Assessment

Academic Year 2021

• Department: Biological Sciences
• Program: Master of Biotechnology
• College: Science
• Contact Person: Sabine Rech, Ph.D., Sabine.rech@sjsu.edu
• Program Acceditation: None
• Date of Report: June 1, 2021

Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)

• PLO #1: The students will apply the five ACRL (Assoc. of College Research Librarians) standards.

  • The students formulate a research question, locate appropriate sources of information, evaluate information and its sources, summarize and synthesize information orally and in writing, apply ethical use of information. Students produce an NIH grant for evaluation of PLO1 outcomes.

    Assessment: Instructor observation of student proficiency in writing an NIH grant proposal, term papers and presentations with the use of rubrics.

• PLO #2: The students will demonstrate advanced understanding of topics at the interface of biology and business central to the biotechnology industry.

  • Assessment: Instructor observation of satisfactory performance on written projects including an NIH research grant and a written business plan. The grant is written and refined during the first year of the program and graded by the director using the writing rubric developed by the Biological Sciences department. Also in the first year, students are required to complete worksheets in 205T that integrate hands-on laboratory biotechnology science and lab management tasks through worksheets. During the second year of the program students enter their idea into the Silicon Valley Innovation Challenge organized by the School of Business. In addition, students will complete a business plan as a team which is entered in the Business Plan competition of the School of Business. The students are also required to complete an internship in the biotechnology industry. At the end of the internship their supervisor completes an evaluation using a questionnaire provided by the director of the program.

• PLO #3: The students will demonstrate their ability to efficiently work in teams.

  • Assessment: Instructor evaluation of team projects including written papers and oral presentations. Students form teams at the beginning of the first semester and each of the core courses include multiple team projects. At the end of the first semester students assess their own as well as their team members’ ability to work in teams using questionnaires provided. The director evaluates the questionnaires. Team presentations are an integral part of all courses and are evaluated by every instructor.

• PLO #4: The students will demonstrate their ability to communicate effectively, verbally and written, to convey scientific and commercial ideas.

  • Assessment: Satisfactory completion of Biol 202TA and 202TB with a grade of B or better; instructor observation of oral presentations.

    As part of the program planning, students will establish a portfolio of written assignments to allow them to assess their learning. This portfolio will include a scientific grant that is written and refined during the first year, a company analysis done as a team during the third semester and a final business plan completed during the last semester. In addition the students are required to write a final essay on their experiences during the program.

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Student Experience

Presently PLOs and ULGs are communicated to the students on the syllabi. The assessment is accessible on our website. Students are asked to write a culminating experience report (exit survey) during their last semester and the feedback presented utilized to improve the program.

Academic Year 2021

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