B.A. Goals and Assessment Methods
Acquire and demonstrate a solid foundation of knowledge in physics and/or astrophysics.
The content we expect our students to learn is detailed in the syllabi of the courses offered:
- Detailed syllabi for all courses are posted online on the department web site. These syllabi contain more detail than available in the general announcements documenting the content we expect the students to learn.
- The Curriculum committee reviews degree requirements, course offerings, and syllabi on (at least) a five-year cycle so as to ensure the content expected of our students is suitable to meet the above goal.
- The Curriculum committee reviews consistency between final exam (or other appropriate work) and course content, as listed in course syllabus, on a five year cycle
Final exams, or other sample material, from all courses are archived annually, together with average student grades for each question:
- Curriculum committee reviews sample course work from each course on a five year cycle ensuring that students are learning the content.
Can recognize the importance of science in issues affecting their everyday lives. They use scientific approaches to think critically in evaluating articles in the scientific and popular press.
In the Sophomore Modern Physics course, students are required to write an article, suitable for the general public, describing current research by a member of the Physics and Astronomy faculty. This will be reviewed for a grade by the instructor of the course and the faculty member whose research is described.
Other courses require written and oral presentations where appropriate.