assignment 8

The next step in evaluating the recommendations is to choose specific performance measures under which the recommendations should be gauged. Examples of such actions include the number of students enrolled in the BA Mat program in the last years as compared to the current year. From the available statistics, the number of students has been dropping each year. The commencement year, 2010-2011 had 182 students, fell to 173 students in 2011-2012 to 148 students in 2012-2013 and 124 students in 2013-2014 according to the Case Study Program Overview (n.d). With the negative reviews of lack of a good course structure and the need for improvement in the transition from one unit to another, the institution's math program is viable to receiving poor enrollment statistics. The Dean and his team should also measure the recommendations according to the requirements of accreditation bodies such as the Commission on Institution of Higher Education.

After evaluating the recommendations' success against the performance measures, the Dean and his team should determine a baseline for each suggestion to categorize it as regular, average or excellent according to the success each recommendation promises. Daly, Neugebauer, Chafouleas & Skinner (2015).  For example, the overbearing suggestion by students to improve the syllabus framework so that it harmonizes the transition from one unit to another in a student-friendly way should be termed an excellent recommendation. Most students' reviews gravitate towards the inefficiency of the program outline, including the lack of relationship between the course materials an what is taught in class. On the other hand, the review on Discrete Mathematics should be rated average since a single student only mentioned it and the student did not provide additional information on why he or she thought that the unit was not appropriate for the program.

After assessing all the recommendations according to specific baseline categories, the next step is to evaluate the recommendations and comments made on the syllabus to identify the areas that need correction. The step would enable the team to make informed analysis on the performance of the program, to benchmark with its recommendations with other mathematical programs and to identify where improvements should be made. Daly et al. (2015). For instance, the proposal on improving the issuance and the directions in assignments should be taken seriously. The involved mathematics professors in the faculty and Adjunct Faculty should be encouraged to make attempts to improve how they issue assignments and how they direct their students.

Finally, the Dean should identify previous plans and assess past changes made in other mathematics programs that they would incorporate in their program for improvement. Such an evaluation would help the team measure how well the recommendations would help improve the BA MAT Program and how various steps would make changes to the already existing outline.

To foster the program for continuous improvement

The evaluation of the program's recommendations would enable the Dean, and the Mathematics Professors in the Adjunct Faculty identify the problems that have been facing the program from the students' perspective. As a result, issues such as disparity of the course outline, lack of relationship between the course materials and the course outlines, and lack of direction on how to do the assignments would prompt the involved faculties to make the necessary adjustments. McKenna & Stahl (2015). 

The Dean and his team will, therefore, research and conduct benchmarks with other highly recommended institutions that offer the program to make the course outline learner-friendly. In determining the success of the other institutions, the team members should consider the institutions that have had increasing enrollment numbers each year and the institutions that have a massive amount of positive reviews, The team should compare their course materials and the organization of their course outline with such institutions and make the necessary changes with accordance to the institution’s professors advice. According to McKenna & Stahl, the team should develop a partnership culture with the chosen institutions for student benchmarks and sharing of examination papers and course materials.

To ensure continuous evaluation of the BA MAT program, the team should continuously check the adjustments made on the program according to the accreditation bodies’ reports. To meet its goal of developing students who are unique from the others in terms of mathematical skills in the field, the team should conduct consistent analysis on the changes in the market and incorporate them in the syllabus. The advancements in statistical software, for example, should be included in the program. Konopasek, Norcini, & Krupat (2016). As a result, the students will have computer skills that are not necessarily owned students in other institutions.

Besides, to identify the required adjustments, the team should conduct consistent self-studies of the program with the students as recommended by Boone, Townsend, & Staver (2016). From the responses, they would know the areas that they should improve on. The professors should also narrow the teacher-student gap to create a rapport that would encourage students to air their concerns. The issue of assignments, for example, can be easily solved in the classroom. By sharing the lecturers' contacts such as email addresses and installing suggestion boxes in class, the Dean and his team members would easily receive the views of the students on various matters. As a result, timely adjustments would be made before things go off-hand.

Continuous improvement, changes in the institution and their response to the transitioning academic environment

The constant improvement changes will supposedly improve the kind of reviews that the students will give about the program. The students' comments about the program to other prospective students and making recommendations from them to enroll to the institution would increase the confidence that other students have on the mathematical programs provided in the institution as stated by Boone et al. (2016). As a result, the institution will have increased numbers of students who want to enroll for the program, thus increasing the enrolment statistics.

The consistent analysis of the course outline, the syllabus framework and how the secondary and primary materials related to the information taught in class would address the challenge the students face in transitioning from one unit to another and when dealing with the assignment. As a result, the students would become more independent when doing personal studies and in their research. From this change, the institution would meet its goal of providing student success and improving diversity.

The continuous assessment of the changes in the job market and the requirements of the accreditation bodies would enable the Dean and his faculty members to identify the changes that should be made in the syllabuses. For example, the current incorporation of data science analysis in the mathematical and statistical fields would enable them to gravitate the information taught in class to align with data science. As a result, the institution's mission and vision of cultivating professionalism and differentiating the institution's students with the others in the field would be met.

Finally, narrowing the gap between the lecturers and the students would increase the information-sharing channel intensity, which would increase the chances of identifying mishaps in the program. Kaufman (2019). Consequently, students would be prompted to air their concerns as early as possible. It is so devastating to learn that students have felt that the program has not been efficient all along and the Dean and the professors have never known since the program began five years prior. If the student-lecturer gap were narrow, issues such as failure to understand the assignments, lack of proper transition from one unit to another and inefficiency of the course materials would not have gone unnoticed. The team would have been able to deal with them as early as possible. Besides, the faculty would learn the changes that the students felt should be made in the program to make learner-friendly and to project students' success.

In conclusion, the evaluation of recommendations given by students is the key to identifying the weaknesses of the mathematics program. Course materials and the syllabus outline should be made learner-friendly. Also, lecturers should work to improve the rapport between them and the students. As a result, challenges in assignments and inefficiencies of the course materials would be addressed early enough.

References

Boone, W. J., Townsend, J. S., & Staver, J. R. (2016). Utilizing multifaceted Rasch measurement through FACETS to evaluate science education data sets composed of judges, respondents, and rating scale items: An exemplar utilizing the elementary science teaching analysis matrix instrument. Science Education, 100(2), 221-238.

Daly, E. J., Neugebauer, S., Chafouleas, S. M., & Skinner, C. H. (2015). Interventions for reading problems: Designing and evaluating effective strategies. Guilford Publications.

Gunawardana, A., & Shani, G. (2015). Evaluating recommender systems. In Recommender systems, handbook (pp. 265-308). Springer, Boston, MA.

Konopasek, L., Norcini, J., & Krupat, E. (2016). Focusing on the formative: building an assessment system aimed at student growth and development. Academic Medicine, 91(11), 1492-1497.

Kaufman, B. (2019). Up the down staircase. Vintage.

McKenna, M. C., & Stahl, K. A. D. (2015). Assessment for reading instruction. Guilford Publications.

Southern Hampshire University (n.d). Case Study Program Overview. James Town College.