Program Review 2008 (Appendix Q)

Analysis of Enrollment Data *

Introduction *

Comparison Group—Largest Programs *

Pre-Baccalaureate and 100-Level *

200-Level *

300-Level *

400-Level *

Lower Division *

Upper Division *

Undergraduate *

Comparison Group—A & L College *

Pre-Baccalaureate and 100-Level *

200-Level *

300-Level *

400-Level *

Lower Division *

Upper Division *

Undergraduate *

Comparison Group—Comparable Programs *

Pre-baccalaureate and 100-Level *

200-Level *

300-Level *

400-Level *

Lower Division *

Upper Division *

Undergraduate *

First some basic facts:

The English Department accounts for 3.6% of all lower division enrollment at CSULA, second only the Math Department (4.6%)

The English Department accounts for 1.8% of all upper division enrollment at CSULA, seventh behind Elementary Education, Sociology, Management, Psychology, Social Work and Accounting

The English Department accounts for 5.8% of all undergraduate enrollment at CSULA, more than any other department on campus

A cursory review of the English Department’s course offerings would probably focus on the importance of lower-division writing courses. The pre-baccalaureate developmental writing courses (ENGL 095 and 096) account for over 14% of all English Department enrollment, and first-year writing courses (ENGL 101 and 102) account for an additional 41%. In total, these writing courses account for 56% of all English Department enrollment.

However, it is important to remember that despite the sheer size of the writing program, the department remains significant for its other offerings. It is seventh in upper division enrollment (as noted above), eighth in 200-level enrollment, nineteenth in 300-level enrollment and sixth in 400-level enrollment. In terms of 400-level course enrollment, only Elementary, Secondary and Special Education, Psychology and Social Work serve more students at CSULA than English.

The following table shows that class sizes in the English Department tend to be equal to average class sizes in undergraduate courses in most categories. While the pre-baccalaureate and 100-level class sizes in English fall 14% below the average class size for similar courses in the twenty largest campus programs, that difference is cut in half when the pre-baccalaureate courses are excluded. Enrollment in 200-level courses slightly trails that of other programs, and enrollment in 400-level courses significantly exceeds that of other programs. The greatest weakness in enrollment currently is in 300-level courses, where enrollment falls well below averages in other categories and for other programs.

The following pages provide detailed comparisons between class sizes and enrollment in English and other programs.

The following tables compare English Department enrollment to enrollment in the twenty or twenty-five largest programs at CSULA. The size of the programs is determined by the total student credit hours for the course, where each enrolled student contributes the number of units associated with the course to that total.

This comparison group includes the twenty largest undergraduate programs in terms of student credit hours in pre-baccalaureate and 100-level courses.

In this comparison group, the average number of students in each section is 25.7 or 14% more than the English Department average. The median for this group is 30.9, with the English Department ranked sixteenth (i.e. fifteen programs have higher averages and four programs have lower averages).

This comparison group includes the twenty largest undergraduate programs in terms of student credit hours in 200-level courses.

In this comparison group, the average number of students in each section is 25.9 or 7% higher than the English Department average. The median for this group is 28.9, with the English Department ranked thirteenth (i.e. twelve programs have higher averages and seven programs have lower averages).

This comparison group includes the twenty-five largest undergraduate programs in terms of student credit hours in 300-level courses.

In this comparison group, the average number of students in each section is 29 or nearly 72% higher than the English Department average. The median for this group is 30.5, with the English Department ranked twenty-first (i.e. twenty programs have higher averages and four programs have lower averages).

This comparison group includes the twenty largest undergraduate programs in terms of student credit hours in 400-level courses.

In this comparison group, the average number of students in each section is 20.3 or 21% lower than the English Department average. The median for this group is 23.4, with the English Department ranked ninth (i.e. eight programs have higher averages and eleven programs have lower averages).

This comparison group includes the twenty-five largest undergraduate programs in terms of student credit hours in lower division courses.

In this comparison group, the average number of students in each section is 25.3 or 11% higher than the English Department average. The median for this group is 32.9, with the English Department ranked nineteenth (i.e. eighteen programs have higher averages and six programs have lower averages).

This comparison group includes the twenty-five largest undergraduate programs in terms of student credit hours in upper division courses.

In this comparison group, the average number of students in each section is 22.8 or slightly below the English Department average. The median for this group is 28, with the English Department ranked eighteenth (i.e. seventeen programs have higher averages and seven programs have lower averages).

This comparison group includes the twenty-five largest undergraduate programs in terms of student credit hours.

In this comparison group, the average number of students in each section is 22.8 or approximately the same as the English Department average. The median for this group is 30, with the English Department ranked eighteenth (i.e. seventeen programs have higher averages and seven programs have lower averages).

The second comparison group looks at other programs in the same college.

In this comparison group, the average number of students in each section is 21.6 or 4% lower than the English Department average. The median for this group is 19.9, with the English Department ranked fifth (i.e. four programs have higher averages and fourteen programs have lower averages).

In this comparison group, the average number of students in each section is 14.7 or 64% lower than the English Department average. The median for this group is 16, with the English Department ranked fifth (i.e. four programs have higher averages and fourteen programs have lower averages).

In this comparison group, the average number of students in each section is 15.6 or 9% lower than the English Department average. The median for this group is 16, with the English Department ranked eighth (i.e. seven programs have higher averages and eleven programs have lower averages).

In this comparison group, the average number of students in each section is 13.4 or just over half the English Department average. The median for this group is 13.5, with the English Department ranked first.

In this comparison group, the average number of students in each section is 19.4 or 15% lower than the English Department average. The median for this group is 19.3, with the English Department ranked seventh (i.e. six programs have higher averages and eighteen programs have lower averages).