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Cabrillo’s SLO Journey

Cabrillo’s SLO Journey. Georg Romero Library Director Cabrillo College Library December 3, 2010 (libwww.cabrillo.edu/staff/slo/carldig2010.ppt). A trip through Cabrillo’s SLO journey. Or, How we eagerly embraced service assessments from the start…. Denial.

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Cabrillo’s SLO Journey

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  1. Cabrillo’s SLO Journey Georg Romero Library Director Cabrillo College LibraryDecember 3, 2010 (libwww.cabrillo.edu/staff/slo/carldig2010.ppt)

  2. A trip through Cabrillo’s SLO journey Or, How we eagerly embraced service assessments from the start…

  3. Denial • They’re not serious about assessing services! • This will only apply to the classroom, right? • Another fad – it’ll pass…

  4. Anger • How can they possibly expect us to assess our services? • It’s impossible – we can’t do it! • Those meddling dunderheads at WASC…

  5. Bargaining • What if we just say we’re going to do it? • Couldn’t we just describe how much we benefit students? • Could I at least use all these wonderful library statistics, somehow?

  6. Depression • We’re never going to figure this out. • We’re going to lose our accreditation, and I’m going to lose my job…

  7. Acceptance • OK. Fine. • So, how could we assess our services? This is when it got interesting…

  8. Two key early decision points • What kinds of student learning could we definitely claim a causative role in? • How much time do we want to spend on this?

  9. What kinds of student learning could we definitely claim? • How to attribute specific learning outcomes to transaction services? • Can we separate what we teach outside the classroom from what classroom faculty teach? • Do library service users succeed because of the library, or do successful students simply know the benefits of the library?

  10. How much time do we want to spend on this? • Is it worth the time and effort to produce potentially very tenuous findings? • Should we focus on simple, practical approaches, but risk not meeting the requirements?

  11. What we decided • Leave the detailed studies for another day • Streamline, and focus on the practical and immediately relevant • We will make this useful for us Community college librarians are a pragmatic bunch!

  12. Assessment options considered • Narrative descriptions • Statistical measures • Student self-assessment • Focus groups • Post-transaction sampling surveys/interviews • Surveys

  13. Narrative descriptions • Easy to write – we know this stuff • Widely used among academic institutions (example) • Descriptive, not usually very measurable • Tend to be global, and not as relevant to individual transactions • Useful for internal communication and mindset

  14. Statistical measures • We have lots of these… • Reflect quantity and usage, not quality or effectiveness • Most likely useful statistics would need to be created and cross-correlated: • Track reference service users, compare GPA or semester success to non-users • Compare users vs non-users on a required bibliography for a specific class research project

  15. Student self-assessment • Easy to fold into a survey, interview, or focus group • But – do students really know what they know? • Perceived value is informative, especially in an information void

  16. Focus groups • Potentially rich source of detailed information • Examples: Austin Pea S.U., Univ. of Pittsburgh • Small sample size • Most often used for specific goals: assess effectiveness of a catalog redesign, etc. • Heavily dependent upon personalities, both interviewers and interviewees • Possible focus group: How does the library assist your learning processes?

  17. Post-transaction sampling surveys/interviews • Very “fresh” assessment • Somewhat intrusive • Heavily dependent upon student perceptions • Potentially small sample size • Home-grown, e.g. Cuyamaca, Linscheid • Or, professionally available, e.g. WOREP • Influenced by student’s mood and the “feel-good” aspects

  18. Surveys • Familiar • Many models out there, can fold almost anything into a survey • Home-grown, e.g. Cabrillo, Southern Illinois (survey of IM service) • Professionally available, e.g. LibQUAL • Multi-purpose

  19. Surveys (cont’d) • Paper or online, each with merits & drawbacks • Dependent upon student self-assessment • Typically very actionable results • Can have multiple surveys for different population groups

  20. What we decided • Multiple approaches: • Some narrative descriptions, used in our accreditation self-study and program plan • Annual survey, incorporating student self-assessment on campus “core competencies” • No specific assessment for any specific service • Leave the door open for different future approaches

  21. Our outcomes • Students self-assessed positively on all four campus core competencies • Established a process of collecting survey data and discussing it annually, then acting upon any key findings • Passed accreditation in 2007, with a commendation for the library

  22. Some unanticipated benefits • Focused Circulation staff more on teaching and learning, less on punishing • Increased team mindset across the board • Increased attention to action and experimentation, not just measurement

  23. Looking back • Don’t be afraid to try – if it doesn’t work out, try something else • Most important: do somethingwith your findings • Use the new requirements to help meet old goals: • Service improvements • Staff training and evaluations • Awareness building across all campus groups • Mentoring for a ubiquitous service-mindset

  24. Links • “Assessment of student learning from Reference Service,” G. Gremmels & K. Lehmann, Wartburg College(crl.acrl.org/content/68/6/488.full.pdf) • CSU Northridge, Oviatt Library, Objectives for Library Services (library.csun.edu/kdabbour/assessment.html#services) • Community college survey on library SLOs, J. Turner, Palo Verde College (pages.paloverde.edu/staff/library/slosurvey.doc) • Conducting Focus Groups in Libraries, Sara Aerni, Special Projects Librarian, Univ. of Pittsburgh, 8 April 2005 (www.lib.whu.edu.cn/dzpx/files/5Focus_Groups.ppt) • Cuyamaca College Library Questionnaire (www.cuyamaca.edu/slo/PDF/Ref%20Card/RefDeskCard_Fall2010.pdf) • “Instruction via Instant Messaging Reference: What’s Happening?” C. Desai & S. Graves, Southern Illinois University(opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1025&context=morris_articles)

  25. Links (cont’d) • Linscheid Library, East Central University; Reference Assessment Plan (www.ecok.edu/siteContent/1/documents/library/reference/reference_assessment_plan.pdf) • “Use of focus groups in a library’s strategic planning process,” M. L. Higa-Moore et al, J Med Libr Assoc 90(1) 2002 (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ articles/PMC64762/pdf/i0025-7338-090-01-0086.pdf) • “What do students want? A focus group study of students at a mid-sized public university,” M. A. Weber, R. K. Flatley, Library Philosophy & Practice, 2008 (www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/weber-flatley2.pdf) • “What do they know? Assessing the Library’s contribution to student learning,” B. Fister, Library Issues 19.1 (Sept. 1998)(homepages.gac.edu/~fister/LIassessment.html) • “What WOREP results say about reference service, patron success and satisfaction,” J. A. Gedeon et al, RUSA New Reference Research Forum, ALA Annual Conference, 2009 (worep.library.kent.edu/Summary_of_the_Study.pdf)

  26. Thank You! (libwww.cabrillo.edu/staff/slo/carldig2010.ppt)

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