Support Services Assessment: Your Piece of the Puzzle

1. Support Services Assessment:Your Piece of the Puzzle January 12, 2009 Pat Hulsebosch/ Melanye Coleman Office of Academic Quality http://quality.gallaudet.edu

2. Expectations in Higher Education:Then and Now THEN NOW Focus on: • Resources , Inputs • Processes • What we do • What we teach • How we do it • Academic quality as primarily a review of resources, support services, time spent doing things, staff and faculty Focus on: • Institutional effectiveness as measured by outcomes or impact: • Assessment of Student Learning • Institutional Effectiveness • Planning, Resource Allocation, and Institutional Renewal • Academic quality based on results

3. Changes in Higher Education THEN NOW • If you provided the service, you were doing a good job. • If students and faculty were satisfied, we were doing a good job. • If we were skilled and qualified, we were high quality. • If students worked hard, they should earn credit. • What’s the value of your service or support? • What do we hope to accomplish by providing this service? • = Outcome • What should be the impact of our service or support? • What did students learn through your support?

4. Academic Quality = Achieving Gallaudet’s Mission and Vision: http://aaweb.gallaudet.edu/mission-asl.xml

5. Institutional Effectiveness/Student Learning Outcomes Mission  Vision  Strategic Plan (Five Year : 2007-2011) • http://planning.gallaudet.edu/See esp. Goals, Objectives, Indicators AND Benchmarks and Targets

6. Standard 1: Mission, Goals, and Objectives Accreditation (MSCHE)

7. Middle States Commission on Higher Education • Requires that all support services, as well as academic departments, assess both: • Outcomes • Student Learning • Program Effectiveness • Indicators (Measures) • Success on Strategic Planning action plans “….because student learning is a fundamental component of the mission of …[the] institution…the assessment of student learning is an essential component of the assessment of institutional effectiveness.”

8. ACTION PLANNING:What’s Up With Other Units? Earl’s Study Day Meeting Experience

9. Assessing Effectiveness of Support Services: Process Questions * *Adapted from: Wallace, Rosslyn. Assessing the Effectiveness of Non-Instructional Support Offices. (2001, June). Retrieved January 2009 from Austin Community College Web site: http://www.austincc.edu/oiepub/pubs/effectiveness/non-instructional.pdf

10. Support Services Assessment Process —MISSION * • Why does this office exist? • Unit mission should align with GU mission • Identify its stakeholders* and the products and services it provides them. *Stakeholders: those who will be affected by the support office — may include students, but also include other staff, faculty, and administrators, vendors, and members of the public as well. *Adapted from: Wallace, Rosslyn. Assessing the Effectiveness of Non-Instructional Support Offices. (2001, June). Retrieved January 2009 from Austin Community College Web site: http://www.austincc.edu/oiepub/pubs/effectiveness/non-instructional.pdf

11. Support Services Assessment Process —ACTION PLAN * Includes: • What you expect to accomplish • How you will measure if you were successful *Adapted from: Wallace, Rosslyn. Assessing the Effectiveness of Non-Instructional Support Offices. (2001, June). Retrieved January 2009 from Austin Community College Web site: http://www.austincc.edu/oiepub/pubs/effectiveness/non-instructional.pdf

12. Characteristics of Strong Action Plans • Specific: explains what you will do and how • Why this action? Clear connection to priority? • Shows a “theory in action” or hypothesis about what actions will lead to what SP objectives • Concise and elegant • You’re doing a good job? Describe the next step.

13. GU Strategic Objectives & Support Services Action Plans ACTIONS • If we [take this action] Example • If we Support the use of MyThread software with GSR 103 to enable easy-to-create digital video assignments & feedback. (http://mythread.gallaudet.edu). [New Initiative] • We expect to [see SP Objective result] • Then we expect to Raise levels of fluency and literacy in ASL and English that will permit direct communication in academic settings. [Gallaudet Strategic Objective 1.1]

14. GU Strategic Objectives & Support Services Action Plans ACTIONS • If we [take this action] Example • If we Produce a virtual web-tour that will highlight Gallaudet's proximity/relationship with DC and options for experiential learning. • We expect to [see SP Objective result] • Then we expect to Link classroom and experiential learning by leveraging Gallaudet’s location in Washington, DC.. [Gallaudet Strategic Objective 2.4]

15. Characteristics of Strong Indicators • Specific and achievable • Aligned with the SP objective • Answers the question, “Did it work” and NOT simply “Did we do it” • Measureable , qualitatively or quantitatively [name the measurement tool if used]

16. Strong Action / Weak Indicator Record and make available academic lectures and activities addressing bilingual education through the Gallaudet Video Library. Counts of New Recordings Counts of New Recordings. Survey people who watched the recordings about what bilingualism means to them. [Survey Monkey]

17. GU Strategic Objectives & Support Services Action Plans INDICATORS • This is how we will[measure the impact] on the institutional priority Example #1 • Action: Support the use of MyThread software with GSR 103 to enable easy-to-create digital video assignments & feedback. • Indicator: • If we Pull data to see if videos assignments were made and how many, then survey faculty on whether students’ fluency improved…[List measurement tools, if any] We can measure if it Raised levels of fluency and literacy in ASL and English that will permit direct communication in academic settings. [Gallaudet Strategic Objective 1.1]

18. Strong Action / Weak Indicator Support the use of MyThread software with GSR 103 to enable easy-to-create digital video assignments & feedback. Count the number of video assignments produced by students each semester. Count the number of video assignments produced by students each semester. Survey students about whether the video assignments helped them improve their communication. [Utilization Data, Student Survey]

19. Misplaced Action / No Indicator This does not apply to our department because we have always excelled in this area. Use department specific rubric to measure students’ ability to relate field and class experiences. Sponsor field trips to museums, cultural centers, embassies, libraries, and other destinations and require student to write a reaction report.

20. Support Services Assessment Process — ANALYSIS * You collected the data, now what? • Summarize • Analyze • Share *Adapted from: Wallace, Rosslyn. Assessing the Effectiveness of Non-Instructional Support Offices. (2001, June). Retrieved January 2009 from Austin Community College Web site: http://www.austincc.edu/oiepub/pubs/effectiveness/non-instructional.pdf

21. Support Services Assessment Process — IMPROVEMENT * • What changes must be made? Your answers to this question provide a concrete and specific “map” toward improved services. *Adapted from: Wallace, Rosslyn. Assessing the Effectiveness of Non-Instructional Support Offices. (2001, June). Retrieved January 2009 from Austin Community College Web site: http://www.austincc.edu/oiepub/pubs/effectiveness/non-instructional.pdf

22. For Your Information Examples for Later Review

23. Examples: Strong Action Plans1.1 Raise levels of fluency and literacy in ASL and English that will permit direct communication in academic settings. • Introduce more informal methods for students to practice ASL and English literacy, including blogs, vlogs, targeted-skill papers, and discussion-leading tasks. • Include presentations emphasizing ASL development and/or include significant writing practice in most departmental and GSR courses .

24. Examples: Strong Action Plans1.2 Build community consensus on the meaning and implementation of bilingual education at Gallaudet. • Arrange discussions about the meaning of bilingual environment at Gallaudet in our Psychology and Deaf People class. [Ongoing] • Collaborate with other departments to organize a poster session on exemplary bilingual activities or instruction. [New]

25. Examples: Strong Action Plans2.1 Enroll, retain, and graduate a diverse and talented student population. • Creation of a mentoring program for UG as well as Grad minority students in psychology • Create midterm contracts for students with D’s and F’s • Encourage MSW faculty to make presentations at other universities/colleges about our grad program • Work closely with students to search for scholarships to remain in school and lessen hours devoted to employment

26. Examples: Strong Action Plans2.2 Provide an academically challenging general studies, major and graduate level curriculum with both academic and co-curricular support. • Strengthen alignment of course SLOs with major benchmarks. [Ongoing] (target completion date – Spring 2009) • Implement minimum writing requirements for major and minor level courses. [Ongoing] (target completion date – Spring 2009) • Develop performance targets for graduating seniors. [Ongoing] (target completion date – Spring 2009)

27. Examples: Strong Action Plans2.4 Link classroom and experiential learning by leveraging Gallaudet’s location in Washington, DC. • Require that majors take the “Senior Capstone Seminars”, SOC 391 and 392, and as part of that sequence they do research in the Washington, DC area. [Ongoing] • Align the timing of our course offerings with regularly occurring local enrichment opportunities, such as offering courses on Bioethics during the same semesters that the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities meets in DC. [New]

28. Examples: Strong Action Plans3.3 Construct institutional systems designed to promote the free exchange of information, ideas, and perspectives. • Develop majors area (organization) Blackboard: we have an organization site on Blackboard for majors and minors. We will be opening discussion boards to promote free exchange of information, ideas, etc. [New] • Provide GSR faculty development in Dec., Jan., May, and Aug. to bring new and experienced GSR faculty together

29. Examples: Strong Indicators1.1 Raise levels of fluency and literacy in ASL and English that will permit direct communication in academic settings. • Students are assessed by rubrics that include evaluation of grammar, clarity, flow, etc. as well as other skills. • Ongoing tracking of successive ASLPI scores. Checklist on efficacy and clarity of ASL presentations in class. • Use Deaf Studies department’s ASL Rubric [and] assignment-specific checklist [scores] to rate assignments.

30. Examples: Strong Indicators1.2 Build community consensus on the meaning and implementation of bilingual education at Gallaudet. • Specific questions/essay assignments [ratings] to assess student ideas about this concept.

31. Examples: Strong Indicators2.1 Enroll, retain, and graduate a diverse and talented student population. • We will also track the number of individuals who do enter Gallaudet after our email campaign to all who expressed interest in majoring in chemistry. • Track the number of ethnic minority students recruited into the program from Undergraduate. Number of ethnic minority students retained in program. • Create a “years to completion” record of FCS majors over the last 10 years and maintain this information on a yearly basis.

32. Examples: Strong Indicators2.2 Provide an academically challenging general studies, major and graduate level curriculum with both academic and co-curricular support. • Results from the National Field tests in Biology to determine the effectiveness of the Biology curriculum. • Data comparison of the curriculum structure at other universities with Gallaudet.

33. Examples: Strong Indicators2.4 Link classroom and experiential learning by leveraging Gallaudet’s location in Washington, DC. • Create and maintain a record of the percentage of majors choosing off-campus internship sites. • Review Midterm and final field evaluations,and field supervisor surveys.

34. Examples: Strong Indicators3.3 Construct institutional systems designed to promote the free exchange of information, ideas, and perspectives. • Track the number of submissions and discussions [to our Blackboard organization site].

35. Online Resources http://quality.gallaudet.edu/Office_of_Academic_Quality/SP_Action_Plans/Unit_Level_Action_Planning.html • Examples of Strong Action Plans & Indicators Department/Unit Level Strategic Planning: 2008-2009Strong_Action_Indicators_SP1.pdfStrong_Action_Indicators_SP2.pdf Strong_Action_Indicators_SP3.pdf • Unit Level Strategic Planning:Strong Action Plans & Indicators UnitLevelActionPlans_Indicators.12.5.08.ppsx