Estrella Mountain Community College · Web viewCritical Inquiry Social, Civic, and Global Responsibility Technological Literacy Student mastery of the general education abilities

What are the primary SAAC goals? Explain how the primary department goals and budget align with the EMCC mission.

The purpose of the Student Academic Achievement Committee (SAAC) is to coordinate faculty and college resources in order to sustain a robust assessment framework at the course, program, and college level.

We will improve student learning through:

The integration of student abilities (see Appendix A) and student learning outcomes into programs and curricula

Creative and practical assessment of academic achievement

The analysis of assessment data to better inform teaching and learning practices

The mission of Estrella Mountain is to be an innovative higher learning organization responding to the diverse needs of West Valley communities. Learners have an opportunity to successfully accomplish their educational and personal goals through the following college purposes:

Developmental Education : SAAC supports this through sharing best practices in the integration of student abilities and student learning outcomes into programs and curricula, the creative and practical assessment of academic achievement, and through the analysis of assessment data to better inform teaching and learning practices.

General Education : SAAC supports this through sharing best practices in the integration of student abilities and student learning outcomes into programs and curricula, the creative and practical assessment of academic achievement, and through the analysis of assessment data to better inform teaching and learning practices.

Workforce Development : CATS provides the analysis of assessment data to better inform teaching and learning practices. Additionally, SAAC shares data from their general education abilities assessments with local entities, such as high schools, to give them a feel for where our students are, and how agencies can impact that with their own students.

Civic Responsibility, Global Engagement : SAAC assesses the College’s students in terms of social, civic and global responsibility every three years.

Who are the key users of the department and in what ways does SAAC service their needs?

Faculty: Student mastery of the general education abilities are measured using Bloom's Taxonomy, a gauge for measuring critical thinking. One (and once a cycle, two) general education abilities are the focus of assessment across the general education curriculum each semester,

according to the faculty approved general education assessment cycle (see Appendix B).

Administration: Providing evidence of academic and organizational assessment to meet critical HLC Accreditation requirements and satisfy critical assessment issues.

College departments: SAAC is in the nascent stage of reaching out to other entities on campus (such as Student Services) to more fully integrate the action research cycle for continual improvement. This collaboration encourages the involvement of creating, rating, and commenting on posted CATS, especially in their area.

Other institutions: Provide leadership and vision on effective assessment, engage external faculty in peer review of best practices, and to share our body of knowledge to the higher learning world. SAAC presents a minimum of once per semester at conferences across the nation. Within MCCCD, SAAC has collaborated with three other colleges sharing our best assessment tracking practices.

EMCC Faculty and Adjunct Faculty: Through general education abilities assessments each semester, and through the integration of CATS, faculty have continual input on not only their own best teaching practices, but on how our college students are doing within each of the gen ed abilities. This provides a compass for faculty to enhance their focus on these key areas.

Provide examples of how SAAC has adapted over the last three years to meet changes in resources, levels of demand, and service demographics

CATS: CATS (see Appendix C) is ever evolving as a peer review tool to instill movement towards best practices in teaching. CATS has continually expanded since its inception to now include multiple methods of encouraging participation (such as CATS of the Month, CATS of the Year, CATS Division of the Year). A new section on the CATS website, “Best Practices,” allows faculty to now click on a best practice (such as Student Engagement) and see relevant CATS submissions in that area.

Gen Ed Assessments: SAAC oversees the assessment of seven general education abilities that they would like all general education students to enhance while they attend Estrella Mountain. These general education abilities include:

Communication Writing/Composition Information Literacy Quantitative Reasoning Critical Inquiry Social, Civic, and Global Responsibility Technological Literacy

Student mastery of the general education abilities are measured using Bloom's Taxonomy, a gauge for measuring critical thinking. One (and once a cycle, two) general education abilities are the focus of assessment across the general education curriculum each semester, according to the faculty approved general education assessment cycle.

CATS provides a vehicle to identify needed changes in teaching environments. To meet the expanding need, SAAC continually seeks ways to expand the sharing and awareness of best practices in assessment. Furthermore, additional methods to filter the data to see specific applications have been added.

Describe SAAC’s workload measures as developed within local, regional and national regulation and policy processes. Please describe any trends in department usage over the last three years.

Attached is a separate document which details the type of workload SAAC Co-Chairs engage in, and a subsequent spread sheet of the hours-by-semester that are purposed towards those types.

What processes are used to ensure quality? How is satisfaction measured? Please describe any trends in satisfaction over the last three years. [departmental measures, CCSSE, graduate surveys, Noel-Levitz survey data, and other miscellaneous surveys]

SAAC is a critical quality assessment tool for the College in terms of providing:

Peer review of CATS submissions in and out of SAAC meetings One (and once a cycle, two) general education abilities are the

focus of assessment across the general education curriculum each semester, according to the faculty approved general education assessment cycle based on Bloom’s Taxonomy. These assessments are followed up the subsequent semester with a “Classroom Conversation” luncheon to explain the results of the most recent assessment, and harvest ideas for improving student achievement in the gen ed ability.

Surveys to students to assess awareness of Gen Ed abilities Opportunities for faculty to measure longitudinal changes in their

own teaching via comparing results in a single Gen Ed Abilities assessment across multiple assessment cycles

Surveys submitted at the end of each Assessment Happens workshop to find out what faculty liked, and where they would like to see improvement. The survey results are posted on the CATS website so transparency is adhered to.

Access:

What factors affect the ability of current and potential users to access your services?

The work of SAAC is directed towards faculty and staff. Access is more focused on the general education abilities of our students and the community.

Too often, students are not even aware of the concept of general education abilities, even when their instructors have built teachable concepts related to the Gen Ed abilities as a part of the syllabus, curriculum, and homework. Without that awareness, students are less able to improve.

By speaking at conferences, the SAAC Co-chairs have shared their learnings about assessment nation-wide. Limited budgets and time make the showcasing of SAAC learnings a challenge.

Student Academic Achievement Committee Website maintenance (see Appendix E) ensures current and continual updating of all SAAC processes, including access to major events, gen ed abilities, resources, meeting minutes, and CATS website access

Identify what the department has done to establish communication, partnerships, and cooperation with key stakeholders (e.g., high schools, other community college departments, the community, or four year institutions) in support of department and college goals.

SAAC’s focus is on the cross functional pollination of assessment best-practices. SAAC meetings are open to anyone interested. SAAC Co-Chairs actively pursue opportunities to engage faculty and staff in assessment in various assessment forums, including:

Bi-monthly sharing at EMCC Leadership Council meetings Active participation in strategic planning (3&4), the

development of the college plan, and faculty senate awareness of assessment

Bi-monthly meetings with OPIE to discuss needs, events, assessments, etc

SAAC website maintenance Assessment Happens Assessment in Action Involvement with Innovation of the Year Assessment Awareness Week CATS of the Month/Year Contests CATS Division of the Month contests Attending, presenting and sharing at conferences Frequent meeting with faculty to develop discipline-specific

assessments Frequent meeting with Divisions to encourage Gen Ed

assessment participation Sharing examples and ideas across curriculum

In what ways does SAAC coordinate with departments to deliver services to meet service demand most effectively within EMCC and across the Maricopa system?

SAAC is an integrated department across departments and divisions

Bi-monthly sharing at EMCC Leadership Council meetings Active participation in strategic planning (3&4), the

development of the college plan, and faculty senate awareness of assessment

Bi-monthly meetings with OPIE to discuss needs, events, assessments, etc

Meetings once/semester by divisions to review and encourage participation in Gen Ed Abilities assessment

Meetings, when arranged, with other Maricopa institutions to share best assessment practices.

Please identify factors in the following grid that promote as well as limit student and community access (using SWOT analysis grid).

Factors Promoting Access Factors Limiting Access

Controllable Factors

Strengths:

Co-Chair leadership and active involvement across departments and divisions

Cross-representation of divisions and departments

Challenges/Weaknesses:

Limited resources force decisions of how to prioritize the support of global SAAC goals.

Factors Possibly Influenced

Opportunities:

Successful faculty recruitment of Gen Ed assessment participants

Student and faculty awareness of Gen Ed abilities concepts

Expanded awareness in the higher learning community of EMCC assessment best practices

Threats:

Reduction in co-chair release time would limit the umbrella of what SAAC can deliver.

Identify potential strategies that the department may implement to improve access.

Expand emphasis on publication by SAAC Co-chairs Continue/expand release time for SAAC co-chairs to focus on

expanding access to learnings

Pathways to Success:

How do the goals of SAAC support student retention, persistence, & completion?

Developmental Education : SAAC supports improvement of retention, persistence and completion through sharing best practices in the integration of student abilities and student learning outcomes into programs and curricula, the creative and practical assessment of academic achievement, and through the analysis of assessment data to better inform teaching and learning practices.

General Education : SAAC supports improvement of retention, persistence and completion through sharing best practices in the integration of student abilities and student learning outcomes into programs and curricula, the creative and practical assessment of academic achievement, and through the analysis of assessment data to better inform teaching and learning practices.

Learner Support Services : CATS provides the analysis of assessment data to better inform teaching and learning practices which can improve retention, persistence and completion

Workforce Development : CATS provides the analysis of assessment data to better inform teaching and learning practices which can improve retention, persistence and completion

Civic Responsibility and Global Engagement : SAAC assesses the College’s students in terms of social, civic and global responsibility every three years.

Provide evidence SAAC effectively contributes to helping students meet their educational goals

See Appendix D For sample of most successful CATS

How is SAAC involved in creating environments which support learning

CATS: Launched in Fall 2012, the Comprehensive Assessment Tracking System (CATS) is the official means for electronically documenting and sharing assessments at the course, program, and college level. Features of the system include the ability for employees and other users to read, comment, and rate others' assessments. Beyond serving as a hub for all assessment documentation, the purpose of CATS is to allow and encourage EMCC faculty and staff to share and learn best practices in

pedagogy and assessment with the goal of continuously improving student learning.

Assessment Happens workshops: At the start of each semester, SAAC hosts a luncheon to explore the results of the most recent assessment, to explain and encourage the upcoming assessment, and to share best, research-based practices

Assessment Awareness Week: Each academic year, SAAC hosts an Assessment Awareness Week to raise faculty, staff, and student awareness of assessment results and events on campus.

General Education Assessments: The Estrella Mountain faculty members have identified seven general education abilities (see Appendix A) that they would like all general education students to enhance while they attend Estrella Mountain. These general education abilities include:

Communication Writing/Composition Information Literacy Quantitative Reasoning Critical Inquiry Social, Civic, and Global Responsibility Technological Literacy

Student mastery of the general education abilities are measured using Bloom's Taxonomy, a gauge for measuring critical thinking.

One (and once a cycle, two) general education abilities are the focus of assessment across the general education curriculum each semester, according to the faculty approved general education assessment cycle (see Appendix B).

Describe the level to which fiscal /human resources and physical /technological infrastructure is sufficient for SAAC to support its operations in order to provide pathways to success.

SAAC currently is led by two faculty members serving two-year terms, each with 9 hours of release time. OPIE offers a great deal of additional support and analysis to further the SAAC cause. Additional human resources involved include those who participate in SAAC meetings and events, participate with Gen Ed ability assessments, and students who reply to the Gen Ed Abilities survey. IT provides additional support through its Drupal website for CATS.

Please identify factors in the following grid that promote as well as limit student and community pathways to success (using SWOT analysis grid).

Factors Promoting Pathways to Success Factors Limiting Pathways to Success

Controllable Factors

Strengths:

Knowledge database of EMCC assessment practices (CATS)

Various events and venues sharing these results

Challenges/Weaknesses:

Reduction in co-chair release time would limit the umbrella of what SAAC can deliver

Factors Possibly Influenced

Opportunities:

Future marketing of SAAC

Threats:

Perceptions of being too busy to participate in assessments

Perceptions that participation benefit doesn’t merit loss of class time

Lack of understanding of the tools

Limited Control and Influence

Methods to Adapt:

Surveys Newsletters Meetings presentations

Identify potential strategies that SAAC may implement to improve access

Continued release time levels for SAAC Co-chairs Expand motivational strategies for faculty involvement in CATS

and gen ed abilities assessments.

Effective Teaching and Learning:

What are SAAC’s functions, offerings, and activities (list them)?

SAAC Committee meetings General Education assessment coordination Classroom poster maintenance Reading, rating and commenting on CATS Assisting with the writing of CATS Training adjunct and new staff on EMCC assessment, including

CATS Share learnings in EMCC Leadership Council meetings, Faculty

Senate, Department meetings, etc.

How are department CATS submissions are a primary element of the monthly SAAC

functions, offerings and activities reviewed and revised? Is there an assessment process? Identify learning outcomes of this assessment process and what changes, if any, took place as a result of these outcomes.

meetings. Submissions are discussed and the most innovative is designated as the CATS of the Month.

SAAC events and Gen Ed events are evaluated via a CATS submission.

Learning outcomes are a critical part of the CATS submission. Future Gen Ed assessments in the cycle consider learning outcomes from prior submissions.

Explain how staff obtain and maintain the knowledge and skills to effectively promote student success

SAAC Co-chairs provide training at New Employee Orientations for adjunct and permanent staff

SAAC Co-chairs meet with individuals and departments to convey best practices in assessment

How are new employees made aware of college learning principles (beyond NEO, shadowing, student affairs meetings, how integrated in daily life, final interview learning college question)?

The two co-chair roles are on staggered two-year cycles.

Organizational Integrity:

How does the work of the committee demonstrate a commitment to organizational integrity (including but not limited to the use of public resources)?

SAAC budget oversight and administration Co-chairs represent SAAC in the BDST process Bi-monthly reports and sharing out at Leadership Council

meetings

What controls and measures are in place for the department to ensure organizational integrity?

Sharing/discussing budget measures such as projected versus actual data as a part of the regular SAAC meetings

Once-per-semester Assessment Happens meetings with faculty and administration to get suggestions and feedback

Please identify factors in the following grid that promote as well as limit organizational integrity (using SWOT analysis grid).

Factors Promoting Organizational Integrity Factors Limiting Organizational Integrity

Controllable Factors

Strengths:

Frequent budget monitoring ensures accountability

SAAC Co-Chairs participation in the BDST process each year

Challenges/Weaknesses:

There are hidden resource (opportunity) costs associated with the support of SAAC’s work beyond the role of the SAAC Co-Chairs

Factors Possibly Influenced

Opportunities:

Expand the understanding of the role, benefit, and scope of the work performed by SAAC Co-Chairs, as well as those who support SAAC in general

Support within the Faculty Senate and Administration for SAAC

Challenges:

Lack of understanding of the work being done and its role in accreditation as well as student success

Limited release time hours for faculty, along with perceptions of disparate levels of release time across functions.

Mixed levels of support within the Faculty Senate for SAAC

Proposed reduction of Co-Chair release time would limit output/production of SAAC

Limited Control and Influence

Methods to Adapt:

Continued BDST participation Continued Leadership Council participation Documentation of the time use of SAAC Co-Chairs in documents such as this

program review

Identify potential strategies that SAAC may implement to improve organizational integrity

-Annual Hour Accountability

-Annual Reports (DSAAC and Budget Reports)

-Program Review every 3 years

Plans for the Future:

What is the expected workflow volume for SAAC over the next five years?

-Expected workflow volume is to increase, as more departments adopt the Assessment Cycle-Continuous Improvement model (through needed SAAC Co-Chair training)

-Sharing of SAAC practices will continue to challenge Co-Chairs time allotment

What emerging factors, such as funding, technology, and demographic shifts may affect your department and how will these be addressed?

-Potential reduction in Reassigned Time will significantly decrease operating potentials

What are the professional growth challenges for staff in your area over the next three years?

Yearly election of SAAC Co-Chair (for two-year cycle) may indicate substantial training to familiarize new Co-Chair with job responsibilities (if new personnel is elected)

Independent of resource allocation, how would you change or enhance your department to maximize student success? [process orientation, efficiency, effectiveness]

-Continue to investigate new ways to enhance faculty participation in gen ed abilities assessments

-Continue to investigate new ways to enhance student participation in gen ed abilities awareness

How will addressing the resources needs increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the department? How many people (i.e., students, staff, and community members) would this impact in both the short and long term?

-Proposed reduction of Co-Chair reassigned time could significantly limit efficiency and effectiveness of SAAC

-Limitations would affect CATS maintenance, SAAC Website maintenance (see Appendix E), events facilitation, gen ed abilities cycle maintenance, off campus presentations, HLC obligations

Three Year Plan:

Year 1:

Implement Communication (Fall) and Information Literacy (Spring) assessments Evaluate Quantitative Reasoning; Social, Civic, & Global Responsibility; and Composition-Writing

assessments Improve Critical Inquiry and Technological Literacy assessments including suggestions for

improvement

Year 2:

Implement Critical Inquiry (Fall) and Technological Literacy (Spring) assessments Evaluate Communication and Information Literacy assessments

Improve Quantitative Reasoning; Social, Civic, & Global Responsibility; and Composition-Writing assessments

Year 3:

Implement Quantitative Reasoning; Social, Civic, & Global Responsibility; and Composition-Writing assessments

Evaluate Critical Inquiry and Technological Literacy assessments Improve Communication and Information Literacy assessments

Appendixes

Appendix A: General Education Abilities for EMCC

Appendix B: General Education Abilities Assessment Cycle

Appendix C: The Comprehensive Assessment Tracking System (CATS)

Appendix D: CATS of the Month Sample

Appendix E: SAAC Website Snapshot