Philosophy Program

Faculty and Courses Carlos Colombetti (full time) Anton Zoughbie (part time) Three courses are offered every semester: Introduction to Philosophy Critical Thinking Ethics Five courses are rotated. Three are currently banked.

Courses Humanities: IDEAS AND VALUESCritical thinking: METHOD / LOGIC PHIL 100: Introduction to Philosophy PHIL 160: History of Philosophy – Ancient PHIL 240: Ethics PHIL 280: Political Philosophy (PLSC cross-listed) PHIL 300: World Religions PHIL 312: Philosophy of Religion Banked Courses PHIL 175: History of Philosophy – Modern PHIL 195: History of Philosophy – Contemporary PHIL 320: Asian Philosophy PHIL 103: Critical Thinking PHIL 200: Symbolic Logic PHIL 103 is also offered as a hybrid/online course

Student-focused Goals of the Program 1. inspire interest in core philosophical questions that are foundational to the sciences and humanities 2. offer a range of courses that teach students to think critically about philosophical themes 3. instruct students in the methods of evaluating arguments and theories 4. acquaint students with the diverse human cultural and intellectual heritage 5. prepare students to transfer successfully by maintaining rigorous academic standards 6. encourage students to become lifelong learners and responsible citizens of a democratic society

Program Student Learning Outcomes PSLO 1: Demonstrate familiarity with the history of philosophical thought and contemporary currents in the discipline. PSLO 2: Assess influential claims and theories in the philosophical tradition using rigorous methods of critical thinking and logic. PSLO 3: Compose a reasoned essay that responds to a philosophical problem or that applies a philosophical theory to a contemporary issue.

Effectiveness: SLOs Overall, assessment of SLOs indicate successful results: Four courses that map onto PSLO 1 were assessed and all show successful results. Five courses that map onto PSLO 2 were assessed and all show successful results; however, one assessment (PHIL 200-Symbolic Logic SLO #3) shows as "barely passing." Five courses that map onto PSLO 3 were assessed and all show successful results. Students have performed relatively well in this area (writing essays), though there is room for improvement.

Notable Aspects of Program The program reflects the analytic tradition in philosophy that places a premium on clarity of prose and good argument. Our students learn how to analyze and evaluate controversial claims and theories using the standards and methods of logic. The program keeps up with developments in the discipline to ensure that course content remains current and rigorous. The Philosophy Program participates in the Honors Transfer Program by offering one or two honors sections per year. Our honors sections incorporate a high level of student participation in the form of student-led seminars. Our Critical Thinking (PHIL 103) and Symbolic Logic (PHIL 200) courses train students in advanced and state-of-the-art methods of critical analysis. What students learn in these philosophy courses has application to any discipline that aims to justify its claims (e.g., the natural and social sciences).

Data on Program Efficiency FTEF FTES WSCH LOAD Fall , Spr , Fall , Spr , Fall , Spr , The LOAD for the Philosophy Program has consistently been above 640 (and reached a high of 836 in the Fall of 2009). This is consistently higher than the College, but comparable to other programs in the SS/CA Division. Our best enrolled course, not surprisingly, is PHIL 100 (Introduction to Philosophy). The highest LOAD for this course was 948 (Fall '08). PHIL 103 (Critical Thinking) is a close second, with a peak LOAD of 922 (Fall '10).

Summary of Program Demographics The ethnic distribution is very close to the college as a whole; the program has slightly more males than females (50/48) in comparison to the college (46/52). One notable difference in the demographics is the age distribution: 75% of philosophy students are years of age (53% college), and only 5% are (12% college). The program has a relatively young population of students. 69% of students enrolled in the program are continuing students. 76% of students enrolled in the program intend to transfer. The ratio of day to evening students in the program is 62 to 37.

Summary of Data on Student Success The 5-year average for the Philosophy Program are 64% success and 81% retention. This pattern is similar to that of other programs in the social sciences. Program rates are slightly lower than the college average of 69% and 84%. Success rate for females is slightly higher than for males. Student populations with under-performing success rates (5-years) that are below the average of 64% for the department: African Am: 45% +/- 15% (with about 20 students per year), Filipino: 61% +/- 10% (with about 140 students per year), Hispanic: 59% +/- 6% (with about 115 students per year). These rates are similar to several comparable programs in the social sciences.

Needed modifications Faculty Hire: Our course in Asian Philosophy (PHIL 320) has been dormant for the past three years due to the difficulty of finding a qualified specialist to teach it. We will need to hire an instructor for this course. This is crucial to maintaining the program's commitment to a globally-oriented curriculum. Ideally, we would hire a full-time instructor (who might also be able to teach courses in the History of Philosophy sequence). Distance Education: We recently shifted our hybrid section of Critical Thinking (PHIL 103) to the WebAccess platform. The program should continue to enhance its digital modes of instructional delivery.

Needed Improvements Student Success: The program should continue to look for new strategies to improve student success while maintaining high academic standards. Examples of approaches that have recently been implemented, and that we will continue to experiment with, include but are not limited to: 1. outreach to individual students who might perform better through personal interaction with faculty. 2. use WebAccess to deliver supplementary materials that target specific topics or skills where students are having difficulty. 3. review materials for our most enrolled course (PHIL 100) for relevance, inclusion, accessibility. 4. more consistent use of "early warning" as well as referrals to counseling/support services. Many of our students could perhaps also benefit from a more structured curriculum and individualized academic plans. The Philosophy Program can contribute the this broader institutional effort by making the courses themselves more structured (including more frequent testing and assignments).

Use of WebAccess - examples Video tutorial for Venn Diagrams (Critical Thinking / Logic) Video mini-lecture by text author – Elliott Sober (Introduction to Philosophy)

Plan of Action 1. Faculty hire to teach PHIL 320 (Asian Philosophy). De-bank this course at the earliest opportunity. 2. The next courses to be assessed are PHIL 200 (Logic) and PHIL 240 (Ethics - honors). In Fall 2014 we will asses PHIL 103 (Critical Thinking) and PHIL 312 (Philosophy of Religion). In the case of PHIL 200 (Logic), which had a "barely passing" assessment for SLO #3, changes are already underway and the same SLO will be assessed again later this semester. We are experimenting with a hands-on workshop format (similar to a "flipped classroom") for the tasks associated with this student learning outcome (constructing proofs of arguments and theorems). 3.Implement the “needed improvements” as noted above.

Philosophy Program