Core Competency 2025-2026
Analysis of Results of Oral Communication (AY 2025-2026)
The Oral Communication core competency assessment involved evaluations of 238 student presentations in the upper division, including capstone and 300- and 400-level courses in twenty-four departments/colleges. Of the 238, 22 had to be redacted as they were audio blogs which could not be assessed for “Delivery”; our total number for this analysis is 216 (n = 216).
Of the twenty-four programs that agreed to participate, fourteen assessed their own student presentations, with the remaining ten requesting that Assessment Committee members either augment or fully undertake the evaluations.
|
Data |
Organization/Structure (Critical Thinking) Descriptor: Presentation is organized, with a logical sequence |
Content (Critical Thinking) Descriptor: Content exhibits insight into the subject matter |
Language Descriptor: Language choices enhance the effectiveness of the presentation and are also appropriate to the audience |
Delivery Descriptor: Delivery techniques (gestures, eye contact, vocal expressiveness) are engaging |
| Valid (n) | 216 | 216 | 216 | 216 |
| Redacted | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 |
| Mean | 3.383 | 3.202 | 3.306 | 3.076 |
| Median | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.0 |
| Mode | 4 | 3.5 | 3 | 3 |
| Standard Deviation | 0.600 | 0.760 | 0.557 | 0.763 |
| Minimum | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Maximum | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
These figures show that UH Hilo graduating students in AY 2025-2026 were generally on par with previous cohorts of students, with all three years experiencing “Delivery” as the skill students appear weakest in exhibiting.
| Year | Organization/Structure
(Critical Thinking) |
Content
(Critical Thinking) |
Language | Delivery |
| AY 2016-2017
n = 246 |
3.41 | 3.34 | 3.36 | 3.20 |
| AY 2021-2022
n = 167 |
3.38 | 3.30 | 3.19 | 3.00 |
| AY 2025-2026 | 3.38 | 3.20 | 3.30 | 3.07 |
While many evaluators noted that many students did well in presenting content in a logical manner, some noted the need to make students aware of the rubric so that students are aware of the importance of posture, natural speaking (as opposed to reading off paper), and making/maintaining eye contact with the audience. Other evaluators also noted the need for better preparation and practice as some presentations seemed an “add-on” at the end of a course and not necessarily treated as a separate assignment intended to elicit different skills than that of a final paper (content).
Program Specific Data
College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resources Management (CAFNRM)
AERO
AG*
College of Arts and Sciences (CAS)
Admin of Justice
Anthropology
Art*
Communication*
English*
Geology/ENVS
History
Japanese*
Performing Arts*
Philosophy*
Political Science*
Psychology
Sociology
College of Natural Health Science (CNHS)
Biology
Chemistry*
Computer Science
Geology and Natural Science
Kinesiology
Marine Science
Mathematics
Nursing
Physics and Astronomy
College of Business and Economics (CoBE)
College of Hawaiian Language (KHUOK)
Linguistics