The primary achieved formal evidence of student learning in the department is the ETS major field exam. As the department is moving forward we are excited about collecting additional data to evidence each of the student learning outcomes.
As a department we are particularly excited about the development of a capstone course PHY495 for both our physics and engineering physics majors. We previously have not had a class which is only for seniors. This will logistically help to assess the departmental learning outcomes, but more importantly this course will allow students an opportunity to bring together knowledge from throughout the curriculum, and apply it in a way that will help bridge undergraduate to either graduate work or jobs in technical fields. This course was developed out of formal and informal surveys of our alumni and current students as well as substantial evidence from other institutions of the value of such a class.