ALANA/Ethnic Studies Assessment

University of Vermont
By Donald A. Grinde, Jr.,
Director, ALANA Studies and Professor of History

Introduction
Early in the Fall Semester of 1997, the Director and the Faculty of African American, Latino, Asian American, Native American (ALANA) Studies elected to undertake a self study in the form of a questionnaire to assess the impact of the program on students within the Arts and Sciences College. When the faculty had finished its deliberations over the nature of the self study, both Joan Smith, Dean, and Donna Kuizenga, Associate Dean, made comments on the wording and structure of the questions. The program appreciates the aid and encouragement that came from the Dean's office.

Purposes of the Questionnaire
The resulting questionnaire was used to comprehend:
1) the reasons students take ALANA Studies courses
2) the impact that ALANA Studies courses had on increasing students' understanding about U.S. race and ethnicity issues.

High Approval Rates For Both ALANA and Non-ALANA Faculty
In general, the survey clearly and unequivocally demonstrates that the ALANA Studies faculty is doing an excellent job and the students highly approve of the ALANA Studies classes in which they are enrolled (see appendix for the statistical sample and aggregate data obtained from questionnaire). 53% of the ALANA Studies courses in the sample were taught by faculty of color. Faculty of color and white faculty approval rates were virtually the same. Students seemed to appreciate the varying viewpoints and the mix of white faculty and faculty of color in ALANA Studies courses.

Most Students Satisfy Race and Ethnicity Reuirement in 0-99 ALANA Courses
58.2% (156) of all students taking an ALANA Studies course to satisfy an Arts and Science college race and ethnicity requirement were in Sociology 19 (U.S. Race Relations). 13.8% (36) of the students seeking to satisfy the Arts and Science race and ethnicity requirement were in other 0-99 level ALANA Studies courses. The remaining students (38% or 82) satisfying the Arts and Sciences race and ethnicity requirement were in above 100 level ALANA Studies courses. Thus, about two thirds of the students satisfying the Arts and Sciences race and ethnicity requirement either take Sociology 19 or another 0-99 level course in another ALANA related department. Since another course used to satisfy the Arts and Science race and ethnicity requirement (ALANA Studies 55 -Racism in American Culture) was not offered in the Fall semester, the survey was not able to gauge the impact of that course.

Half of the students surveyed take courses to satisfy requirement and the other half are pursuing their own interests.
Overall, students taking ALANA Studies courses were almost evenly split between those that were enrolled to satisfy a college requirement and those that were not. We find this to be a healthy pattern since it means that students were as likely to come to these classes because of their interests as they were because they were prescribed. Having students in classes that have a good mixture of those that elected to be there and those that were there because of a requirement engenders a healthy learning environment.

However, none of the surveyed classes were equally divided in this manner. Among the courses surveyed, the 4 sections of Sociology 19 (U.S. Race Relations) and Religion 80 were used predominately to satisfy the college requirement in race and ethnicity. Over 3/4s (76%) of the students in Sociology 19 classes were there to satisfy the A & S college race and ethnicity requirement and in Religion 80, 80% of the students were enrolled to satisfy the requirement. The remaining 0-99 ALANA Studies classes surveyed had much smaller percentages of students enrolled to satisfy college's race and ethnicity requirement:

In the ALANA Studies courses surveyed above the 100 level, far fewer students took them for the race and ethnicity requirement than the 0-99 level courses. In the ALANA Studies 100 level classes surveyed, 75% or more of the students were enrolled because of interest and not to fulfill a requirement. In some courses like History 196 (American Indian History), there were negligible amounts of students (7.6%) taking the course for a requirement. In general, ALANA courses (regardless of their level) that had a specific ethnic content (American Indian History or Introduction to Asian-American Studies) had very few students taking them for the college requirement while those that were theoretical, multi-ethnic and/or comparative like Sociology 19 and Religion 80 tended to get far higher concentrations of students taking them for a requirement. Most students took social science courses to satisfy the race and ethnicity requirement (59% of the courses offered in ALANA Studies are social science courses) but the majority of the students that were taking ALANA Studies courses for personal interest took humanities courses (see Appendix for aggregate summaries).

Little differenc was found in approval rates between courses that satisfy the race and ethnicity requirement and those are taken for interest.
In general, there is little difference in the approval ratings for courses that were taken predominately for the race and ethnicity requirement and those that were taken for personal student interest. In the four sections of Sociology 19 and Religion 80, 3.6% of the all the students disagreed or strongly disagreed on questions 6-9 which evaluated their perceptions of the course (within each Sociology 19 section, the disapproval rate was consistently at that rate as well). In the remaining courses that were surveyed that did not have high percentages of students taking it as a requirement, the negative responses (disagree and strongly disagree) for questions 6-9 were virtually the same (3.8%).

One third of students in ALANA courses plant to take additional courses in ALANA studies.
The ALANA Studies program was also gratified to find that more than a third of those taking these courses intended to take other ALANA courses in subsequent semesters. In the Sociology 19 and Religion 80, 23% of the students intended to take other ALANA courses in subsequent semesters. In the remaining ALANA courses surveyed, 46% of the students indicated a desire to take more ALANA Studies courses. The variations in the responses (23% & 46%) reinforce the fact that many more students were taking Sociology 19 and Religion 80 to fulfill the college's race and ethnicity requirement while students in the other ALANA courses surveyed were pursuing their interest in ALANA Studies and were very likely to continue that interest in other ALANA courses.

Smaller classes taken as electives have slightly better approval rates.
Student evaluations on questions 6-9 which gauge the student's perceptions of the courses were universally positive for all of the 17 courses. Few students rated the courses below the "agree" response to each of the items. We found that this was uniform across all of the courses surveyed. In the larger, lower level courses that satisfied college requirements, roughly half of the positive responses were "strongly agree" and half were "agree." The other ALANA courses that had fewer students taking them as a requirement had higher "strongly agree" rates (60-75%). Overall, upper division humanities courses in ALANA Studies had a slightly higher number of "strongly agree" responses on question 6-9 than upper division social science courses (most upper division social sciences courses in ALANA Studies had significantly larger enrollments than the upper division humanities courses in ALANA studies). In essence, these variations in the degree of approval probably reflected the impact of class size and the enthusiasm that students had for pursuing their interests in ALANA Studies as opposed to taking it for a requirement (See Appendix for aggregate summary).

Little variation exists between humanities and social science courses.
In questions 6, 7 & 9, the responses (strongly agree and agree) were very similar across all courses surveyed. In question 8 (cultivating critical skills and theoretical/historical frameworks about race in U.S.), upper division humanities course tended to have a slightly higher percentage of "strongly agree" than the comparable social science courses in the survey (this maybe due to the fact that the social science courses had higher enrollments and there were 6 upper division humanities courses with smaller enrollments in the sample that directly addressed this question).

Students overwhelmingly belive that their instructors in ALANA studies are very competent.
It is particularly instructive to note that while items 6-8 (those that describe course content) were split almost evenly between agree and strongly agree, item 9 which addresses the abilities of the instructor overwhelmingly draws a "strongly agree" response. It would appear that while students overall are split evenly between being pleased to very pleased about the content of their course, a much greater proportion registers strong enthusiasm for their instructor. These positive approval rates for instructors were uniform throughout the sample regardless of level or discipline of the course. Overall, smaller upper division classes did score slightly higher in the approval ratings than the larger classes but the statistical variation was not significant (see Appendix for aggregate summaries).

Summary and analysis of representative anecdotal comments from questions 5 & 10.

Question 5: Do you plan to take other ALANA Studies courses after this course? If yes, name courses.
About 35% of the students replied that they would like to take more Alana Studies courses. 80 % of the students that expressed a desire to take more ALANA Studies courses were unsure of the exact one that they wanted to take. Most of the courses mentioned by students were upper level courses and this suggests that students were thinking in terms of taking more specialized upper division courses after their initial coursework in ALANA Studies. The following courses were most frequently mentioned specifically by students:

Question 10: Describe one idea or concept about race in America that has changed as a result of your taking this course. Explain how it has changed.
Overall, students stated in their written comments that they were given an excellent grounding in theories and cultural perceptions about race and diversity issues and that they were encouraged to apply this knowledge to the experiences of U.S. peoples of color. They also expressed concerns about the means and methods to combat racism. A very small percentage (under 2.5%) had negative comments in the written responses. Often students who had negative responses to questions 6-9 did not respond with written comments on question 10. The following quotes are representative examples of over 200 comments written in response to question 10.

"This course ... has given me a better understanding of racism and its origins."

"One idea ... about race in America that has changed from this class is the legacy that slavery has made on American society."

"Education is a fundamental step to good race relations -- before I didn't realize that."

"Cultural diversity is a must. Everyone must try to be more diverse when it comes to race relations."

"I took Race and Culture and it did not even address American Indians. ... This course has changed the way I view American Indian relations with the U.S."

"The overall understanding of just how many different races and ethnicities there are, and that you must approach each one carefully without preconceptions."

"The idea that race is a social construct."

"My concept of capitalism as it relates to racism."

"White people need to actively fight racism."

"The necessity to look at all perspectives, not just mine. And to not be afraid to ask questions."

"The course was very in depth, and helped to give students more insights into racial problems especially through the reading assignments."

"We have studied many theorists in this course, whose theories I have never even imagined existed. These theories have broadened my horizons regarding racial issues in America."

"My understanding of Asian-Americans ... has changed. I have realized Americans live in a certain "fantasy world" filled with stereotypes of Asians."

"I am not racist, never have, never will be. It angers me that here you go around and talk about diversity & multiculturalism and then you except [sic] one concept about race, your own. Don't you think that that is a little hypocritical? (My concepts don't have to change, they are good now)."

"This [course] has allowed me to then see both sides of arguments in race relations in our society."

I learned "... about multiple structures of oppression" in America.

"I never knew institutional racism existed until I took this course."

"I realize that Native Americans are ... not really free at all."

"Racism, bigotry and prejudice are more common and more accepted, than I would have believed ..."

"The history of African-Americans -- I was aware of surface issues, but this course went beyond what I had always thought. I feel that I have a better understanding and thus greater empathy for interracial tensions."

APPENDIX

The following is a description of the sample for the questionnaire, the aggregate responses to the questions, and a preliminary aggregate analysis and summary of the responses.

17 Arts and Sciences ALANA Studies courses were surveyed:

• Anthropology 160 (North American Indians)
• Anthropology 164 (Indians of the Northeast: Vermont)
• Economic 160 (Race, Ethnicity and the Economy)
• English 96 (Introduction to Asian-American Studies)
• English 167 (African American Literature through the Harlem Renaissance)
• English 170 (American Indian Literature)
• English 195 (African American Intellectual Literature and History)
• History 180 (African American History)
• History 195 (Native American history)
• Political Science 29 (American Civil Rights Movements)
• Religion 80 (Religion and Race in America) (2 Sections)
• Sociology 19 (Race Relations in the U.S.) (4 Sections)
• Sociology 118 (Race, Crime and Criminal Justice)

Since this study was restricted to the Arts and Science College courses, several ALANA Studies courses offered in Fall 1997 outside the Arts and Sciences college were not included. They were:

• Agriculture 95 (Race and Culture)
• Allied Health 95 (Race and Culture)
• Natural Resources 6 (Race and Culture in Natural Resources)
• Social Work 167 (Racism and Contemporary Issues)

In the seventeen courses surveyed, there were a total of 781 enrolled students (maximum number of possible responses). When the questionnaires were completed and returned, there were 561 student respondents (actual number of responses) to the questionnaire. Hence, there was an 71.8% response rate to the questionnaire.

Aggregate responses to each question:

1. Are you taking this ALANA Studies course to satisfy the race and ethnicity requirement in the Arts and Science College?

2. Are you taking this ALANA Studies course to satisfy a race and culture requirement in another college?

3. Are you taking this course because you are an ALANA Studies minor?

4. Are you taking this course for your own personal interest and not as a requirement?

5. Do you plan to take other ALANA Studies courses after this course?

If yes, name courses. (See end of report for written summaries)

6. This course has significantly strengthened my understanding of issues of race in America.

7. This course has strengthened my understanding of and appreciation for cultural diversity in the United States?

8. This course cultivated my critical skills and provided valuable theoretical and/or historical frameworks to examine racial and cultural diversity in the United States.

9. The course instructor demonstrated significant knowledge of and appreciation for the experiences, ideas and achievements of U.S. peoples of color.

10. Describe one idea or concept about race in America that has changed as a result of your taking this course. Explain how it has changed. (See summaries of written responses at end of report)

1) 47.8% of the student respondents were taking one of the 17 courses surveyed to satisfy the race and ethnicity requirement in the Arts and Science college.

2) 4.3% of the student respondents were taking one of the 17 courses surveyed to satisfy a race and culture requirement in another college.

3) .01% of the student respondents were taking one of the 17 courses because they were an ALANA Studies minor.

4) 54.7% of the student respondents were taking one of the 17 courses for their personal interest and not as a requirement.

5) 34.9% of the student respondents intended to take other ALANA Studies courses after this course. Written responses not statistically applicable.

6) 87.1% of the student respondents either strongly agreed or agreed that the ALANA Studies course they were taking significantly strengthened their understanding of issues of race in America. 6.4% were undecided. 4% disagreed and .36% strongly disagreed. 2.1% did not respond to the question.

7) 85.9% of the student respondents either strongly agreed or agreed that their ALANA Studies course strengthened their understanding and appreciation for cultural diversity in the United States. 7.5% were undecided. 4.6% disagreed and .36% strongly disagreed. 1.6% did not respond to the question.

8) 87.5% of the student respondents either strongly agreed or agreed that their ALANA Studies course cultivated their critical skills and provided valuable theoretical and/or historical frameworks to examine racial and cultural diversity in the United States. 7.1% were undecided. 3.2% disagreed and .36% strongly disagreed. 1.8% did not respond to the question.

9) 92.2% strongly agreed or agreed that the instructor demonstrated significant knowledge and appreciation for the experiences, ideas, and achievements of U.S. peoples of color. 3.6% were undecided. 2% disagreed and .8% strongly disagreed. 1.4% did not respond to the question.

10) Written responses not statistically applicable.

In questions 1-5, the enrollment trends are quite clear, almost half (47.8%) of the students were taking an ALANA Studies course to fulfill an Arts and Science race and ethnicity requirement. The other half (54.7%) asserted that they were taking an ALANA Studies course for personal interest. Over one third (34.9%) of the students responded that they were going to take another ALANA Studies course after this one. Small percentages of students were taking ALANA Studies classes either because they were ALANA Studies minors (.01%) or to satisfy race and culture requirements in other colleges (4.3%).

In questions 6-9, students reported that their experiences in ALANA Studies courses were overwhelmingly positive. Approval rates (Strongly Agree and Agree) in questions 6-9 relating to course content, interest and educational achievement ranged from 85.9% to 92.2%. Undecided or neutral responses ranged from 3.6% to 7.5%. The range for strongly disagree and disagree was 2.8% to 4.9%. The no response rate for questions 6-9 was from 1.4% to 2.1%.

For more information about this study contact Donald A. Grinde, director of the ALANA studies program at the University of Vermont: dgrinde@zoo.uvm.edu.