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D. I. SKONBERG, Dept. of Food Science & Human Nutrition, Univ. of Maine, 5735 Hitchner Hall, Orono, ME 04469-5735 The process of initiating a new department-wide program of assessment can be a daunting and seemingly overwhelming task, particularly for smaller Food Science programs. As part of this process, the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Maine has recently begun a self-evaluation of our curriculum and overall educational mission. The motivation for this assessment was twofold: 1) to help us address the new IFT Education Standards, and 2) to assist us in the development of a Strategic Plan for education. A faculty retreat was held to reflect on our department as a whole. A facilitator guided the faculty in considering the strengths, weaknesses, and potential goals for our programs. Our strengths include having a very student-centered undergraduate program, a positive learning environment, respect for students and their development, high quality teaching, and a large amount of student contact through advising and mentoring. Our major weakness is the lack of a thoughtfully coordinated curriculum with a formalized plan for outcomes assessment. Thus far, learning assessment and curriculum revision have been left up to each individual faculty member and have not been coordinated in a holistic way by the department. Although progress has been slow, a teaching subcommittee has been established and meets regularly to work on the development of a strategic plan for education and outcomes assessment. As suggested at previous IFT education symposia, we are starting small in setting up a formal outcomes assessment plan. The IFT Success Skills competencies of critical thinking, interaction skills, and communication skills will be our initial focus. This session will address our steps forward and the major promoters and roadblocks to success.
Session 21, Assessment continued
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