Institution: Saint Vincent College

Location: Latrobe, PA

Tuner: Tim Kelly

Year: 2014

In order to better share what the Saint Vincent College History Department has accomplished relative to the Tuning project goals, this report conveys important information, documents, and data. The History faculty have moved cooperatively, though often with grumbling and consternation, through this long-term project of making sense of what we do and studying it in a formal way so that we can improve our efforts. The AHA Tuning project came along at just the right time to inform and affirm our efforts.

This document contains the following:

1. Table 1: History Department Goals and Assessment Measures (This lays out the SVC History Department goals and the ways that we measure our success in meeting these goals.)
2. Table 2: Senior Thesis Rubric (PDF) (All faculty who teach the senior thesis use this common rubric to evaluate each student's thesis. We use the scores as a central element in measuring our success in meeting the goals identified in table 1.)
3. Table 3: Thesis Rubric aligned with Department Goals (PDF) (This links each component of the senior thesis rubric to specific department goals.)
4. Table 4: SVC History Major Portfolio description (Each history major must complete a portfolio that demonstrates mastery of a set of writing skills that faculty consider essential to success in the discipline.)
5. Table 5: SVC History Program Assessment of Program Success (This table conveys our scores for each of the departmental goals over the most recent four years for which we have data – we are still processing data for the just concluded academic year. It also includes an overall score for each year. Those scores have risen over time, perhaps because we are more directed in our teaching as a result of this assessment process.)
6. Graph 1: History Major Plans at the Moment of Graduation

Full Report (PDF)