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Mission-Centered Learning Outcomes:
Overcoming the Assessment
Challenge
Diane Jonte-Pace, Vice Provost, Undergraduate Studies
Carol Ann Gittens, Director of Assessment
Tom Plante, Professor of Psychology
The Santa Clara Vision ~
“Santa Clara University will excel in educating men and
women to be leaders of competence, conscience, and
compassion. By combining teaching and scholarship of
high quality, an integrated education in the Jesuit
tradition, and a commitment to students as persons, we
will prepare them for professional excellence,
responsible citizenship, and service to society,
especially on behalf of those in greatest need.”
Challenges and Strategies
 Developing operational definitions of broad conceptual
learning outcomes
– How do we know we are graduating knowledgeable, compassionate, and
engaged global citizens?
 WASC Self Study Theme: “Competence, Conscience and Compassion”
 Assessment of the Core Curriculum
 Strategic Planning Process
 Engage in meaningful and manageable assessment
– Develop measureable student learning objectives language
– Use existing data whenever possible
– Seek combination of benchmark data and self-study data to triangulate
– Engage the campus community in the effort
Triangulation: Three Examples
 SCU Core Curriculum
– Development of Learning Goals and Objectives
– Example of Experiential Learning for Social Justice
– Assessment Strategies being piloted in 2008-09
 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)
 Campus-wide survey of Compassion
Educating students of Competence, Conscience, and
Compassion for a globalizing world
 Santa Clara’s new Core Curriculum prepares students for professional
excellence, responsible citizenship, and service to society, especially on
behalf of those in greatest need.
 Developed by a faculty committee during the 2006-2007 academic year,
and approved by the Santa Clara University Board of Trustees in May
2007
 Phased in over a two-year period starting in fall quarter 2009
 Emphasizing knowledge, habits of mind and heart, and engagement with
the world, the Core explores relationships among ideas and cultures;
 Encourages intentional choices that bring coherence to the undergraduate
experience; and it develops students’ commitments to intellectual inquiry,
moral reflection, and active engagement.
Overarching Core Learning Goals
Knowledge
Habits of Mind and Heart
Engagement with the World
Learning Goals in the Core
KNOWLEDGE
 Global Cultures
 Arts and
Humanities
 Scientific Method
 Science and
Technology
 Diversity
 Civic Life
HABITS OF
HEART & MIND
 Critical Thinking
 Mathematics and
Quantitative
Reasoning
 Complexity
 Ethical Reasoning
 Religious
Reflection
 Communication
ENGAGEMENT
WITH THE
WORLD
Perspective
Collaboration
Social Justice
Civic Engagement
The New Core
Engaging Faculty through Core Committees
The role of the Faculty Core Committees (FCC) ~
 Clarify goals & articulate learning objectives
– Measureable learning objectives statements
– Utilize Bloom’s Taxonomy
 Encourage faculty participation and curriculum development
 Provide general recommendations for course level assessment
 Review proposals for Curriculum Development funds; work
with faculty who receive funding
 Develop criteria for submission of syllabi for core approval
 Review syllabi, recommend approval when appropriate
Developing Measurable Learning Objectives
Experiential Learning for Social Justice
1.1
Be able to recognize the benefits of life-long responsible citizenship and
civic engagement in personal and professional activities. (Civic Life)
1.2
Be able to interact appropriately, sensitively, and self-critically with
people in the communities in which they work and to appreciate the
formal and informal knowledge, wisdom, and skills that individuals in
these communities possess. (Perspective)
1.3
Be able to recognize, analyze, and understand the social reality and
injustices in contemporary society, including recognizing the relative
privilege or marginalization of their own and other groups. (Social
Justice)
1.4
Be able to make vocational choices in light of both their greatest gifts and
the world's greatest needs. (Civic Engagement)
A Direct Connection to Mission
 Experiencing the “gritty reality of the world,” thinking critically about the
world, responding to its suffering, and engaging it constructively.
~ Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J.
 Experiential Learning for Social Justice (ELSJ) cultivates Social Justice,
Civic Life, Perspective, and Civic Engagement. All ELSJ courses involve
substantial contact with marginalized groups.
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Advanced Journalism
Globalization and Inequality
Globalization and Culture Change
Teaching the Performing Arts
Intercultural Communication
Psychology of Aging
Management 8
Casa de la Solidaridad, El Salvador
Housing and Homelessness Policy
Some Campus Ministry experiences
Ulistac Natural Area Restoration and Education Project
Core: Direct Assessment of Student Learning
Inform Core Area faculty of learning objectives and process
Provide Core Rubric(s) in advance to faculty
Request student permissions
Randomly select student participants and communicate names to faculty
Gather five work products from each class (a single assignment)
Schedule and invite participants to Rubric Scoring Party (compensated with
stipend)
Host rubric scoring parties (begin with calibration on rubrics)
Analyze data and prepare Core report
Distribute for FCC and faculty comment
Make report public to campus community ~ post on the Web
Triangulation Using Existing Data: NSSE
 A national effort to assess student behavior and effective
educational practice (four-year institutions)
 Five Benchmark Scales
– Level of Academic Challenge
– Active and Collaborative Learning
– Enriching Educational Experiences
– Supportive Campus Environment
– Student – Faculty Interaction
 Peer comparison group of other NSSE-participating Jesuit
universities (i.e. the Jesuit consortium) selected in 2005.
Consortium-specific questions administered starting in 2006.
NSSE Indicators: Contribution to Educational and
Personal Growth
“Quite a Bit” or “Very Much”:
First Year
Students
Seniors
Understanding people of other racial
and ethnic backgrounds
61%
67%
Solving complex real-world problems
69%
77%
Developing a personal code of values
and ethics
71%
80%
Working effectively with others
80%
88%
Developing a deepened sense of
spirituality
Contributing to the welfare of your
community
Understanding yourself
46%
51%
62%
74%
70%
78%
Comparison group information provided by NSSE to aid interpretation…
Examples of NSSE Jesuit Consortium Questions
Mean comparisons: [FY] = Freshmen [SR] = Seniors
Santa
Clara
Devoting effort to help others in need
[FY]
[SR]
Understanding the Jesuit principle of
being “men and women for others”
[FY]
[SR]
Increasing your awareness of the
relationship between global and local
issues
Actively working to further social justice
Jesuit
2.96
3.03
2.79
2.79
3.02
3.00
2.90
2.88
[FY]
[SR]
3.06**
3.16**
2.91
2.94
[FY]
[SR]
2.87
2.97**
2.85
2.84
Demonstrating respect for others’
differences
Leading by example
[FY]
[SR]
Actively working toward a more inclusive
community
[FY]
[SR]
3.22
3.21*
3.11**
3.18**
2.97**
2.89**
3.13
3.11
2.96
3.03
2.82
2.75
[FY]
[SR]
Internal Campus Surveys ~ Compassion
 Compassion is identified as that state in which one is “being moved
by another’s suffering, and wanting to help” (Lazarus, 1991, p. 289).
 Relative lack of direct research on students’ compassion
and the impact of college experiences on development of caring for
others.
 The Santa Clara Brief Compassion Scale (Hwang, Plante, &
Lackey; 2008)
 Compassion scores found to increase after Immersion experience
(Lackey, Plante & Hwang)
The Santa Clara Brief Compassion Scale
1. When I hear about someone (a stranger) going through a difficult time, I feel a
great deal of compassion for him or her.
2. I tend to feel compassion for people, even though I do not know them.
3. One of the activities that provides me with the most meaning to my life is helping
others in the world when they need help.
4. I would rather engage in actions that help others, even though they are strangers,
than engage in actions that would help me.
5. I often have tender feelings toward people (strangers) when they seem to be in
need.
~ Currently being assessed longitudinally among freshmen and seniors as well
as graduate / professional students on campus
Strategies and Solutions
How can we effectively assess the “ineffable” learning outcomes
that appear in our mission statements and core institutional
commitments?
Engage in meaningful and manageable assessment
– Specificity: Develop measureable student learning objectives language
– Efficiency: Use existing data whenever possible; Seek combination of
sources of evidence to triangulate
– Effectiveness: Engage the campus community in the evidence collection
and utilization of result
SCU Resources on the Web
 Core 2009:
http://www.scu.edu/Core2009
 WASC
http://www.scu.edu/WASC
(select “Resources”)
 Office of Assessment:
http://www.scu.edu/provost/assessment/