Student Learning Outcomes & Objectives

Assessment Plan, Data, Analysis, & Programmatic Response

Assessment plan (pdf; 17 pages; 93 KB) approved by the Biological Sciences Department faculty - May 24, 2007
Assessment materials for the years 2007-2008 through 2011-12 are available in their respective status reports found on the Status Report page
Programmatic response to the 2008-09 assessment results and analysis (pdf; 2 pages; 13 KB)
Response to 2008 external review comments (pdf; 2 pages; 20 KB) - January 16, 2008
2001 External review comments (pdf; 4 pages; 19 KB) - June 6, 2007

Student Learning Objectives and Assessment

At the completion of the Masters of Science degree in the Biological Sciences Department, a graduate will have acquired:

A broad background in general areas of biology, as well as a more specific understanding of selected topics pertaining to their research interests.
The skills to conduct original scientific research.

Graduate students will gain specific skills and knowledge in the following areas:

Learning Objectives	Assessment
Demonstrate knowledge in areas of biology relevant to selected research interests.	Students complete written examinations, research projects, and lab practica.
Identify research questions on a contemporary issue in biology, and critically analyze the relevant literature.	Preparation and presentation of an oral thesis research proposal, and approval of the proposal by the Thesis Committee.
Develop specific hypotheses pertaining to a research problem.	Preparation and oral defense of a written thesis.
Devise and conduct experiments to test hypotheses.	Preparation and oral defense of a written thesis.
Demonstrate mastery of the methodology and techniques specific to the field of study.	Preparation and oral defense of a written thesis.
Statistically analyze and interpret research data.	Preparation and oral defense of a written thesis.
Discuss, both orally and in writing, the relevance of their research data to the original hypotheses and to the general field of interest.	Preparation and oral defense of a written thesis.

Much of the above is the original work of the Department of Biology, University of San Francisco, and is used here with the kind permission of the Department Chair (May 15, 2006).

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Spurilla neapolitana is a pantropical species, found in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, eastern Pacific and Hawaii. Recent molecular work at Valdés lab suggests that it may constitute a complex of distinct species.

A fluorescent image of a live mammalian nerve-muscle preparation stained with FM1-43 and fluorescein-tagged α-bungarotoxin, provided by the Voss laboratory in the Biological Sciences Department. The figure illustrates a brightly stained nerve (vertical structure) branching to form contacts with skeletal muscle fibers (horizontal structures). The brightest structures are the points of contact between the nerve and muscle fibers (neuromuscular junctions). Each muscle fiber is approximately 20 - 30 µm in diameter.

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Learning and Assessment