Plan for Assessing Student Learning Academic Years 2012-13 through 2016-17 Concord University Approved 2007 (Revised August 2013) (Revised August 2011) (Revised August 2010 (Revised August 2008) Page 1 of 14
Table of Contents Overview of CU s Assessment Plan... 3 Assessing General Studies... 3 Current Assessment Measures... 6 Assessment Instruments... 6 Reporting of Institutional Effectiveness... Error! Bookmark not defined. Plan for Assessing Student Learning... 9 Suggested Plan to address Teaching and Learning... 9 Suggested Plan for Effective Teaching... 11 Appendix... 13 Criterion Three. Teaching and Learning: Quality, Resources, and Support... 13 Core Component 3.B... 13 Criterion Four. Teaching Learning: Evaluation and Improvement... 13 Core Component 4.B... 13 Page 2 of 14
Assessment of student learning is a responsibility of the Concord University (CU) faculty, and with faculty oversight the development of student learning goals reflecting the University s mission and goals is an integral facet of Concord s learning community. The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, as well as specific degree program accrediting bodies, expects all institutions to have in place an institutional assessment process. The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (HEPC) also requires regular, rigorous program review and reporting which includes reporting assessment of student learning. Overview of CU s Assessment Plan Assessment is the process by which academic institutions evaluate student progress in learning and success in achieving educational goals. Concord University s mission and goals reflect the institutional commitment to the improvement of student learning. The educational programs of Concord University are designed to foster skills, knowledge, and attitudes applicable across a wide range of academic fields and professional careers in a culturally diverse, perpetually evolving global community. The general goals for skills, knowledge, and attitudes fostered through Concord University s educational programs are as follows: a) Skills include proficiency in interpreting data, integrating information, formulating ideas, thinking critically, and communicating with others. b) Knowledge refers to familiarity with principles underlying academic discourse in various fields. c) Attitudes are tendencies conducive to self-knowledge, personal growth and development, and responsible citizenship. Effective assessment is a strategy for understanding, evaluating, and improving student learning within the context of the institution s mission and learning goals and to ensure cycle of continuous improvement in teaching and learning. Therefore, Concord University academic assessment is intended to: generate information on student learning outcomes, produce evidence of intended student learning, guide stakeholders in using information to improve student learning, and guide broad educational and organizational improvement. The overarching goal of our institutional assessment is to demonstrate that Concord s commitment to learning is not simply a matter of compliance, but a commitment to students accomplishments. Assessing General Studies The mission of Concord University s General Studies Program provides opportunities to begin developing skills needed for addressing complex issues, to build a foundational knowledge base for Page 3 of 14
lifelong learning, and to cultivate attitudes that promote personal and societal well-being and experiential enrichment. General education is an essential element in an educational process designed around student learning expectations and the attainment of the skills, knowledge, and attitudes. At Concord University, the Program of General Studies is a coherent series of courses that emphasize the common learning of a shared body of knowledge, the development of intellectual skills, and an appreciation of the diverse social and cultural values and institutions that make up the modern world. Through studies in these basic liberal arts and sciences, students gain a foundation for specialized studies, are equipped with the tools and skills necessary to pursue further learning, and acquire an understanding of the modes of inquiry and the ways of knowing. This is accomplished through the attainment of student learning in the specified skills, knowledge, and attitudes goals defined and developed by Concord s faculty. Skills: Proficiency in interpreting data, integrating information, formulating ideas, thinking critically, and communicating with others, as demonstrated by the following competencies: 1. Effective inter-communication skills and literacies, adapted as needed for the demands of various kinds of discourse: listening and speaking reading and writing non-verbal communication media and technological literacy 2. An ability to employ appropriate observational, logical, analytical, computational, creative, and critical thinking skills in problem solving. 3. An ability to employ appropriate methods and technologies for conducting empirical and scholarly research, to interpret research findings, and to use insights gained from such research as a basis for informed decision making. 4. An ability to analyze, synthesize, and integrate elements, information and ideas. 5. An ability to evaluate elements, information, and ideas on the basis of appropriate criteria. 6. An ability to apply and to transfer academic and experiential learning appropriately from one context to another. 7. An ability to learn and work effectively both independently and collaboratively. Knowledge: Familiarity with principles underlying academic discourse in various fields, as demonstrated by the following capabilities: 1. An ability to discern the reciprocal influences of environments, cultural beliefs and attitudes, and societal institutions and practices 2. An awareness of the fundamental characteristics and properties of the physical universe. 3. An ability to interpret events and trends within historical contexts. 4. Acquaintance with principles underlying languages - for example, linguistic, mathematical, and computer-language systems. Page 4 of 14
5. A recognition of the complex interactions between organisms, including human beings, and their environments. 6. An awareness of the aesthetic principles, methods, materials, and media employed in artistic performance and the creation of works of art and literature. 7. Self-knowledge, including awareness of one's own competencies, deficiencies, and optimal individual learning-style(s). Attitudes: Tendencies conducive to self-knowledge, personal growth and development, and responsible citizenship as demonstrated by the following: 1. Habitual reflection on ethical/moral implications of actions when weighing decisions and evaluating outcomes. 2. Exercise of responsible leadership--including leadership by example--and of responsible followership. 3. Respectful attentiveness to differing perspectives and willingness to engage in dialogue across differences in order to seek mutual understanding and equitable conflict resolution. 4. Cultivation of and support for attitudes and practices that foster physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being. 5. Appreciation for the creative process and for the rich diversity of artistic achievement. 6. Commitment to social responsibility, including community service and civic engagement. 7. Motivation to pursue lifelong learning and ongoing intellectual growth. Page 5 of 14
Current Assessment Measures As stated in the Concord University mission, the University s programs are designed to foster skills, knowledge, and attitudes applicable across a wide range of academic fields and professional careers in a culturally diverse, perpetually evolving global community. The mission statement stresses the value of student learning. Assessment Instruments 1. Freshman Attitude Survey (FAS) Indirect, self-reporting instrument administered annually This is an in-house developed instrument that is administered to all entering freshmen as part of their orientation course early in the fall semester. The FAS asks questions related to attitudes and values reflected in University goals and is used as a pre-test measure of locally developed questions administered as a post-test to seniors in the Graduating Senior Survey (GSS). The results available by division or discipline but the results are not comparable to data of other universities 2. Graduating Student Survey (GSS) Indirect, self-reporting instrument administered annually This is an in-house developed instrument that is administered to all graduating seniors as part of their graduation packet shortly prior to commencement. The GSS asks questions related to student satisfaction, attitude formations, and perceived skill and knowledge acquisition reflecting University goals. The GSS is also used as a post-measure of locally developed questions administered to freshmen in the FAS. The results regularly distributed to the President, VPAD, Division Heads, and Assessment Committee but the results are not comparable to data of other universities? 3. College Learning Assessment (CLA) Direct instrument administered annually The CLA is a nationally normed instrument that offers applied writing tasks and performance tasks. The applied writing tasks measure a student s ability to articulate complex ideas, examine claims and evidence, support ideas with relevant reasons and examples, sustain a coherent discussion, and use standard written English. The performance tasks require students to use an integrated combination of critical thinking, analytic reasoning, problem solving, and written communication skills to answer several open-ended questions about a hypothetical but realistic situation. A sample of freshmen and seniors take the test. Fifty percent are administered the Applied Writing tasks and fifty-percent take the Performance tasks test. The exam is scheduled to take no more than 1 ½ hours. Page 6 of 14
The results regularly distributed to the President, VPAD, Division Heads, and Assessment Committee, but are not available by division or discipline. 4. National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) Indirect, self-reporting instrument administered every 3 rd spring The NSSE is a nationally normed, comparable measure student perceptions of academic challenge, active and collaborative learning, student-faculty interactions, enriching educational experiences, and supportiveness of the campus environment. A sample of first-time freshmen and graduating seniors take the measure during the spring semester of every third academic year. The survey originates from the National Survey of Student Engagement, Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana University Bloomington, http://www.indiana.edu/~nsse/ 5. Discipline-specific capstone courses Direct instrument In addition to the above assessment instruments, each academic department contributes to the overall assessment effort by developing assessment plans and submitting regular assessment reports. These reports document accomplishment of discipline specific goals corresponding to the University mission and goals. The charts below indicate which of the current institutional-level component measures assessment instruments provide data related to the University s Learning Goals. Skills: Proficiency in interpreting data, integrating information, formulating ideas, thinking critically, and communicating with others. Table One: Skill acquisition as assessed by component measures. SKILLS FAS GSS CLA NSSE Effective inter-communication skills and literacies Proficiency in skills used for problem solving Ability to conduct, interpret, and apply scholarly research Ability to analyze, synthesize, and integrate elements, information and ideas Ability to critically evaluate information and ideas Ability to apply learning in different contexts Ability to learn and work independently and collaboratively CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Knowledge: Familiarity with principles underlying academic discourse in various fields. Page 7 of 14
Table Two: Knowledge acquisition as assessed by component measures KNOWLEDGE FAS GSS CLA NSSE Understanding of the reciprocal influences of environments, cultural beliefs and attitudes, and societal institutions and practices Awareness of the fundamental characteristics and properties of the physical universe. An ability to interpret events and trends within historic contexts. Proficiency in language acquisition including linguistics mathematics, and computer language systems. Recognition of the complex interactions between organisms and their environments. An awareness of the principles, methods, materials, and media employed in the creation and presentation of art and literature. Self-knowledge, including awareness of one s competencies, deficiencies and learning-style. X CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE Political Science Sociology Geography Social Work Chemistry Physical Science Natural Science History Political Science Sociology Geography Language Math Computer Science Biology Zoology Geography Fine Arts Language and Literature Psychology Social Work Education Attitudes: Tendencies conducive to self-knowledge, personal growth and development, and responsible citizenship. Table Three: Attitude formation as assessed by component measures ATTITUDE FAS GSS CLA NSSE CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE Ethical decision-making X X X Business Responsible leading and following X X X Respect for diversity and conflict resolution X X X Fostering of well-being X X X Appreciation of art and creativity X X X Page 8 of 14
Social responsibility X X X Lifelong learning and intellectual growth X X X Plan for Assessing Student Learning Reviewing the HLC Criteria for accreditation we need to develop an assessment plan that will begin to provide evidence of student learning and effective teaching. How do we undertake this task? We strive to offer suggestions for moving forward to provide evidence of working toward and/or meeting the HLC criterion. Below are suggestions that the University should begin to work toward to satisfy components of the Criteria related to programmatic and general education assessment to be evidenced by the core components in Criteria 3 and 4. Suggested Plan to address Teaching and Learning Hire a full-time Director of Assessment and Institutional Research this could be a faculty position in the Division of Education who could teach the evaluation course in the Master s program. o Resources must be identified to support Assessment. Assessment should have a specific budget line item in the academic budget. A proposed yearly budget is presented to the VPAD by the Assessment Director o Develop a center for Teaching and Learning. o This position can be responsible for obtaining and reporting the following: HEPC Compact data necessary for programmatic accreditation data necessary for program review processes Hire a full-time Director of Retention completed spring 2014 Revamp and revise Assessment Committee perhaps rename as the Committee on Student Learning. This committee operates and reports to the Vice President and Academic Dean s Office. o This committee must be recognized as very important o The mission of the Assessment Committee needs to be developed and approved. A suggested mission is as follows: The mission of Concord University s Assessment Committee is to maintain best practices in assessment to monitor and improve student learning at the course, program, and institutional levels, leading to continuous improvement in teaching and learning. o Develop a group of assessment enthusiasts, i.e., a group of faculty, staff, students, administrators who can get the campus excited about assessment and help faculty understand the importance of assessing student learning. This group could be members Page 9 of 14
o of the established Assessment committee, but with more representation and with the expectation of more work This committee should work closely with the General Studies committee to develop and communicate the process for assessing general education studies and student learning of University goals in general education. Develop well-documented assessment procedures of student learning for general education studies. The University received a grant from the Higher Education Policy Commission to begin the process of developing a plan for assessing our general education program in spring 2014. The following steps, in order, are necessary to develop this process and have been recognized by the HEPC to fulfill the grant obligation: o Complete curriculum mapping of University Learning Goals to General Education Studies courses. The Assessment Committee began to work on mapping the University Learning Goals to general education courses in Spring 2013. Currently, courses that address the goals have been identified. o Identify which courses provide assessment feedback of learning to the students members of the Assessment committee plan to begin this work at the beginning of the fall 2013 semester. The curriculum mapping of general education courses to the University s Learning Goals should be completed by March 2014. o Identify learning goals with each course in general studies base on the general education studies curriculum map. o Develop learning outcomes for the University s learning goals. These outcomes will also be mapped to the state-wide assessment measurement for general education. o Identify methods and criteria to assess learning goals. o identify learning goal(s) and appropriate courses to pilot the assessment activities and collection of data of the learning activities(to generate original artifacts) in general education. o Implement assessment instrument and assessment activity in the identified courses. o Course syllabi should identify which University Learning Goals are assessed in courses Complete the above cycle for Graduate Studies Learning Goals, once developed. A subcommittee of the Graduate Council began work to develop University Learning Goals for graduate education in spring 2014. To achieve the above for the undergraduate and graduate programs, adopt an institution-wide assessment management system, i.e., LiveText, Weave, etc. Currently, the Division of Education is using LiveText as their assessment management system for reporting for NCATE/CAEP. Requiring LiveText to be used as the Institution s assessment management system would be the most logical choice since it is already being utilized by a large majority of students in the Division of Education Increase the usability of assessment o As part of general education assessment, the individual general education areas MUST report how they are using their assessment results. Page 10 of 14
o o Provide longitudinal assessment data evidence of student learning in general education studies. Ensure faculty, administration, staff, and student knowledge and involvement in the University s assessment program in an effort to increase commitment to educational improvement based on student learning outcomes. Ensure that programmatic assessment reports identify which University learning goals are assessed and report the data related to student learning. The assessment committee provided feedback of programmatic reports submitted 2012-13 regarding assessment of learning goals. Ensure that STUDENTS know the University Learning Goals and that they know where they are addressed in general education studies and programmatic curricula expectation of HLC visit currently the goals are published in the catalog and on the website o Assessment of University Goals must be available on the Assessment Website o Report of programmatic assessment must be available on the Assessment Website o UNIV 100 should include introduction to the University Learning Goals as the first marketing of these goals o Course syllabi should identify which Learning Goals are assessed in courses o University Goals and Assessment expectations of students should be included in the student handbook completed for fall 2013. Establish a system of communicating assessment information to University stakeholders All programmatic assessment reports turned in 2012-13 were reviewed by members of the Assessment committee and report preparers received feedback via the Assessment Report Check sheet. The Assessment Report Check sheet and Assessment Handbook need to be updated to reflect the procedure for better reporting where and how University Learning Goals are assessed within programs to provide longitudinal data of student learning beyond the general education program. The organization integrates into its assessment of student learning the data reported for purposes of external accountability (e.g., graduation rates, passage rates on licensing exams, placement rates, transfer rates). this is an example of evidence from HLC The organization s assessment of student learning extends to all educational offerings, including credit and noncredit certificate programs. -- this is an example of evidence from HLC Suggested Plan for Effective Teaching Provide faculty development on how to do assessment; the importance of assessment; using assessment data; etc. Possible formats could include formal workshops, brown bag lunches, expert speakers, etc. Provide feedback regarding assessment data collected. Currently, programmatic assessment is taking place, BUT there is no evidence that all programs are using the assessment data reported. Concord is operating in the black hole of assessment. No feedback is provided from what assessment is taking place and reported. Page 11 of 14
o o As part of programmatic assessment, programs MUST report how they are using their assessment results. The University s annual report of academic assessment MUST report how programs are assessing University Learning goals in the individual programmatic assessment and their feedback loop related to this assessment. This will provide longitudinal assessment data evidence of student learning beyond the general education studies. Page 12 of 14
Appendix HLC accreditation criteria related to the University s assessment evidence of student learning in general education and programs. Criterion Three. Teaching and Learning: Quality, Resources, and Support The institution provides high quality education, wherever and however its offerings are delivered. Core Component 3.B: The institution demonstrates that the exercise of intellectual inquiry and the acquisition, application, and integration of broad learning and skills are integral to its educational programs. 1. The general education program is appropriate to the mission, educational offerings, and degree levels of the institution. 2. The institution articulates the purposes, content, and intended learning outcomes of its undergraduate general education requirements. The program of general education is grounded in a philosophy or framework developed by the institution or adopted from an established framework. It imparts broad knowledge and intellectual concepts to students and develops skills and attitudes that the institution believes every college-educated person should possess. 3. Every degree program offered by the institution engages students in collecting, analyzing, and communicating information; in mastering modes of inquiry or creative work; and in developing skills adaptable to changing environments. 4. The education offered by the institution recognizes the human and cultural diversity of the world in which students live and work. 5. The faculty and students contribute to scholarship, creative work, and the discovery of knowledge to the extent appropriate to their programs and the institution s mission. Criterion Four. Teaching Learning: Evaluation and Improvement The institution demonstrates responsibility for the quality of its educational programs, learning environments, and support services, and it evaluates their effectiveness for student learning through processes designed to promote continuous improvement HLC Criterion Statement The organization provides evidence of student learning and teaching effectiveness that demonstrates it is fulfilling its educational mission. Core Component 4.B.: The institution demonstrates a commitment to educational achievement and improvement through ongoing assessment of student learning. 1. The institution has clearly stated goals for student learning and effective processes for assessment of student learning and achievement of learning goals. 2. The institution assesses achievement of the learning outcomes that it claims for its curricular and co-curricular programs. Page 13 of 14
3. The institution uses the information gained from assessment to improve student learning. 4. The institution s processes and methodologies to assess student learning reflect good practice, including the substantial participation of faculty and other instructional staff members. Page 14 of 14