Kristen L. Smith

Characteristics of Programs That Maximize Psychology Major Success

We conducted a national survey of psychology department chairs, and, based on their responses, we concluded that psychology programs differ in the number of students enrolled in various types of classes; the degree of focus on each of the goals recommended by the American Psychological Association (APA) Guidelines for an Undergraduate Psychology Education; the frequency of student participation in research, study abroad, and field placement; and the frequency of student–faculty interactions. We describe the percentage of psychology majors who have these program-relevant experiences. We also demonstrate that there are relationships between key high-impact activities and graduate school attendance, assessment test scores, and program completion rate. Based on the findings, we suggest how psychology programs may be able to help students to maximize their success.

The Importance of Implementation Fidelity Data for Evaluating Program Effectiveness

The authors explain implementation fidelity and demonstrate its impact on real–life programming.

Defining, Teaching, and Assessing Ethical Reasoning in Action

• As the need for ethical decision-making is growing, colleges and universities can and should teach ethical reasoning skills. • James Madison University defined ethical reasoning as a critical thinking strategy of asking and analyzing Eight Key Questions. • While creating academic and student affairs-based educational programs intended to teach the Eight Key Questions, assessment practitioners at the university worked with ethics content specialists to create a suite of four assessment measures. • One of the four measures developed was the Ethical Reasoning–Writing Rubric and prompt, completed by university students and rated by trained volunteer faculty. • Three years of assessment results show our students are becoming better at reasoning when making ethical decisions; more educational opportunities should continue the growth trend.