Creating Avenues:

1. Creating Avenues: Partnerships in a Changing Library Environment Frostburg State University Katherine Jenkins & Judith Pula Lewis J. Ort Library & Department of English

2. Agenda 1. Mandates 2. Assessment 3. Partnerships 4. Tips and Lessons Learned 5. Q & A

3. Middle States Maryland Higher Education Commission University System of Maryland Academic program accreditors (NCATE) Current push for accountability triggered by legislatures wanting to see return on the dollar. Regional accrediting body Regents Academic program accreditors Assessment Mandates Background Your University Frostburg State University

4. Mandates Mandates

5. Get background How to get there Your Campus Read mission statement for your university and for your library Create learning goals for session or for program overall Read ACRL’s information literacy standards To learn more about assessment, read Regional Accreditation and Student Learning Develop assessment tools Determine benchmarks Next Step Define learning outcomes Determine stakeholders

6. Regional Commissions • Six regional commissions accredit over 3500 institutions. • Guided by the Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions.

7. Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities North Central Association of Colleges and Schools FL, DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA, PR, VI http://www.msche.org/ Standard 11: Educational Offerings Standard 12: General Education Standard 14: Assessment of Student Learning New edition of the Characteristics of Excellence in Higher Education was implemented in 2003 AK, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, WA http://www.nwccu.org/ Standard 2:Educational Program and its Effectiveness Standard 5: Library and Information Resources Lists specific types of documentation which are required AR, AZ, CO, IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, OK, NM, SD, WI, WV, WY http://www.ncahigherlearningcommission.org/ Criterion 3: Student learning and effective teaching Lists examples for documentation Regional Accrediting Bodies

8. New England Association of Schools and Colleges Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Western Association of Schools and Colleges CT, ME, MA, RI, VT http://www.neasc.org/cihe/cihe.htm Standard 4: The Academic Program Standard 7: Library and Other Information Resources New accreditation standards effective 1/2006 AL, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, TX, VA http://www.sacscoc.org/ Core requirement 2.12: Quality Enhancement Plan Comprehensive Standard 3.8: Library and Other Learning Resources Provides report from Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions about assessment of student learning CA, HI, and Pacific Basin region http://www.wascweb.org/ Standard 2: Achieving Educational Objectives through Core Functions. Lists questions about student learning; helpful link on assessment Regional Accrediting Bodies (cont’d)

9. Educational Offerings The institution’s educational offerings display academic content, rigor, and coherence that are appropriate to its higher education mission. The institution identifies student learning goals and objectives, including knowledge and skills, for its educational offerings. Fundamental Elements— program goals that are stated in terms of student learning outcomes;… collaboration between professional library staff and faculty in teaching and fostering information literacy skills relevant to the curriculum; programs that promote student use of information and learning resources;… Middle States Standard 11 Source: Middle States Commission. (2002). Characteristics of excellence in higher education.

10. General Education The institution’s curricula are designed so that students acquire and demonstrate college-level proficiency in general education and essential skills, including oral and written communication, scientific and quantitative reasoning, critical analysis and reasoning, technological competency, and information literacy. Fundamental Element— …assessment of general education outcomes within the institution’s overall plan for assessing student learning, and evidence that such assessment results are utilized for curricular improvement. Middle States Standard 12 Source: Middle States Commission. (2002). Characteristics of excellence in higher education.

11. Assessment of Student Learning Assessment of student learning demonstrates that, at graduation, the institution’s students have knowledge, skills and competencies consistent with institutional and appropriate higher education goals. Fundamental Element — …a documented, organized, and sustained assessment process to evaluate and improve student learning that meets the following criteria: …direct evidence of student learning… Middle States Standard 14 Source: Middle States Commission. (2002). Characteristics of excellence in higher education.

12. FSU’s Accountability Cycle • Evidence shared with • external state agencies • Middle States Commission President’s Cabinet Deans’ Council Learn from results Institutional Assessment Committee Provide evidence Assessment review at Frostburg State University Student Learning Advisory Group

13. Assessment Assessment

14. Information Literacy Frostburg State Library Student Learning Goals Students will-- • frame a research question and identify main concepts and corresponding keywords that can be used during the search process. • learn to understand the differences among information sources. • learn to use catalog USMAI (the online catalog of the University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions) to identify appropriate books and items within the library and the University system. • learn to use Research Port to identify and find appropriate articles for their research. • learn to efficiently and effectively access information and identify credible sources, including information from the World Wide Web. • understand that there are different documentation styles for citing sources.

15. Summative Formative Direct Indirect survey short assignment (applying their skills) student self-report research exercises guided practice questions short survey ORIE survey freshman composition survey (all sections) Instruction: Assessment Library

16. Partnerships Partnerships

17. Freshman Composition Partnerships • Freshman composition sessions with collaborating faculty. • Experience was new for faculty. • Librarian took faculty member to lunch to discuss and plan the session. • Librarian drafted an outline and session handouts to send to faculty for feedback.

18. Assignments • Library Tools assignment In 250 to 500 words, evaluate the presentation on library tools. For instance--but not necessarily--consider the presenter, the style of presentation, the kinds of tools to which you were introduced, tools which you didn't know about but which seem valuable in the light of your past efforts to use the library, and so forth. In addition, distinguish between scholarly and popular sources. • Annotated Bibliography assignment

19. Establish learning goals Provide learning opportunities Use the results Assess student learning Assessment Cycle Assessment as a Four Step Continuous Cycle Text Source: Suskie, L. (2004). Assessing student learning: A common sense guide.

20. Tips and Lessons Learned Tips and Lessons Learned

21. Tips Start small Review ACRL Info Literacy standards Check out ACRL’s IL webpage Create assessment binder Assess by sample size Participate in an assessment e-seminar Join listservs: tlt-swg, ili, assess

22. Findings and Lessons Learned • Collaborate with faculty in greater numbers. • Conduct pre-test and post-test. • Reinforce learning concepts across disciplines. • Refine either the handouts or the instruction. • Refine the information literacy assessment process for freshman composition before developing and assessing information fluency standards for upper-level classes.

23. Assessment Alternatives • Project SAILS Tests students based on ACRL’s information literacy competency standards. Cost: $3 per student up to $2,000. Website: Projectsails.org Email: sails@kent.edu • TLT-The Teaching, Learning, and Technology Group. Assessment tools are available. Some resources are free, while other resources are by subscription. Website: tlcgroup.org Email:infor@tlt.org • National Survey of Student Engagement- Web and paper version. Note: Different levels of assessment. Sampling fee dependent on enrollment. Website: nsse.iub.edu/index.cfm Email: nsse@indiana.edu

24. Further Research • Conduct study about assessment experience from several institutions from each regional accrediting body. • Conduct a longitudinal study of freshman composition (5-10 years) to see whether there is a significant increase in information literacy as a result of instruction.

25. Question & Answer Q & A

26. Questions? • For more information: Katherine Jenkins Lewis J. Ort Library kjenkins2@frostburg.edu Judith Pula Department of English jpula@frostburg.edu