Women & Gender Studies
- Mission Statment
The Women and Gender Studies Program at Weber State University is committed to the expansion and transmission of knowledge about women and gender. The program is committed to offering quality undergraduate courses and to encouraging intellectual excellence, research, and scholarship on women and gender. Women and Gender Studies is a minor course of study and a Bachelor of Integrated Studies area of emphasis.
The Women and Gender Studies Program is committed to working for educational equity and for a campus environment free of sexism, racism, classism, ethnocentrism, and other forms of discriminatory treatment.
- Student Learning Outcomes
Women & Gender Studies is devoted to the academic study of the roles, contributions, and scholarship of women. Women & Gender Studies explores issues of ethnicity (including what has been historically termed race), class, sexual preference and gender as they impact women's lives in a variety of cultural contexts. It promotes new areas of research, discovers lost contents of human history, identifies women's place in contemporary life, and encourages a sense of empowerment among students through analysis of their commonality of experience. The Women & Gender Studies minor prepares students to pursue graduate work or employment in professional and community organizations, with emphasis on critical self-reflection and responsible decision-making.
1) Students will demonstrate knowledge of foundational and contemporary research and theoretical literature in the field of Women and Gender Studies.
- Read, understand, and evaluate feminist theories and scholarship.
- Identify, compare, and evaluate culturally and historically specific constructions of gender.
- Articulate the ways in which systems of power, privilege, and oppression shape our experiences as individuals and members of communities.
2) Students will apply their knowledge of women and gender studies.
- Apply knowledge of women and gender studies by analyzing current social and political situations from those perspectives.
- Curriculum Grid
- Program and Contact Information
Women & Gender Studies is an interdisciplinary program dedicated to exploring women’s experience through their roles, contributions, and scholarship. As such, the program studies the diverse representations of women within the contexts of ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, and gender.
In the Women and Gender Studies Program, students are encouraged to think critically about women’s place in contemporary society while discovering the lost contents of women’s contributions in the past. Women and Gender Studies prepares students for employment and for graduate work through a variety of interdisciplinary courses from the Colleges of Arts and Humanities, Business and Economics, Health Professions, and Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Contact Information:
Dr. Melina Alexander
Department of Teacher Education
McKay Education Bldg, Rm 324
1351 Edvalson Street
Ogden, UT 84408
(385) 240-1526 - Assessment Plan
WGS Learning Outcomes
1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of foundational and contemporary research and theoretical literature in the field of Women and Gender Studies.
a. Read, understand, and evaluate feminist theories and scholarship.
b. Identify, compare, and evaluate culturally and historically specific constructions of gender.c. Articulate the ways in which systems of power, privilege, and oppression shape our experiences as individuals and members of communities.
2. Students will apply their knowledge of women and gender studies.· Apply knowledge of women and gender studies by analyzing current social and political situations from those perspectives.
Evidence Collected*
1a
1b
1c
2
WGS 1500
CA
CA
SA
SA
WGS 2500
CA
CA
WGS 3050
E
CA
CA
WGS 4150
E
E
WGS 4250
R
E
* Threshold = 80%
SA=signature assignment, CA=course assignment FA=final assignment, R=reflections, E = final essay
- Assessment Report Submissions
- 2021-2022
1) Review and comment on the trend of minority students enrolling in your classes (particularly lower-division, GEN Ed) and in your programs.
a. We need to have an update on our student demographics, however we continue to attract students from minoritized populations2) What support (from enrollment services, advising, first-year transition office, access & diversity, etc.) do you need to help you recruit and retain students?
a. We would like to partner with university enrollment services to find ways to encourage our students to apply for FAFSA
b. We appreciate any partnerships to continue to encourage students to enroll in our courses3) We have invited you to re-think your program assessment. What strategies are you considering? What support or help would you like?
a. Assessing a minor is difficult. We would like stand-alone minors to have easier access to all data (some dashboards have improved). For our graduating minors we would like to use portfolio assessments that highlight links between major and minor. Training on and access to portfolium could be benificial4) Finally, we are supporting our Concurrent Enrollment accreditation process. Does your program offer concurrent enrollment classes? If so, have you been able to submit the information requested from the Concurrent Enrollment office? Staff from OIE will reach out to you in the next few months to assist in finalizing that data submission as well as gather information for concurrent Gen Ed assessment.
a. The social justice focus of WGS courses prohibits CE courses.The full report is available for viewing.
- 2019-2020
The Women and Gender Studies Program conducted a 5 year program review with full self-study during the spring of 2019. Those results are presented in place of the Annual Assessment. Please reference those documents for information that includes data for the 2019/20 academic year.
- 2017
No report was submitted.
- 2016
No report was submitted.
- 2015
1) Based on your program’s assessment findings, what subsequent action will your program take?
- None based on our findings. We did submit a new program proposal, which was approved January 2016.
2) Are there assessment strategies within your department or program that you feel are particularly effective and/or innovative? If so, what are those strategies and what do you learn about your students by using them?
- Not at this point.
The full report is available for viewing.
- 2014
1) Reflecting on this year’s assessment(s), how does the evidence of student learning impact your faculty’s confidence in the program being reviewed; how does that analysis change when compared with previous assessment evidence?
- The courses we evaluated this year are different from the ones evaluated last year.
2) With whom did you share the results of the year’s assessment efforts?- With the Executive Committee and current faculty.
3) Based on your program’s assessment findings, what subsequent action will your program take?- We are proposing several program changes to the College and University Curriculum Committees with updated mission, courses and outcomes. We expect to have these new documents in place by Fall 2015.
The full report is available for viewing - 2013
1) Reflecting on this year’s assessment(s), how does the evidence of student learning impact your faculty’s confidence in the program being reviewed; how does that analysis change when compared with previous assessment evidence?
- Our students are learning what our faculty say they are teaching. For the most part, faculty will continue teaching as they have in the past.
2) With whom did you share the results of the year’s assessment efforts?
- They will be shared with Dean Harrold, Women & Gender Executive Council, Women & Gender Faculty.
3) Based on your program’s assessment findings, what subsequent action will your program take?
- We will review the requirements for the program. This is based not on the assessment’s findings but on conversations with students.
To access the full report, select this link: Women & Gender Studies 2012/13 Annual Assessment Report
- 2021-2022
- Program Review