Maximizing Resources for Student Success: Focus on Assessment and Grading Activities

Dr. Lou Guthrie| Director National Higher Education Benchmarking Institute

Moving Forward with Assessment, 2015 Regional CC Assessment Conference

© Johnson County Community College 2015. All rights reserved.

Maximizing Resources Website

www.MaximizingResources.org

• Activity Based Costing: What is it?• Maximizing Resources for Student

Success: – An introduction to the project.– Instructional Activities

• Assessment and Grading as an Activity• Conclusions: Need for changing the way

we manage higher education.

Session Outline

Activity-Based Costing

An analytical framework for better information

ABC Costing

Allows colleges to:– Target cost reductions to specific

activities– Calculate the effect of innovations and

theircost structure

– Reward effective and efficient departments

– Provide incentives for inefficient departmentsto improve

Without knowing the cost of educational activities, there is no way to improve productivity in a systematic and sustainable manner.

Maria Anguiano

Vice Chancellor of Planning and Budget

UC Riverside

“

“

Activity-Based Costing Framework

Activity-based costing:– A costing methodology that identifies

activities in an organization– Assigns all related costs to activities– Relates the cost to cost driver– Direct costs roll-up, they are not

allocated down

Activity-Based Costing Framework

• ABC systems focus on the work activities of people and the associated costs

• ABC recognizes the equipment and materials required to provide each service or accomplish each activity

• ABC includes the space and costs of that space that is required to provide an activity

Example: Activity-Based Costing Framework

Activity

Teaching

Advising

Grading

Salaries and benefits

Classroom / office spaces

Materials

Etc.

Cost driverCosts

# of students

% of

Costs for teaching

# of students

Cost of activity per student

Implementing ABC

• Activity based costing changes ” the rules of the game”

• You will find surprises

Maximizing Resources for Student Success

Changing Higher Education Cost & Outcomes Management

Perfect Timing

• Grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to research costs

• JCCC participated in pilot study, Maximizing Resources for Student Success

Maximizing Resources For Student Success

• National fiscal benchmark project for community colleges

• Teaches how to implement a simplified version of ABC

• Pilot study completed in fall 2013• All data shared here is from the pilot• 19 community colleges used in the

analysis

Project Partners

Developed by National Advisory Board

• Broome Community College, NY• California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, CA• Chandler-Gilbert Community College, AZ• College of Southern Nevada, NV• Florida Keys Community College, FL• Johnson County Community College, KS• Lone Star College System, TX• Metropolitan Community College, MO• Montcalm Community College, MI• Normandale Community College, MN• Ozarks Technical Community College, MO• St. Charles Community College, MO• State University System of Florida, Board of Governors, FL• Tallahassee Community College, FL• University of Hawaii Community Colleges, HI

Tremendous Amount of Useful Data

• Minimal data collection burden• Members can be on the leading edge

of this new trend• IR offices can provide key financial

metrics to their executive leadership • Gives you the ability to look at costs

and outcomes and tie them together

Project Deliverables

• National Reports• Peer

Comparisons

• Institutional Report

• ABC Guide

Activities

Instruction Student Services• Admissions• Recruitment• Advising• Counseling• Career Services• Financial Aid• Registrar / Student Records• Tutoring• Testing Services• Co-curricular Activities• Veterans Services• Disability Services

• Program Development• Course Development• Teaching• Faculty Tutoring• Faculty Advising• Academic Service• Assessment and Grading• Professional Development

Academic Support• Instructional Technology

Support• Library Services• Experiential Education

ABC: Managerial Assessment

Enlist deans or heads of divisions:Report the percentage of time faculty spend on instructional activities, such as teaching, grading, course development

– Salaries and Benefits– Full Time Equivalent Faculty

Executive, Clerical and Professional Staff

Non-Labor Operating Costs• Not including facilities and capital costs

Time spent on instructional activities

Other

Tutoring

Program Development

Academic Service

Advising

Course Development

Assessment and Grading

Teaching

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

0%

3%

4%

5%

5%

7%

15%

60%

0%

0%

0%

0%

1%

2%

10%

80%

How do faculty spend their time?

Part-time

Instructional Costs

Cost of Instructional Activities

$0

$200

$400

$600

$800

$1,000

$1,200

$1,400

$40 $47 $71 $72 $113

$267

$1,146

The Cost of Instructional Activities Per Student

Medians

Fa

culty

Sa

lary

& B

en

efit

s C

ost

s

Includes both Full and Part Time FacultyPer IPEDS Fall Enrollment

Assessment and Grading as an Instructional Activity

Costs and impact on outcomes.

Definition used in study.

• Assessing prior and current learning; developing and selecting assessment methodologies; evaluating student assignments and performance to award course credit, and contributing to broader assessment of student learning outcomes.

Advisory committee did it

Why did we combineGrading and Assessment?• Educational assessment, the process of documenting

knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs• Grading (education), a teacher's evaluation of a student's

performance in class

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S Median0

10

20

30

40

50

60

5

37

15

3

50

10

% of Time Spent on Assessment and Grad-ing

Full-Time Faculty Part-Time Faculty

College Code

% o

f Tim

e S

pe

nt

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S Median$0

$100

$200

$300

$400

$500

$600

$700

$800

$132$112

$221

$503

$261

$319$317$269

$133

$415

$265

$187

$673

$618

$35

$682

$145

$689

$267

The Cost of Assessment and Grading Per Student

Full-Time FacultyPart-Time Faculty

Instructional Activities with Student Success

$0 $100 $200 $300 $400 $500 $600 $7000%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Assessment and Grading and Completion/Transfer Rates

$ Spent on Assessment and Grading Per Student

% o

f Ful

l-Tim

e S

tude

nts

Com

plet

ed a

nd T

rans

ferr

ed in

3 Y

ears

Cost of Assessment and Grading had a positive impact on:

• 3 Year Graduation and Transfer Rates

• Fall to Next Term Persistence Rates

• Fall to Fall Persistence Rates

• Means that colleges that spent more per student on assessment and grading had higher rates of the following:

Institution Report: 2015 Study

Institution Report: 2015 Study

Institution Report: 2015 Study

Institution Report: 2015 Study

© Johnson County Community College 2014. All rights reserved.

Conclusions

• Assessment and Grading is one of the more expensive components of instructional activity

• Faculty spend more time on Assessment and Grading than any other instructional activity, except teaching

• Spending time (and thus money) on assessment and grading can have an impact on student success

Conclusions

• Colleges need data to establish relationship between costs and student outcomes

• ABC moves colleges from budgeting to strategic finance

• Relatively easy to implement a barebones version of ABC

• Benchmarking provides– Information on the cost / quality relationship– Opportunities to increase efficiencies– The ability to spend funds on activities that have

the greatest impact on student success

Learn More about Benchmarking and Best Practices

JCCC.edu/Benchmark

© Johnson County Community College 2014. All rights reserved.

Contact Information

Lou Guthrielouguthrie@jccc.edu | @LouAGuthrie

www.JCCC.eduwww.MaximizingResources.org

@EdBenchmark