the September 2004 issue of PsychMatters.

During the Fall semester of 2004, the members of the Department hope to complete the review of our objectives and practices with PSY 250, Introduction to Research Methods, and PSY 251, Statistics and Research Design. The addition of instruction in the use of SPSS in all sections of PSY 251 is a major improvement already obtained from this review process. We will turn our attention during the Fall 2004 semester to the practices and procedures employed in the 300-level content courses offered. We anticipate that a number of important modifications to these courses will soon be evident.

Page last updated on January 2, 2008, 2:13 PM.