Economics Department Fall 2015 Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) Assessment Economics 4 (Principles of Microeconomics) - Online

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1 Fbruary 2016 Eonomis Dpartmnt Fall 2015 Studnt Larning Outoms (SLOs) Assssmnt Eonomis 4 (Prinipls of Miroonomis) - Onlin Larning Outom Statmnt: In th Fall 2015 smstr th Eonomis Dpartmnt ngagd in an in-dpth xploration of th following ours-lvl studnt larning outom in Eonomis 4 (Prinipls of Miroonomis): Studnts will xamin th marginal bnfits and marginal opportunity osts of onomi disions mad by individuals, housholds, businsss, and/or govrnmnts. This ours-lvl larning outom supports th following Eonomis Dpartmnt programlvl outom: Studnts will apply marginal bnfit marginal opportunity ost analysis to onomi disions mad by individuals, housholds, businsss, and/or govrnmnts. Mans of Assssmnt and Critria: In support of th idntifid studnt larning outom, Eonomis Dpartmnt faulty dvlopd th following mans of assssmnt and ritria: An assssmnt instrumnt will b administrd to studnts nrolld in Prinipls of Miroonomis (ECON-4) stions taught by full-tim and part-tim faulty. Assssmnt will our approximatly on wk bfor final xams (approximatly Sptmbr 30 th for Fast Trak 1 stions and Novmbr 25 th for all othr stions). At th nd of ECON-4, 60% of assssd studnts will gnrat a sor of 60% or highr on th assssmnt instrumnt. In th Fall 2015 smstr, Eonomis Dpartmnt faulty idntifid fiv qustions that dmonstratd aquisition of th statd studnt larning outom. With th support of th Offi of Institutional Rsarh, th Eonomis Dpartmnt distributd a link to an onlin assssmnt form that idntifid studnt rsponss to th fiv assssmnt itms to all studnts in th ECON-4 onlin stions. A ompanion papr form was also dvlopd and mad assibl to studnts in fa-to-fa ECON-4 stions, th rsults of whih appar in a sparat rport. Consistnt with th statd mans of assssmnt, ass to th onlin assssmnt form was providd to studnts in on full-trm onlin ECON-4 stion and on Fast Trak 2 onlin ECON-4 stion by Novmbr 25 th during th Fall 2015 smstr, rahing a potntial audin of 48 studnts. In total, 10 valid assssmnt forms wr rturnd (a 20.8% rspons rat). Th rspons rat falls far short of th 95% onfidn lvl / 5% margin of rror rang typially mployd in soial sin rsarh. As suh, xtrm aution should b usd whn intrprting th rsults prsntd in this rport. 1

2 Summary of Evidn: Tabl 1 provids a frqunis distribution of th numbr of itms answrd orrtly. Th man numbr of itms answrd orrtly by studnts was 4.50, th mdian 4.50, and th mod In xamining th rang of orrt rsponss, 50.0% of studnts wr abl to idntify all (100%) of th qustions orrtly; and 100.0% wr abl to idntify four or mor of th qustions orrtly (80.0%). Tabl 1 Numbr of Qustions Answrd Corrtly By Rspondnts Post Assssmnt Numbr Prnt Cum. % All Fiv Qustions Answrd Corrtly (100.0%) Four Qustions Answrd Corrtly (80.0%) Thr Qustions Answrd Corrtly (60.0%) Two Qustions Answrd Corrtly (40.0%) On Qustion Answrd Corrtly (20.0%) No Qustions Answrd Corrtly (0.0%) Man Numbr of Itms Answrd Corrtly 4.50 As Tabl 1 indiats, vidn olltd in ECON-4 onlin stions in th Fall 2015 smstr indiats that studnts xdd th thrsholds stablishd for th statd ours-lvl larning outom (i.., 100.0% of assssd studnts wr abl to orrtly answrd at last 60% of assssmnt instrumnt itms). Additional analyss wr ondutd for ah assssmnt itm. For ah of th fiv assssmnt qustions that dmonstratd aquisition of th statd studnt larning outoms, Tabl 2 idntifis th numbr and prntag of studnts who idntifid th orrt rspons. Tabl 2 # Assssmnt Qustion Whih of th following ould b analyzd using ost bnfit 1 analysis? (orrt rspons: All of th following) You own a pizza rstaurant in Clarmont that dlivrs to Clarmont only. If you wantd to did whthr to inras th dlivry radius to inlud Upland, whih of th following 2 would b usful in your bnfit ost analysis of th situation? (orrt rspons: Th numbr of pizza rstaurants (if any) that alrady provid dlivry srvi to Upland) How an bnfit ost analysis hlp us xplain why popl ar mor likly to ovrat at all-you-an-at buffts than at rstaurants whr w pay for xtra portions? 3 (orrt rspons: Th marginal ost of additional food is zro at all-you-an-at buffts sin thy don t harg xtra for a sond hlping of food) A rational dision makr using bnfit ost analysis will tak 4 thos ations for whih th xptd marginal bnfit is: (orrt rspons: gratr than th xptd marginal ost) Corrt

3 # Assssmnt Qustion Juan, th managr of Frsh Fruit and Vggi Smoothi (a urrntly profitabl businss), is onsidring inrasing his hours of opration by staying opn 3 mor hours ah day. Juan stimats th additional osts will b $120 pr day. H 5 stimats h will gnrat an additional $100 in rvnu ah day. What dision should Juan mak if h is using bnfit ost analysis? (orrt rspons: Juan should kp his hours th sam for now) Corrt Of intrst to Eonomis Dpartmnt faulty was th distribution of inorrt rsponss to ah assssmnt qustion. Tabls 3 through 7 provid th individual rsponss to ah assssmnt qustion (orrt rsponss ar highlightd in yllow). Tabl 3 Q1 Whih of th following ould b analyzd using ost bnfit analysis? a All of th following b Should you start your own businss or work for somon ls s businss? Should w inras taxs on housholds arning mor than $250,000 pr yar? d Should I rtir at ag 55 or kp working? What should I at for lunh today? Tabl 4 You own a pizza rstaurant in Clarmont that dlivrs to Q2 Clarmont only. If you wantd to did whthr to inras th dlivry radius to inlud Upland, whih of th following would b usful in your bnfit ost analysis of th situation? a All of th following b Th yarly proprty taxs paid on your rstaurant building. Th numbr of pizza rstaurants (if any) that alrady provid dlivry srvi to Upland d Th amount you spnt 6 months ago rpairing your rfrigrator unit Th amount you paid an attorny last month for winning a ourt as involving an mploy your fird for thft who laimd wrongful trmination and sud you 3

4 Tabl 5 How an bnfit ost analysis hlp us xplain why popl ar mor Q3 likly to ovrat at all-you-an-at buffts than at rstaurants whr w pay for xtra portions? a All of th following b Th plats tnd to b largr at buffts. At all-you-an-at buffts, th food always tasts bttr, so popl at mor d Th marginal ost of additional food is zro at all you-an-at buffts sin thy don t harg xtra for a sond hlping of food Th marginal bnfit is always lss than th marginal ost for food at all-you-an at buffts Tabl 6 Q4 A rational dision makr using bnfit ost analysis will tak thos ations for whih th xptd marginal bnfit is: a gratr than th xptd marginal ost b lowr than th xptd marginal ost at its maximum possibl lvl d known with 100% rtainty qual to $100 pr day or mor Tabl 7 Juan, th managr of Frsh Fruit and Vggi Smoothi (a urrntly profitabl businss), is onsidring inrasing his hours of opration by staying opn 3 mor hours ah day. Q5 Juan stimats th additional osts will b $120 pr day. H stimats h will gnrat an additional $100 in rvnu ah day. What dision should Juan mak if h is using bnfit ost analysis? a Juan should stay opn 3 mor hours ah day b Juan should kp his hours th sam for now Juan should go out of businss sin h is losing mony d Juan should add sandwihs and salads to th mnu Juan should sll his businss to somon with mor xprin Us of Rsults for Planning: As Tabl 2 indiats, all of th fiv assssmnt itms wr orrtly idntifid by gratr than 60% of Eonomis 4 studnts. In rgard to qustions #2, #3, and #5, Eonomis Dpartmnt faulty may want to onsidr: a) whthr qustion rspons options suffiintly hallng studnts to rflt aquisition of th larning outoms; and/or b) xamining othr ours-lvl larning outoms if futur assssmnts suggst that th urrntly idntifid larning outom ritria has bn mt. Continuous Improvmnt: Eonomis Dpartmnt faulty initiatd formal assssmnt of program- and ours-lvl larning outoms in th Fall 2010 smstr. Aftr disussing larning outoms findings at thir August 2011 dpartmnt mting, Eonomis Dpartmnt faulty dvlopd nw program- and ours-lvl larning outoms to assss starting in th Fall 2011 smstr. 4

5 Assssmnt of ths larning outoms ontinud through th Spring 2013 smstr. Eonomi Dpartmnt faulty r-xamind larning outoms and assoiatd mans of assssmnt at thir Fall 2013 dpartmntal flx mting and dvlopd nw larning outoms and assssmnt qustions, whih ran through two yls prior to assssmnt itms bing updatd for Fall Aftr two xaminations of th findings rlatd to ths rvisd qustions, th Eonomis Dpartmnt ltd to xamin a diffrnt studnt larning outom for ECON-4 bginning in th Fall 2015 smstr. Th urrnt rsarh brif rports th first xamination of findings rlatd to this nwly xamind SLO. Th Eonomis Dpartmnt larning outoms assssmnt pross mts th sustainabl ontinuous quality improvmnt ritria stablishd by th Arditing Commission for Community and Junior Collgs (ACCJC), namly: Studnt larning outoms and assssmnt ar ongoing, systmati and usd for ontinuous quality improvmnt. Dialogu about studnt larning is ongoing, prvasiv and robust. Evaluation of studnt larning outoms prosss ours. Studnt larning improvmnt is a visibl priority in all pratis and struturs. Larning outoms ar spifially linkd to program rviw. 5