Funeral Services Administration Program School of Science, Health, and Criminal Justice Fall 2015 Assessment Report Program Director: Dr. David R. Penepent PhD, CFSP Date of Presentation: January 15, 2016

What was assessed? Student learning outcomes list: SLO # 1. Technical Skills -The student will demonstrate proficiency in technical aspects of embalming and restoration. SLO # 2. Documentation - The student will demonstrate the ability to complete funeral documents accurately in compliance with State and Federal regulations. SLO # 3. Critical Thinking - The student will utilize critical thinking skills to address the complexities of funeral arrangements, embalming analysis, and management of a small business. SLO # 4. Ethics - The student will distinguish between ethical and unethical performance in the funeral service setting. SLO #5. Customs and Ceremonies - The student will demonstrate an awareness of specific cultural, psychological, and religious aspects of funeral customs and ceremonies.

  FSAD 111 FSAD 121 FSAD 129 211 FSAD 214 FSAD 225 307 FSAD 308 322 323 401 406 420 440 445 SLO 1 I & P P M SLO 2 I SLO 3 SLO 4 SLO 5 KEY: I = Introductory: New concepts are introduced at a historical and/or theoretical level. P = Practice: The concepts and theories are expanded upon through application in real case scenarios or situations. M = Mastery: The student is able to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information as it applies to various settings within the funeral industry.

Student work assessed: Midterm and final exam short answer questions Calculations exams Portfolios Research papers Measurement strategy: rubrics used for portfolios, research papers % of questions answered correctly on calculations exam and midterm/final exams Sample size: All students in the FSAD Major

Technical Aspect SLO 1 - Technical Aspect: Demonstrate proficiency in technical aspects of embalming and restoration. Measures Not Met Met Exceeded No Findings N % All Courses 14 3 21% 1 7% 0% 10 71% FSAD 129 Not Taught in Fall 2015 FSAD 323 100% FSAD 440 FSAD 445

Funeral Service Documentation SLO 2 - Funeral Service Documentation: Demonstrate the ability to complete funeral documents accurately in compliance with State and Federal Regulations. Measures Not Met Met Exceeded Unspecified No Findings N % All Courses 16 8 50% 4 25% 2 13% 1 6% FSAD 129 Not Taught in Fall 2015 FSAD 214 5 40% 20% 0% FSAD 225 FSAD 323 FSAD 401 3 33% FSAD 440 FSAD 445 100%

Critical Thinking Skills SLO 3 - Critical Thinking Skills: Utilize critical thinking skills to address the complexities of funeral arrangements, embalming analysis, and management of a small business. Measures Not Met Met Exceeded N % All Courses 15 9 60% 4 27% 2 13% FSAD 214 50% 1 25% FSAD 225 Not Taught in Fall 2015 FSAD 308 3 0% 67% 33% FSAD 420 100% FSAD 440 FSAD 445

Ethics SLO 4 - Ethics: Distinguish between ethical and unethical performance in the funeral service setting. Measures Not Met Met Exceeded Unspecified N % All Courses 11 5 45% 0% 1 9% FSAD 129 Not Taught in Fall 2015 FSAD 211 100% FSAD 214 FSAD 225 FSAD 321 FSAD 322 FSAD 401 20% 3 60% FSAD 420 2 FSAD 445

Funeral Customs SLO 5 - Funeral Customs: Demonstrate an awareness of specific cultural, psychological, and religious aspects of funeral customs and ceremonies. Measures Not Met Met Exceeded N % All Courses 9 8 89% 1 11% 0% FSAD 111 6 5 83% 17% FSAD 129 Not Taught in Fall 2015 FSAD 445 3 100%

Assessment results: Main Evaluation of the Results: Some of the assessment expectations were unrealistic and not the best use of an even distribution of the grading scale. In 2016, some of the course assessment plans needs to be rewritten to demonstrate a more realistic student outcomes. SLO 1: Technical Aspect: Demonstrate proficiency in technical aspects of embalming and restoration. FSAD 323 Restorative Art Students struggled most on successfully completing their facial models in a timely manner even though they were given 7 weeks for the assignment. FSAD 445 Mortuary Compliance Some students struggled with applying theoretical concepts of embalming and restoration to scenarios.

Assessment Results: SLO 2: Funeral Service Documentation: Demonstrate the ability to complete funeral documents accurately in compliance with State and Federal Regulations. FSAD 401: Funeral Service Law Not enough time was spent on funeral home documentation and the laws that govern the funeral practice. Students scored poorly on general Business law questions FSAD 440: Internship Students scored lower on their Preceptor evaluation in areas of documentation. SLO 3 - Critical Thinking Skills: Utilize critical thinking skills to address the complexities of funeral arrangements, embalming analysis, and management of a small business. FSAD 420 Current Issues in Funeral Services Some students had difficulty comparing and contrasting current issues in funeral service to their personal experiences

Assessment Results SLO 4 - Ethics: Distinguish between ethical and unethical performance in the funeral service setting. FSAD 401 Mortuary Law Some students had difficulty understanding the various ethical theories SLO 5 - Funeral Customs: Demonstrate an awareness of specific cultural, psychological, and religious aspects of funeral customs and ceremonies. FSAD 111 Study of Funerals Students struggled with medieval funeral customs

Data-driven decisions: How FSAD has or plans to “close the loop” based on these results. FSAD 401 Funeral Service Law The problem with this course is that too much information is presented during the semester. Both Business Law and Funeral Service Law is taught in this course. To resolve this problem the following actions were taken Eliminated the Ivy Software program as a tool in this class Changed the Check Sheet requirements; Eliminated BSAD 200 Business Communications and replaced it with BSAD 201 Business Law. Redesigned the FSAD 401 Funeral Service Law course to have a greater concentration on State, Federal and local mortuary laws

Data-driven decisions: How FSAD has or plans to “close the loop” based on these results FSAD 111 – Study of Funerals Implement additional learning material to improve SLO on the medieval funeral customs material

Data-driven decisions: How FSAD has or plans to “close the loop” based on these results. In all FSAD courses, implement a standardized grading scale: Grading Scale: A = 90% – 100% C+ = 75% – 79% D = 60% – 64% B+ = 85% – 89% C = 70% – 74% F = 59% or lower B = 80% – 84% D+ = 65% – 69% If the student scores below a C in any FSAD course, the course must be repeated. FSAD 322 Restorative Art Create a weekly grading rubric that assesses the student’s progress on model head development.

What resources are needed to close the loop? NONE