Philosophy Program

Overview  FACULTY oCarlos Colombetti oAnton Zoughbie oEd Kaitz  COURSES oIntro to Philosophy oCritical Thinking oLogic oEthics oPolitical Philosophy oAsian Philosophy oPhilosophy of Religion oWorld Religions oHistory of Philosophy (3)

Student Focused Goals  Ability to think critically and analytically.  Apply methods of philosophy to core problems.  Relate core problems to their personal beliefs.  Knowledge of human intellectual heritage.  Express ideas in writing.  Successful transfer.  Become lifelong learners and responsible citizens.

"The aim of philosophy is to understand how things in the broadest possible sense of the term hang together in the broadest possible sense of the term.“ Wilfrid Sellars ( )

Notable Aspects of Program  Variety of courses  Innovative and current content  Subject matter linked to other disciplines  Emphasis on critical thinking and argument analysis  Philosophy Club

Sample of Content Phil 100: Introduction to Philosophy  Basic issues and ideas in historical context.  The logic of philosophical arguments.  How they relate to the content of modern sciences (cosmology, psychology, evolutionary biology).

Sample of Content Phil 240H: Ethics - Honors

Sample of Content Phil 320: Asian Philosophy

Sample of Content Phil 200Phil 103 Symbolic LogicCritical Thinking

Sample of Student Learning Outcomes  PHIL 103: Critical Thinking At the end of the course, the student is able to compose a novel, interesting, and logically correct argument that avoids fallacies. The student is also able to represent the logical structure of the argument, as well as express the argument as a short essay. This SLO is assessed by a “capstone” project.

Sample of Student Learning Outcomes  PHIL 112: Philosophy of Religion Ability to evaluate claims and arguments in the philosophy of religion (concerning God, miracles, Intelligent Design, etc.) using the rigorous deductive and inductive techniques of critical thinking.

Sample of Student Learning Outcomes  PHIL 200: Symbolic Logic Ability to construct proofs for valid arguments in propositional and predicate logic (or show that an argument is invalid) using a system of natural deduction or other appropriate techniques (truth tables, Venn diagrams, etc.)

Sample of Student Learning Outcomes  PHIL 280: Political Philosophy Ability to apply abstract political theory to concrete issues—such as distributive justice, punitive justice, social inequality, civil liberties, poverty, the use of military force, etc.—using the techniques of critical thinking.

Sample of Student Learning Outcomes  PHIL 300: World Religions Ability to interpret the rituals, practices, art, and writing of a religious tradition—using the methods of scholarship and historical criticism—in order to ascertain their function or meaning.

Enrollment  Enrollment in Philosophy courses is strong and stable, and has increased since last review.  PHIL 100, 103, 240 draw highest numbers.  Low-enrolled courses are rotated.  Enrollment data for ethnicity, but not for gender, match the college norms.

Data Summary (previous 3 Fall semesters) WSCH Load Retention74%79%77% Success54%61%59%

Modification of the Program  All course outlines updated with SLOS.  PHIL 109 (Critical Thinking and Writing) has been dropped.  PHIL 200 (Logic) – changed advisory; modified content.  PHIL 103 OL (long distance learning).  PHIL 103 and 200: lab hours by arrangement.

Future expansion and improvements  Three new courses (to be introduced over the next two years).  We will work out a new schedule for rotating courses.  We need to improve retention and success (Action Plan below).  Make more use of instructional technology (DLP projectors for graphics and video clips)  No further expansion of curriculum for the near future.

Action Plan  Use the SLOAC process to assess student learning outcomes (Appendix B).  Make needed modifications based on assessment (to SLOS, assignments, methods of instruction, content, etc., as suggested by assessment data).  Investigate effectiveness of advisories through the Research Office.  Offer more writing workshops through the Writing Lab.  Recruit student tutors for course courses (and encourage student utilization of Learning Center).

Guiding Principles Maintain academic standards that reflect degree-level and course-level SLOS. Provide conditions that facilitate the pursuit of academic goals.

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