Internship as Outcomes Assessment for Meeting Accreditation Requirements
Location
Natural Resource Room 109
Event Website
http://uenr.warnercnr.colostate.edu
Start Date
3-24-2012 10:45 AM
End Date
3-24-2012 11:15 AM
Description
The accrediting body for the Recreation and Park Administration Program at Arkansas Tech University (RPA) has developed new standards that go into effect in 2013. The RPA has been selected as a pilot school to test implementation of the new learning outcomes. As part of its reaccreditation process the RPA will host a visit from the accrediting body (the Council on Accreditation for Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Related Professions) in February 2012. In preparation for the visit the program has established assessment procedures to demonstrate achievement of the new standards. One key aspect of the assessment procedures is a 600 hundred work hour, 6 credit hour internship. Internship is a required course for all students graduating from the program. The capstone course is usually the last course in which students enroll. Accredited academic programs must demonstrate that students graduating from the program shall have specified knowledge, skills, and abilities. As internship comes at the end of the academic program, it provides an ideal platform to assess students as they graduate from the program to become professional park and natural resource managers. Specific assignments during the internship have been designed to address the new learning outcomes. This presentation will examine the new learning outcomes, the internship process, and internship assignments linked to the outcomes. The value of internship as an assessment tool for the RPA will be discussed. Knowledge gained by faculty supervising interns about student outcomes as a result of the assessment process will be shared.
Internship as Outcomes Assessment for Meeting Accreditation Requirements
Natural Resource Room 109
The accrediting body for the Recreation and Park Administration Program at Arkansas Tech University (RPA) has developed new standards that go into effect in 2013. The RPA has been selected as a pilot school to test implementation of the new learning outcomes. As part of its reaccreditation process the RPA will host a visit from the accrediting body (the Council on Accreditation for Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Related Professions) in February 2012. In preparation for the visit the program has established assessment procedures to demonstrate achievement of the new standards. One key aspect of the assessment procedures is a 600 hundred work hour, 6 credit hour internship. Internship is a required course for all students graduating from the program. The capstone course is usually the last course in which students enroll. Accredited academic programs must demonstrate that students graduating from the program shall have specified knowledge, skills, and abilities. As internship comes at the end of the academic program, it provides an ideal platform to assess students as they graduate from the program to become professional park and natural resource managers. Specific assignments during the internship have been designed to address the new learning outcomes. This presentation will examine the new learning outcomes, the internship process, and internship assignments linked to the outcomes. The value of internship as an assessment tool for the RPA will be discussed. Knowledge gained by faculty supervising interns about student outcomes as a result of the assessment process will be shared.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cuenr/9thBiennial/Sessions/37
Comments
Citation: Bishop, GR, Herrick, TA. 2012. Internship as Outcomes Assessment for Meeting Accreditation Requirements. UENR 9th Biennial Conference. http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cuenr/9thBiennial/Sessions/37/