Transcript Slide 1

STUDENT LEARNING
OUTCOMES INSTITUTIONAL
STRATEGIES
Southwestern College
Spring 2006
Why are we doing this?





WASC
Benefit to students
Benefits to administration, faculty and
staff
Validates what we are already doing
well
Accountability – Public concern over
value received or public dollars spent
What are SLOs?

SLOs are what the student will be able to do
after completing a course or service.
Example: Upon successful completion of this
course the student will be able to articulate a
formal analysis of a drawing and its
interpretation based on that analysis.
How is Assessment related to
SLOs?
Assessment assembles and analyzes the
quantitative and/or qualitative student
learning outcomes evidence in order to
examine congruence with an
institution’s stated purposes and
educational objectives.
Institutional, program or
course learning outcomes



Institutional – looks at the skills or
knowledge students should have by the
time they complete a degree.
Program – Skills or knowledge
students should have after they
complete a program.
Course – Knowledge or skills students
should learn in the classroom.
Implementation Process



Institutional Planning
Program Review/Curriculum
Professional Development
Suggested Institution–
Wide Core Competencies





1. Communication Skills
2. Thinking and Reasoning
3. Information Competency
4. Multiculturalism
5. Civic Responsibility
1. Communication Skills


a. Listening
During discussion students will
listen actively and critically to
identify persons position and then
analyze it to determine its validity.
Communication Skills


b. Speaking
Students will present their spoken ideas
in a clear and organized fashion to
promote their effective communication
to others.
Communication Skills


c. Reading, Writing and Research
Students will identify an author’s
argument/position and then analyze
that argument/position to determine its
validity. After this, the students will
present in writing their own
argument/position and support it with
college level research
2. Thinking and Reasoning


a. Creative Thinking
Students will develop the skills to
formulate original ideas and concepts.
In addition, students will identify and
analyze the ideas of others and
integrating those ideas in a creative
process
Thinking and Reasoning


b. Critical Thinking
Students will think logically in solving
problems; explain their conclusions; and
evaluate, support, or critique their
positions and the positions of others
Thinking and Reasoning


c. Quantitative Reasoning
Students will use college level
mathematical concepts and methods to
identify and analyze and explain issues
in quantitative terms
3. Information Competency

a. Students will do college level
research to identify, analyze and
critique the ideas of others. Students
will develop a base of knowledge to
support their own ideas
Information Competency

b. Students will use print material and
technology to identify research needs, seek
access, evaluate and apply information
effectively and responsibly
4. Multiculturalism


a. Cultural
Students will respect and work with
diverse people including those with
different cultural and linguistic
backgrounds and different abilities.
Multiculturalism


b. Social
Students will identify and analyze the
cultural values of different ethnic
groups in a sensitive and respectful
manner.
5. Civic Responsibility

a. Students will identify and analyze key
political, economic and social issues
which will promote active participation
in their community, nation, and world.
Program and Course Learning
Outcomes



Goals – Every program should have
identified goals.
Objectives – the content or concepts
that need to be covered to achieve the
goals.
Student learning outcomes – the
3-5 things students need to be able to
do when they leave the classroom
Program Review/Periodic Review





















Academic Senate
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Update:
Program Review
The Academic Program Review Committee (APRC) started a formal review of the Academic Program Review (APR) process last spring 2005. The committee
continued to meet over summer 2005. To date the APRC:
Sent out faculty survey
Administered faculty/administrator APR interview
Tabulated results of survey and interviews for review by APRC
Reviewed other community college APR models from across the state
Gathered input and reviewed by APRC
Revised current APR process and guidelines component by component
Compiled revisions into one document and updated introduction and guidelines.
Overview of Revisions to APR
The goal of the current APR process is to guide programs in a purposeful review of the program’s past and present characteristics in order to plan for the future.
The APR is written by the program for the program. The feedback gathered last spring from faculty and administrators indicated support for the current format.
There was strong support to make APR more meaningful and less time consuming.
The APRC has worked to streamline the APR process so that the review leads to goals or outcomes for the program that are written as the program’s Summary
Work Plan. This plan is then implemented by the program with progress evaluated by the program.
The APRC review identified faculty concerns that APR did not result in tangible program outcomes. Another factor contributing to concern was the time
between formal APR reporting years. To improve both these the APRC recommends that we move from a cycle of APR reporting once every 6 years to once
every 3 years. The result would transition to a concept of comprehensive updates instead of a report that for all practical purposes was a brand new task and
very time consuming. Simple methods for tracking progress on the plan and evaluating outcomes have been designed to allow for program time and energy to
focus on program quality and/or improvements
The cycle:
Year 1
Report
Year 2
Implementation
Year 3 Evaluation
Back to Year 1
The format remains the same. With on going attention to the plan, the program will control what it wants to do to improve, the timeline, and who will be
responsible. The program will have flexibility to change plans and revise them as the process proceeds. Meaning is found at all levels of the process from the
report where all program information is organized and clear to all full and part time faculty, to the implementation of the plan that continues on an on going
basis, to the formal evaluation of progress by the program.
Criteria for Academic Program Review.
1.0 The Student Learning Outcomes of the discipline are
congruent with the goals of the program.
5
4
3
2
1
1.1
The discipline faculty, including adjunct faculty, has
met to discuss Student Learning Outcomes.
1.2
Faculty and Administrators worked toward mutually
identified goals and stated Student Learning
Outcomes.
1.3
Stated Student Learning Outcomes are consistent
with the institutional mission.
1.4
The development of and revisions to curriculum are
aligned with stated Student Learning Outcomes.
1.5
Discipline faculty has implemented appropriate
strategies/assessment tools to measure student
success of stated Student Learning Outcomes.
1.6
The discipline faculty, including adjunct faculty, has
to met to discuss learning results.
Reflective Narrative Questions




1. How does the program identify and measure student learning
outcomes? How are learning outcomes used by the discipline? (See
appendix)
2. What types of learning assessment beyond course grades is the
department collecting? regularly? Are there any summative/capstone
learning results collected?
3. Give examples of how the program uses SLO’s to modify instruction.
4. What needs to be accomplished next year to move toward where
you want your program to be with the stated SLO’s in three years
(information, expertise, materials, examples,….)?
Southwestern College Academic
Senate Assessment Philosophy




DRAFT
Fall 2005
Learning is more than simply acquiring knowledge; it involves mastery of subject matter, the application
of that knowledge, the discovery and utilization of resources, and the solution of political, economic, and
social problems. The entire campus must work together to support the growth and development of life
long learning for students.
Assessment at Southwestern College targets improving student learning through appropriate outcome
measures guided by the AAHE Nine Principles of Good Assessment (see attached). Outcomes assessment
not only monitors what and how well students learn, but it also measures the success of the institution in
providing effective learning outcomes and student support strategies in an environment that fosters high
academic standards.
Outcomes assessment occurs in an academic, counseling (student services), and research (library) settings
essential to student success, progress, learning and success. An essential component of Southwestern
College’s assessment process is the emphasis on faculty led, classroom based assessment which ensures a
direct focus on learning. The assessment of student learning outcomes is a curriculum matter, and the
Academic Senate has primary responsibility for establishing and maintaining the general guidelines for
classroom assessment. Specific assessment standards and methods are created by individual departments
and faculty members.
Overall, such an on going student outcomes assessment process works to improve institutional
effectiveness. Southwestern College assessment will be based on valid, reliable, and relevant assessment
procedures. These will be generated through multiple measures to collect quantitative information in an
effort to improve courses, services and programs. The data will provide evidence for curriculum reform,
allocation of resources, organizational leadership, and staff and student development.
9 Principles of Good Practice for
Assessing Student Learning
Authors:
Alexander W. Astin; Trudy W. Banta; K. Patricia
Cross; Elaine El-Khawas; Peter T. Ewell; Pat
Hutchings; Theodore J. Marchese; Kay M.
McClenney; Marcia Mentkowski; Margaret A. Miller; E.
Thomas Moran; Barbara D. Wright

This document was developed under the auspices of
the AAHE Assessment Forum with support from the
Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary
Education with additional support for publication and
dissemination from the Exxon Education Foundation.
Copies may be made without restriction.
9 Principles of Good Practice for
Assessing Student Learning


1. The assessment of student learning begins with educational values.
Assessment is not an end in itself but a vehicle for educational improvement. Its
effective practice, then, begins with and enacts a vision of the kinds of learning
we most value for students and strive to help them achieve. Educational values
should drive not only what we choose to assess but also how we do so. Where
questions about educational mission and values are skipped over, assessment
threatens to be an exercise in measuring what's easy, rather than a process of
improving what we really care about.
2. Assessment is most effective when it reflects an understanding of
learning as multidimensional, integrated, and revealed in performance
over time. Learning is a complex process. It entails not only what students
know but what they can do with what they know; it involves not only knowledge
and abilities but values, attitudes, and habits of mind that affect both academic
success and performance beyond the classroom. Assessment should reflect
these understandings by employing a diverse array of methods, including those
that call for actual performance, using them over time so as to reveal change,
growth, and increasing degrees of integration. Such an approach aims for a
more complete and accurate picture of learning, and therefore firmer bases for
improving our
9 Principles of Good Practice for
Assessing Student Learning


3. Assessment works best when the programs it seeks to improve have
clear, explicitly stated purposes. Assessment is a goal-oriented process. It
entails comparing educational performance with educational purposes and
expectations -- those derived from the institution's mission, from faculty
intentions in program and course design, and from knowledge of students' own
goals. Where program purposes lack specificity or agreement, assessment as a
process pushes a campus toward clarity about where to aim and what standards
to apply; assessment also prompts attention to where and how program goals
will be taught and learned. Clear, shared, implementable goals are the
cornerstone for assessment that is focused and useful.
4. Assessment requires attention to outcomes but also and equally to
the experiences that lead to those outcomes. Information about outcomes
is of high importance; where students "end up" matters greatly. But to improve
outcomes, we need to know about student experience along the way -- about
the curricula, teaching, and kind of student effort that lead to particular
outcomes. Assessment
can help us understand which students learn best under what conditions; with
such knowledge comes the capacity to improve the whole of their learning.
9 Principles of Good Practice for
Assessing Student Learning


5. Assessment works best when it is ongoing not episodic. Assessment is a process
whose power is cumulative. Though isolated, "one-shot" assessment can be better than
none, improvement is best fostered when assessment entails a linked series of activities
undertaken over time. This may mean tracking the process of individual students, or of
cohorts of students; it may mean collecting the same examples of student performance or
using the same instrument semester after semester. The point is to monitor progress
toward intended goals in a spirit of continuous improvement. Along the way, the
assessment process itself should be evaluated and refined in light of emerging insights.
6. Assessment fosters wider improvement when representatives from across the
educational community are involved. Student learning is a campus-wide responsibility,
and assessment is a way of enacting that responsibility. Thus, while assessment efforts may
start small, the aim over time is to involve people from across the educational community.
Faculty play an especially important role, but assessment's questions can't be fully
addressed without participation by student-affairs educators, librarians, administrators, and
students. Assessment may also involve individuals from beyond the campus (alumni/ae,
trustees, employers) whose experience can enrich the sense of appropriate aims and
standards for learning. Thus understood, assessment is not a task for small groups of
experts but a collaborative activity; its aim is wider, better-informed attention
9 Principles of Good Practice for
Assessing Student Learning


7. Assessment makes a difference when it begins with issues of use
and illuminates questions that people really care about. Assessment
recognizes the value of information in the process of improvement. But to be
useful, information must be connected to issues or questions that people really
care about. This implies assessment approaches that produce evidence that
relevant parties will find credible, suggestive, and applicable to decisions that
need to be made. It means thinking in advance about how the information will
be used, and by whom. The point of assessment is not to gather data and
return "results"; it is a process that starts with the questions of decision-makers,
that involves them in the gathering and interpreting of data, and that informs
and helps guide continuous improvement.
8. Assessment is most likely to lead to improvement when it is part of
a larger set of conditions that promote change. Assessment alone
changes little. Its greatest contribution comes on campuses where the quality of
teaching and learning is visibly valued and worked at. On such campuses, the
push to improve educational performance is a visible and primary goal of
leadership; improving the quality of undergraduate education is central to the
institution's planning, budgeting, and personnel decisions. On such campuses,
information about learning outcomes is seen as an integral part of decision
making, and avidly sought.
9 Principles of Good Practice for
Assessing Student Learning

9. Through assessment, educators meet responsibilities to
students and to the public. There is a compelling public stake
in education. As educators, we have a responsibility to the publics
that support or depend on us to provide information about the ways in
which our students meet goals and expectations. But that responsibility
goes beyond the reporting of such information; our deeper obligation -to ourselves, our students, and society -- is to improve. Those to whom
educators are accountable have a corresponding obligation to support
such attempts at improvement.
To request more information about the Assessment Forum, contact:
One Dupont Circle, Suite 360 Washington DC 20036-1143
Phone 202/293-6440 Fax 202/293-0073 [email protected] © 2003
American Association for Higher Education
Professional Development





Student Learning Outcomes Institutes
November 18th
March 24th
April 21st
The institutes are from 12:00-3:00 in
room L238S. Lunch is being provided.
Professional Development



Curriculum Development/ Design
workshop
Friday October the 21st
From 12:00-3:00PM
SLO Resources


Co-Chairs, Veronica Burton and Alma
Aguilar
SLO Office: S205H, Ext. 5252