Marcy Alancraig, Cabrillo College

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2C. SLO Advanced Advanced Assessment
Techniques 60,000 Mile Tune Up GE and
Institutional Assessment Techniques
Breakout Description What are the vital
components of the colleges mass transit that
transports nearly all the students? How do you
even find the gauges that measure this, much less
analyze what their readings mean? This breakout
addresses GE and Institutional Assessments. Many
cars have simply stopped dead in their tracks or
slammed on the parking break when it came to this
part of assessing outcomes. Join mechanics from
colleges who have actually started this work to
hear how theyve tuned up their engines and made
the college car run better.  

• Marcy Alancraig, Cabrillo College
• Linda Umbdenstock, Long Beach City College
• Norv Wellsfry, Cosumnes River College
• Robert Pacheco, Barstow College

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2C. SLO Advanced Advanced Assessment
Techniques 60,000 Mile Tune Up GE and
Institutional Assessment Techniques

• At the end of this breakout, you should be able
  to
• Identify and analyze the essential components of
  GE and Institutional Outcomes measures.
• Examine existing practices and develop cutting
  edge methods to improve GE and Institutional
  Assessment.
• Investigate alternative ways to revive
  assessment outcomes processes and systems that
  have stalled.

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Are You Aware of the ACCJC Rubric on
Institutional Effectiveness? Take a moment to
review the rubric and assess where your school is
at on outcomes assessment. Report out on the
considerations and problems that you face at your
site.
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General Education Assessment Method
Key Underlying Organizational Decisions Assessmen
t Method Implementation Revolving Wheel of
Assessment Role of SLO Assessment Record Keeping
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What are you driving?

• Implementation examples
• Cabrillo College
• Long Beach City College
• Consumnes River College
• Barstow College

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Long Beach City College Organizing Decisions

• How to engage in deep reflection on a significant
  topic campus-wide?
• What will have the greatest impact?
• How will assessment affect teaching, planning,
  resource allocation, coordination and
  collaboration?
• What trade-offs of time, involvement, costs,
  validity, reliability are there?

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LBCC Assessment Method ASLO Committee Leadership

• For the first core competency
• Multiple choice test of critical thinking skills
• Sample first semester students vs. those with 50
  transferable units
• Find students in sampled courses across the
  college
• Encourage departments doing critical thinking
  assessment to contribute their assessments to the
  discussion

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LBCC Implementation

• Used survey of top core competencies critical
  thinking
• Used flex days, brown bag lunch, retreat
  discussions on meaning and method gathered
  examples
• Used summer stipends to develop items pre-test
• Piloted instrument
• Conduct assessment
• Analyze and discuss
• Throughout keep informed put out fires, fears,
  misrepresentations

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Revolving Wheel of Assessment

• Year 1 Select core competency identify strategy
  for college-wide engagement in assessment
• Year 2 Develop common assessment instrument
• Year 3 Pilot conduct assessment analyze
• Year 4 Discuss in multiple venues
• Year 6 Re-assess and look for improvements based
  on changes implemented
• Note Staggered assessments of other core
  competencies overlapping

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Closing the Loop

• Faculty review curriculum activities for
  actual emphasis on critical thinking in design
  testing (multiple opportunities in various
  venues)
• Entire College ASLO Committee makes
  recommendations to Curriculum C., Fac. Prof.
  Development C., Planning C, etc.
• ASLO Comm. sponsors activities based on results

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Use of SLO Assessments

• Campus Dialogue on results (flex, forum,
  colloquium?)
• Implications for strategies (classroom,
  departmental, student services, communication
  w/students, etc.)
• In Annual College Effectiveness Report (Board,
  Planning Committee, other cmts, AS, general
  distribution)

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Record Keeping

• In process of reviewing alternatives
• Simple, integrative, easily used tracked

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Cabrillo College Organizing Decisions

• Keep it Simple, Sweetheart
• GE and Basic Skills are considered a program
• Core Competencies are SLOs for GE and AA and AS
  degree
• Assessment occurs as part of Program Review
• For transfer and basic skills, same assessment
  method used for course and GE SLOs

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KISS Assessment Method

• Department selects Core Competency to assess that
  semester.
• Instructor chooses 1 assignment in 1 class that
  addresses competency
• Or instructor can analyze selected test questions
  that address competency
• Instructor creates rubric to grade the
  assignment

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More on KISS Method

• Instructor analyzes results, looking for student
  issues and needs no results recorded
• Presents to department no numbers and no
  individual results recorded.
• Department discusses results overall and makes
  plans to improve teaching and learning.
• Discussion and plans are recorded and become part
  of Program Review

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KISS Implementation

• Implemented gradually into on-going Program
  Review process
• Once initial assessment experience is complete,
  all transfer and basic skills departments follow
  the same five year assessment cycle

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Revolving Wheel of Assessment

• Year 1 assess ½ course SLOs
• Year 2 assess ½ course SLOs
• Year 3 assess 2 Core Competencies
• Year 4 assess 2 Core Competencies
• Year 5 Write Program Review

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KISS Closing the Loop

• Faculty look at individual results
• Department Discuss each instructors individual
  results and department overall leads to plans in
  Program Review
• Entire College SLO Assessment Review Committee

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SLO ARC

• Examines yearly assessment results from
  Instruction, Student Services, Library and
  Administrative Services
• Analyzes and looks for student issues and needs
• Writes annual report that goes to major governing
  bodies and decision makers on campus

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Record Keeping

• In keeping with campus culture
• All are narrative based with some numbers
• Optional form for individual faculty
• Simple form for Program Chairs
• Using CurricuNet for curriculum development
  purposes only

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Types of GE and Institutional Assessments
Bob will discuss some alternative models using
e-portfolios and other realia.
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Types of GE and Institutional Assessments
Bob will discuss some alternative models using
e-portfolios and other realia.
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Types of GE and Institutional Assessments
Bob will discuss some alternative models using
e-portfolios and other realia.
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Developing a flexible SLO Assessment
ProcessCosumnes River College

• Variety of SLO Assessment processes needed
• Different disciplines
• Different SLO development processes
• Program ? Course
• Course ? Program
• GE ? Course
• Institution Commitment to not force one-size
  fits all

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Cosumnes River CollegeOutcomes Assessment Task
Force

• Fits the Institutional Culture
• Not a Governance Committee
• Composed of multiple Governance Units
• Curriculum Committee, Planning Committee
• Composition based on interest and knowledge by
  parties
• Faculty and Administrative participation
• Reports to Academic Senate
• Facilitated by CASSL (Staff Resource Center)

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Outcomes Assessment Task Force

• Committee Charge
• develop a proposal that outlines the strategies
  and tools we could use to document the assessment
  of student learning outcomes at the course,
  program, and college levels 
• recommend an assessment system that is 
• consistent with our campus culture, 
• supportive of academic freedom, 
• useful to faculty and staff,
• easy to implement,
• consistent with accreditation guidelines

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Outcomes Assessment Task Force

• Committee Goals
• Develop an assessment tool kit that contains
• A wide array of assessment tools that could be
  used by faculty and staff and tips for using
  those tools
• Ideas for strategies that might be used to
  document assessments
• Recommend reporting processes for course,
  program, GE, and college SLO assessment that
  includes
• a cycle for documenting outcome assessments
• the opportunity for collegial dialogue
• changes that enhance the value and minimize the
  workload involved in reporting

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Outcomes Assessment Task Force

• Committee Goals (cont.)
• Recommend resources needed to implement the plan
• Recommend links to other processes to minimize
  work and strengthen the implementation of
  outcomes assessment such as
• COB (Capital Outlay budget process)
• ITMB (Information Technology budgeting process)
• PrOF (College Program Review Process)
• Other

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Outcomes Assessment Task Force

• Timeline
• Fall 07 Information gathering and discussions
• Spring 07 development of recommendation, campus
  review of recommendations

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Outcomes Assessment Task Force

• Strategies to increase institutional
  participation
• communicate ideas and/or concerns to any of the
  taskforce members
• pilot an outcomes assessment in one of your
  classes or activities
• review the recommendations
• attend outcomes dialogues in CASSL
• join the CASSL email discussion group
• ask one of the committee co-chairs to come to a
  meeting to provide more information or listen to
  your ideas

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Questions