Transcript Insert Presentation Title Here

Meet the
Fall 2007
TA
The current
•
TA Members
Kimberly Bolig
– Director of Academic Support Services & Act 101 Administration
•
Ward Caldwell
– Director of Residence Life
•
Tina Evans
– Assistant Professor, Dental Hygiene/Applied Health Studies
•
Jeremiah Gee
– Assessment Coordinator for Integrated Studies
•
John Kehoe
– Director of Strategic Planning/ Research
•
Lizabeth Mullens
– VPAA/Provost
•
Veronica Muzic
– Special Assistant to the President for Academic Affairs
•
Irwin Siegel
– Professor of Business
•
Colin Williamson
– Dean of Transportation Technology
TA’s role
• Show how the College mission is being accomplished by
examining the existing processes and elements of
assessment across the campus.
• Facilitate the accreditation/certification/endorsement
efforts of the College and its programs.
• Review statistical reports, surveys, and program reviews;
look for changes and trends.
• Communicate assessment efforts and needs to the
College community.
• Collect and share useful information about student
learning and institutional effectiveness.
uality examples: Program Level
• The Business Management (BM) associate degree program review
showed that many students were underprepared for advanced
courses.
• More than half had a GPA of 2.0 or less after their first semester.
• Student focus groups revealed need for a more cohesive first
semester.
• These assessment results were used to make changes to the
program:
– Insertion of MGT 110 (Introduction to Business) within the first semester
curriculum, to provide a business foundation.
– Creation of a section of MGT 110 dedicated to BM students, to enhance
cohesion within the program.
– Postponement of MGT 115 (Principles of Management) to the second semester,
after students have completed MGT 110.
– Postponement of Accounting classes to the third and fourth semesters, when
students have more of a grounding in business.
Middle States
Categories of Assessment
Institutional Assessment
(Middle States Standard 7)
Assessment of Student Learning
(Middle States Standard 14)
“The institution has developed and
implemented an assessment process that
evaluates its overall effectiveness in
achieving its mission and goals and its
compliance with accreditation standards.”
“Assessment of student learning
demonstrates that, at graduation, or
other appropriate points, the institution’s
students have knowledge, skills, and
competencies consistent with institutional
and appropriate higher education goals.”
Middle States Components:
Planning, Budgeting, Renewal
Institutional Resources
Leadership & Governance
Administration
Integrity
Middle States Components:
Admissions & Retention
Student Support Services
Faculty & Educational Offerings
General Education
Related Educational Activities
Defining “assessment” at Penn College
Assessment at Penn College is defined as an open process that
encompasses the following principles:
• It is mission-focused, at both the institutional and programmatic
levels;
• It is systematic, iterative, collaborative, documented, and adaptable;
• It applies multiple measures, both qualitative and quantitative;
• It identifies strengths and areas that warrant improvement;
• It informs planning and decision-making for the purpose of
ascertaining learning and development, thereby improving
programs, services, functions, performance, and the overall value of
the educational experience.
Suitable Assessment Tools
• One size does not fit all! Differences between
programs and courses beget a variety of tools.
Here is a sampling of available methods:
– Classroom assignments and exams, quizzes, projects, lab
evaluations, and the like;
– In-person focus groups with students, graduates, advisory
boards, employers, and other stakeholders;
– Surveys and questionnaires;
– Third-party reviews, such as for accreditation/certification;
– Reports from Institutional Research.
uality Examples: Program Level
• The Nursing Department uses student focus groups and
program evaluations completed by their graduates.
• These focus groups are led by an outside reviewer who is
neither Nursing nor Health Sciences faculty/staff.
• Recent evaluations revealed that LPN students did not feel
prepared for handling heavy patient loads in nursing homes
and long-term care facilities.
• Thus, the program was altered to focus more instruction in the
practices associated with long-term care facilities.
uality Examples: Course Level
• The CSC110 course uses existing final exams as “embedded”
assessment. The final consists of three components, each of
which is matched with particular course goals/outcomes.
• The exam results show areas of students’ strength and
weakness compared to the course’s intended outcomes.
• The CSC110 assessment report communicates these areas of
strength and weakness to the course instructors.
• The report also lists “possible causes and solutions.”
• Results are used to determine content areas that need to be
emphasized as well as improvements that can be made in
textbooks and exam questions.
TA’s First Year in Review
• During the past year, the QTA:
– Gained familiarity with the assessment practices currently
underway on campus, including plans and goals,
assessment tools, and program reviews;
– Reviewed the Middle States PRR and received
recommendations from the PRR workgroup;
– Defined “assessment” at Penn College;
– Discussed the College’s mission, vision, and philosophy
statements;
– Discussed institutional planning’s tie to assessment.
Recommendations from 2006-07
In preparation for the Middle States self-study that
will begin in 2009-10, the QTA recommended that
the College community begin to:
• Assess its Philosophy, Mission, Vision statements;
• Review institution-wide planning, including its
connectivity to budgeting, institutional
effectiveness, and outcomes assessment.
These items are now institutional initiatives for 2007-08.
Becoming Involved
• Visit the QTA website:
– URL: http://www.pct.edu/assessment
– Find the IR tools that are available for your use.
– Find the “Assessment Primer” and a copy of this presentation.
• Take the faculty assessment survey:
– Let us know how you assess student learning.
• Be proactive:
– There will be more opportunities for you (personally) to shape
the process of assessment. Get in on the action so that the
process will be useful to you– not just a “hoop” to jump through.
• Please post your questions or give us feedback:
[email protected].
• Keep watching for future announcements!