The Importance of Campus-Wide Assessment to the Self-Study: Standards 7 and 14

The Importance of Campus-Wide Assessment to the Self-Study:

Standards 7 and 14

Tim Sellers and Janine Bower

msa.keuka.edu

Vision & Mission

Keuka Info & Docs

Middle States Docs

Value of Assessment

• The fundamental question asked in the accreditation process is:

“Is the institution fulfilling its mission and achieving its goals?”

• This is precisely the question that assessment is designed to answer

1. Program Learning GoalsGoal 1 …Goal 2 …Goal 3 …

2. Curricular Map

3. Assessment CycleYear 1 Assess Goal 1 Courses: A, B, ..Year 2 Assess Goal 2 Courses: A, C, ..Year 3 Assess Goal 3 Courses: B, C, ..

4. Program Assessment Activities

Program Assessment Basics

Opportunities for Student Learning & Assessment

Program Learning Goals

Course A Course B Other (e.g. Portfolio, External Exam)

Goal 1 x x

Goal 2 x x

Goal 3 x x

Program Assessment Basics

1. Program Learning GoalsGoal 1 …Goal 2 …Goal 3 …

2. Curricular Map

3. Assessment CycleYear 1 Assess Goal 1 Courses: A, B,..Year 2 Assess Goal 2 Courses: A, C,..Year 3 Assess Goal 3 Courses: B, C,..

4. Program Assessment Activities

Students have multiple opportunities for exposure to and practice and development of knowledge and skills relative to each learning goal.

There are multiple points and measures for assessing student learning for each goal. Not all goals are assessed all the time. Careful planning is needed to identify assessment points and sources of evidence.

Through collaboration, program faculty collect and analyze evidence which is used to inform program planning and practice (evidence-based practice).

Program goals are broad, important and evaluable.

Opportunities for Student Learning & Assessment

Program Learning Goals

Course A Course B Other (e.g. Portfolio, External Exam)

Goal 1 x x

Goal 2 x x

Goal 3 x x

Recipe for a Drug Scare: The Social Construction of Deviance

Can students apply this factor model of drug scares to a select drug scare from US History?

1. A kernel of truth, by finding and including 1 (one) strong piece of evidence that there is some basis for the claim being made that it is a problem, such as research findings/statistical information.

2. Media magnification, by including 2 examples of how the media dramatizes the drug problem by showing the worst of the worst or making exaggerated claims.

3. 3. Politico-moral entrepreneurs, through the identification of 1 (one) powerful political elite who publicly considers the drug as a social evil.

4. Professional interests groups, by identifying 2 of the “major players” and/or institutions who are by definition an interest group in the drug scare, and a statement about who they are, their claims about what is wrong, and what they say should be done.

5. Historical context of conflict, 1 (one) social problem or conflict – economic, political, cultural, class, racial, or a combination – that provides a context in which claims makers can construct certain groups of drug users as a threat. (underline added/reworded S2011).

6. Link a form of drug use to a “dangerous class”, by showing how the drug and its use or trafficking has been directly linked to a category or class of people in 2 examples of visual media imagery (cartoons, television, movies, comics/political cartoons).

7. Scapegoat the drug for an array of public problems, by identifying 2 social ills/horrors that the drug is being held responsible for, according to media accounts and claims-makers.

Implications?

• Course-level– Note the relationship between items 5 and 6.– Devote more class time to practice.– Narrow the focus of their research.– Give more instruction/direction on navigating resource databases.

• Program-level– Increase exposure and practice in other courses (e.g. Theorist Poster in

CRM 285 Criminology)– In collaboration with program colleagues, evaluate opportunities for

learning and assessment in relation to learning goals. How are students doing in other courses (e.g. Ethnic Diversity)?

– Evaluate our assessment process (what are the best points for assessment?) – majority are freshmen; most have not completed ENG 112

Implications?

• Institutional-level– Examine student learning in relation to ELEAP “Knowledge

of Human Cultures” and “Intellectual and Practical Skills” (inquiry and analysis, information literacy) using multiple sources of evidence (multiple programs, co-curricular, etc.)

– Examine the First Year Experience (cultural and academic knowledge)

– Examine resource allocation: ENG 100– Other?

1. Program Learning GoalsGoal 1 …Goal 2 …Goal 3 …

2. Curricular Map

3. Assessment CycleYear 1 Assess Goal 1 Courses: A, B, ..Year 2 Assess Goal 2 Courses: A, C, ..Year 3 Assess Goal 3 Courses: B, C, ..

4. Program Assessment Activities

Program Assessment Basics

Opportunities for Student Learning & Assessment

Program Learning Goals

Course A Course B Other (e.g. Portfolio, External Exam)

Goal 1 x x

Goal 2 x x

Goal 3 x x

Assessment Program Characteristics

• Useful– Help faculty, staff make decisions about improvements

• Cost-effective– Yield dividends that justify costs

• Reasonably accurate and truthful– Yield useful results, use for decisions

• Planned– Purposefully linked to goals

• Organized, systematized, and sustained– Ongoing, integration among goals

Institutional Goals

Institutional Student Learning Goals(E-LEAP)

Gen Ed Learning Goals

Program Learning Goals

Course Learning Goals

Other Institutional Goals(Facilities, Fundraising, etc.)

Co-Curricular Learning Goals

Keuka College Mission

Strategic Plan

Institutional Goals

Institutional Student Learning Goals(E-LEAP)

Gen Ed Learning Goals

Program Learning Goals

Course Learning Goals

Other Institutional Goals(Facilities, Fundraising, etc.)

Co-Curricular Learning Goals

GO Team

ProgramsCurriculum Committee

Individual Faculty

Keuka College Mission

Strategic PlanAssessment Committee

Assessment oversight

msa.keuka.edu