Team Project: Assessment in a Hypothetical College

1. Team Project: Assessment in a Hypothetical College Linda Reisser Portland Community College, Cascade Campus Bruce Clemetsen Linn-Benton Community College

2. Team Project • Today’s Student Services leaders need to be able to: not only . . . • understand today’s students and their development • work as team members • carry out program activities effectively • apply theory, research findings, and principles of good practice • But also . . . • Understand the importance of evaluating programs • Ask critical questions • Gather data on program effectiveness • Identify outcomes • Assess how well those outcomes are met • Use findings to improve services

3. Team Project • Evaluate the effectiveness of a program in a hypothetical community college. • Based on your findings, make recommendations to improve the program’s services and outcomes in the future. • Give a ten minute presentation about how you did this, and what you learned.

4. Context • What is assessment? • Why is assessment important? • A few important terms and Examples • Team Project hand-outs

5. What is assessment?

6. What is assessment? The systematic and ongoing practice of determining the impact of educational interventions and services for the purpose of: 1) improving program quality and 2) reporting on program outcomes Assessment is any effort to gather, analyze, and interpret evidence which describes institutional, departmental, divisional, or agency effectiveness. (Upcraft, M.L, & Schuh, J.H., 1996)

7. Why Is Assessment Important? DRIVING FORCES Professional National State Institutional

8. Professional Values The Student Learning Imperative: Implications for Student Affairs (published in 1994 by the American College Personnel Association) #5. Student affairs policies and programs are based on promising practices from the research on student learning and institution-specific assessment data. http://www.acpa.nche.edu/sli/sli.htm

9. Principles of Good Practice inStudent Affairs(National ACPA/NASPA Study Group, 1997) #4. Good practice in student affairs uses systematic inquiry to improve student and institutional performance. "Good practice in student affairs occurs when student affairs educators ask, 'What are students learning from our programs and services, and how can their learning be enhanced?’” Source: http://www.acpa.nche.edu/pgp/principle.htm

10. The Completion Agenda

11. U.S. Dept. of EducationA Call to Action on College Completion

12. U.S. Dept. of EducationA Call to Action on College Completion “Today the Vice President challenged every Governor to host a state college completion summit, and promised that the Department of Education would help any state develop a plan to boost completion. The Vice President also announced the release of a new “College Completion Tool Kit,” produced by the Department of Education.  The tool kit includes information on seven low-cost or no-cost strategies that states can use to boost completion.” Posted on March 23, 2011 http://www.ed.gov/blog/2011/03/call_to_actio/

13. “The President has set a clear goal” “By 2020, America will have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.  Right now we are ninth. 70% of students go on to pursue some kind of postsecondary education after high school, but less than half actually get a degree or certificate within six years.” 

15. College Completion Tool Kit Strategies for Governors to Consider 1. Set Goals; Develop an Action Plan 2. Embrace Performance-Based Funding 3. Align High School Standards with College Entrance and Placement Standards 4. Make it Easier for Students to Transfer 5. Use Data to Drive Decision Making 6. Accelerate Learning and Reduce Costs 7. Target Adults, especially those with “Some College, but No Degree”

16. Accreditation Standards Revised Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) New emphasis on outcomes: “meaningful, assessable, and verifiable indicators of achievement” http://www.nwccu.org/Standards%20and%20Policies/Standard%201/Standard%20One.htm

17. Oregon Initiatives

18. CCWD (Dept. of Community Colleges and Workforce Development) • “Measure What You Treasure” Report • Student Success Oversight Committee • Milestones and Momentum Points—> Achievement Compacts • CCSSE and SENSE • 27 Best Practices • Grant-funded initiatives • Strategic Planning

19. Does your department or program. . . - have a mission statement? - have annual goals? - collect data? - have measurable outcomes? - look at the data and reflect on what it means? - use the findings to improve service? - submit an annual report?

20. Assumptions • We assume that our programs and services have a significant impact on student success and development. • In order to improve, we need to be intentional about assessing the impact of what we do.

21. Assumptions Assessments should be: • based on meaningful indicators of achievement • used for improvement by informing planning, decision making, and allocation of resources • made available to appropriate audiences

22. Cycle of Assessment

23. A Few Important Terms Mission Goals Learning Outcomes Service Outcomes

24. A Few Important Terms Mission - Why we exist. - describes the core purpose of the program. Goals – What we hope to do, accomplish, or deliver - used for general planning - not intended to be directly measurable Learning Outcomes – what students are able to know, do, or value as a result of the program. Service Outcomes – intended results of services delivered. Such as: - numbers served, student satisfaction, demographics of students served, services provided - changes you want to see in programs and services.

25. Mission Statement - Example Academic Advising Academic advising is an essential service provided by professional advisors who support students’ intellectual growth, and empower them to clarify and attain their diverse academic, personal, and professional goals. In collaboration with students, faculty, staff, and external partners, the Academic Advising Program fosters student retention and success.

26. Zero in

27. Mission Statement - Example Academic Advising Academic advising is an essential service provided by professional advisors who support students’ intellectual growth, and empower them to clarify and attain their diverse academic, personal, and professional goals. In collaboration with students, faculty, staff, and external partners, the Academic Advising Program fosters student retention and success.

28. Mission Statements - Examples Multicultural Center Founded to address institutional racism and the unique needs of students of color, the Multicultural Center provides services and programs that support academic achievement, leadership development, and the retention of students of color.

29. Mission Statements - Examples Multicultural Center Founded to address institutional racism and the unique needs of students of color, the Multicultural Center provides services and programs that support academic achievement, leadership development, and the retention of students of color.

30. Mission Statements - Examples Student Leadership Program The Student Leadership Program complements the college’s academic programs and enhances the overall educational experiences of students by providing social, cultural, multicultural, intellectual, recreational, community service, and campus governance programs.

31. Mission Statements - Examples Student Leadership Program The Student Leadership Program complements the college’s academic programs and enhances the overall educational experiences of students by providing social, cultural, multicultural, intellectual, recreational, community service, and campus governance programs.

32. Mission Statements - Examples Women’s Resource Center provides a central location for services that support the academic achievement of women, while working to increase access to education for women, improve the retention of women students at the college, and encourage women’s leadership development.

33. Mission Statements - Examples Women’s Resource Center provides a central location for services that support the academic achievement of women, while working to increase access to education for women, improve the retention of women students at the college, and encourage women’s leadership development.

34. Alignment? Is the mission statement aligned with the college’s mission?

35. Goals – PSU examples • Examples of program goals: • Increase volunteerism • Increase diversity • Increase accessibility of volunteer opportunities • Increase awareness of disability resources services

36. Goals – PSU examples • Examples of student learning goals: • Engage students in learning • Promote students’ academic success • Foster students’ personal and intellectual growth • Foster students’ leadership skills • Foster collaboration

37. Goals ExampleMulticultural Center Provide access to higher education for students of color. Encourage empowerment and self-esteem in students of color by teaching self-advocacy. Enable students of color to make informed choices regarding academic, career, and personal issues by providing accurate information, support and education. Develop students of color as leaders by supporting student- initiated programs and providing training in leadership skills.

38. Goals ExampleWomen’s Resource Center Encourage empowerment and self-esteem in women. Develop women’s leadership skills. Encourage exploration of gender issues. Enhance personal development of women and men by integrating theory and learning into their daily lives. Provide a programmatic context for informed action and practical experience of issues critical to women and society.

39. Alignment? Are goals aligned with mission? With College goals? With funding agent?

40. Outcomes vs. Goals Outcomes are specific statements derived from goals in language that makes objectives measurable. Outcomes are what we will assess. Outcomes essentially take a goal and connect it to a place, time, group of participants, and a level for performance.

41. Outcomes are specifically about what you want the end result of your efforts to be, the changes you want to occur. It is not what you are going to do to the student, but rather it describes what you want the student to do. An outcome must be measurable, meaningful and manageable. It must specify a target audience. It must provide you with evidence you need.

42. Learning Outcomes – what students are able to know, do, or value as a result of the program. Service Outcomes – intended results of services delivered. Such as: - numbers served, student satisfaction, demographics of students served, services provided - changes you want to see in programs and services.

43. Learning Outcomes – Examples?

44. Learning Outcomes - Examples • Students will be able to recall at least 5 of the 7 elements of the Social Change Model). • Students will demonstrate increased leadership skills by successfully completing a leadership skills inventory, as indicated by a score of at least 80% correct.

45. Service Outcomes – Examples?

46. Service Outcomes - Examples • The XXX program will increase awareness of its programs/services by 20%. • The XXX program will increase the diversity of its volunteers to reflect the diversity of the PSU.

47. Service Outcomes (Student Leadership)

48. Student Leadership Program Learning Outcomes Improve Communication Skills Students will improve their interpersonal communication skills · By demonstrating a respect for other’s viewpoints · Understand how to de-escalate a confrontation through communication · Understand how the different communication styles interact with each other. Effectively apply active listening skills. · Be able to succinctly summarize another’s point of view to verify understanding. · Develop the skills to perceive the listeners interpersonal needs. · Maintain proper eye contact while communicating interpersonally. Develop collaborative communication skills · Facilitate communication between other team members. · Give critical feedback effectively (non-threatening). · Receive, and reflect on, critical feedback from others. · Demonstrate acknowledgment and validation of the feelings, opinions, and contributions of others. Improve Leadership Skills through Project Management Students will be able to pre-plan a project: · The ability to articulate the need for the event · Be able to clearly describe the goals of the project · Identify the population(s) who will benefit Students will understand how to successfully execute a project: · Students will be able to reverse plan an event identifying the necessary components of their project · Design a calendar with specific times and dates for various stages of the project · Manage other team members and assign tasks as needed Students will develop the ability to reflect on projects and make recommendations for the future: · Develop the skills to objectively assess project performance · Constructively document “best practices” and capture the information for the future PCC Panther Path Student Leadership Learning Outcomes

49. First Steps What questions do we have? What assessment strategies can we try out this year? What data do we already have? How can we use data to improve student success?

50. Some types of assessment Usage Numbers – students served, number of participants Possible methods: existing data, tracking system, calendar system, KPI Student Needs – general of specific populations Possible methods: survey, focus group, visual methods Program Effectiveness – level of satisfaction, involvement, effectiveness, helpfulness, etc. Possible methods: survey, focus group, observation Cost Effectiveness – benefits compared with cost? Possible methods: existing data, comparative data, KPI