What Your Program Needs to Know about Learning Outcomes Assessment at UGA.
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Transcript of What Your Program Needs to Know about Learning Outcomes Assessment at UGA.
What Your Program Needs to Know about
Learning Outcomes Assessment at UGA
FAQs about Assessment
• are programs are required to assess student learning?
• should it matter to faculty?Why..
• is learning outcomes assessment?
• is required for reporting on LOA at UGA?
What..• is responsible for assessment?• evaluates your assessment
practice?Who..
• should you assess and report?• will you receive a call for reports?When..• can you go for help?Where..
Why is LOA required of your program?
By mandate of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
http://www.sacscoc.org/pdf/2012PrinciplesOfAcreditation.pdf
Why is LOA required of your program?
SACS-COC Core Standards
Why is LOA required of your program?
Undergraduate, graduate and professional degree and certificate programs
Why is LOA required of your program?
UGA Academic Affairs Policy 4.12
http://provost.uga.edu/documents/learn-outcomes-assess-policy.pdf
• Faculty-driven• Faculty-reviewed• Comprehensive (grad, undergrad,
certificate)
What is learning outcomes assessment?
Assessment is the ongoing process of • establishing clear, measurable
expected outcomes of student learning
• ensuring that students have sufficient opportunities to achieve the outcomes
• systematically gathering, analyzing, and interpreting evidence
• using results to improve student learning
(Suski, 2009, p. 4)
Define student learning
outcomes
Choose a measure and set criteria
Do the assessment and analyze the evidence
Enact improvements based on
the evidence
Report and plan for future
assessment
What is learning outcomes assessment?
The Assessment Cycle
What is learning outcomes assessment?
What counts as evidence of student learning?
Direct Evidence
• Ratings of student skills by their field experience supervisors or employers
• Scores and pass rates on appropriate licensure or certification exams
• Cumulative experiences such as research projects, presentations, theses, dissertations, oral
defenses, exhibitions, and performances
• Other significant course work (written work, performances, presentations, etc.)
• Portfolios of student work
• Scores on locally designed multiple-choice or essay tests such as final examinations in key
courses, qualifying examinations, and comprehensive examinations
• Score gains between entry and exit on published or local tests or writing samples
• Observations of student behavior, undertaken systematically
• Student reflections on their values, attitudes, and beliefs
What counts as evidence of student learning?
Indirect Evidence
• Course grades and grade distributions
• Quality and reputation of program (rankings)
• Placement rates of graduates (employment or graduate programs)
• Student ratings of their knowledge and skills and reflections on what
they have learned in the course or program
• Questions on end-of-course student evaluations that ask about the
course rather than the instructor or learning outcomes
• Student, alumni, and employer satisfaction with learning, collected
through surveys, exit interviews, or focus groups
• Student participation rates in faculty research, publications, and
conference presentations
• Honors, awards, and scholarships earned by students and alumni
What is learning outcomes assessment?
Student Learning
Assessment
Engagement, Service
Scholarship
Retention
Job placement
Gradedistributions
“Indicators of success” – relate to, but don’t equate to, evidence of learning
What is learning outcomes assessment?
QUIZ!Which of the following are examples of direct assessment of student learning?
Course evaluationsJob placementRatings of “good or excellent” on oral presentationsNumber of passing course gradesStudent satisfaction with programJury evaluations of musical performancesAlumni surveysRates of career counseling
What is learning outcomes assessment?
QUIZ!Which of the following are examples of direct assessment of student learning?
Course evaluationsJob placementRatings of “good or excellent” on oral presentationsNumber of passing course gradesStudent satisfaction with programJury evaluations of musical performancesAlumni surveysRates of career counseling
Who is responsible for LOA?
The faculty who teach in the program are responsible for• defining outcomes• choosing measures• analyzing evidence• making improvements
See again Academic Affairs Policy 4.12
Who is responsible for LOA?
Faculty are most qualified to• influence the curriculum and its
enactment• make meaning of assessment
evidence• use evidence of student learning to
demonstrate effective teaching• ensure that assessment is integrated
with, not a burden upon, faculty activity in teaching and scholarship
Who is responsible for LOA?
Recommended readings (copies here for your review):
Hutchings, P. (2011, April). What new faculty need to know about assessment.
Gold, L., Rhoades, G., Smith, M., & Kuh, G. (2011, May).What faculty unions say about student learning outcomes assessment.
Who reviews LOA practices?
Subcommittee of Program Review and Assessment Committee (PRAC)• 10-12 members• Work is focused exclusively on LOA• Follows evaluation criteria drawn from
commonly accepted LOA best practices• Issues report and recommendations
See also “Sample LOA Evaluation Report”
What is required for LOA reporting?
Documents Submitted by
Assessment PlanAll degree and certificate programs
Brief Report on Learning Outcomes Assessment
Undergraduate degree programs only
Full report on Learning Outcomes Assessment
Undergraduate and graduate degree programs
See also “Program Review Outline for Evaluation of LOA”
What is required for LOA reporting?
The Assessment Plan
Each academic unit should establish and regularly maintain an assessment plan. The assessment plan documents a number of core elements that are defined by the faculty who teach in the program.
What is required for LOA reporting?
The Assessment Plan• Defines the learning outcomes for undergraduate
students in your program (usually 4-6).• Describes the methods the department will use to
collect data that measure the attainment of the learning outcomes (usually 4-6).
• Describes the methods the department will use to analyze data that reflect the attainment of the learning outcomes.
• Describes how faculty will be involved in the various steps of the assessment process.
• Describes how the department will use information gathered from the analysis to improve its assessment practice and, more importantly, student learning.
What is required for LOA reporting?
Examples of assessment plans:
http://oap.uga.edu/assessment/plan/
What is required for LOA reporting?
The Brief Data Report • 1-2 page description of the data
collected by assessment methods in the preceding year.
• 1/3 of the program’s learning outcomes.
• is submitted for two consecutive years. Only undergraduate programs are asked to submit brief reports.
What is required for LOA reporting?
The Full Report includes• information on ALL of the program's learning
outcomes • faculty analysis of the data • improvements enacted or planned as a result
of that analysis. • The full report is submitted in the third and
sixth years. – Graduate programs are asked to submit
only full reports. – Undergraduate programs will also submit
the full report (years 3 and 6) in addition to the brief reports (years 1,2,4,5).
What is required for LOA reporting?
Examples of assessment reports:
http://oap.uga.edu/assessment/plan/
What is required for LOA reporting?
Upload plans and reports to the Academic Planning System (APS) https://aps.uga.edu/APS/
This system houses • Learning Outcomes Assessment plans and reports• Program Review self studies• Strategic plans for your unit/department, • Annual Reporting documents for schools and colleges.
Access to APS is granted by request. Contact Leslie Gordon, Associate Director for Assessment, at [email protected] if you think you need access.
When do you report?
October 1st
Annual reporting deadline for all programs, any type of report.
Spring reminder issued to deans, academic associate deans, department heads, assessment coordinators
When do you report?
When do you report?
Assessment cycle Items due Submitted by
Years 1-2 Brief Report on Learning Outcomes Assessment
Undergraduate degree programs only
Year 3 Full report on Learning Outcomes Assessment
Undergraduate and graduate degree programs
Years 4-6 Repeat cycle described above
Year 7
Academic Program Review Assessment reports are concurrently evaluated by a faculty subcommittee of the Program Review and Assessment Committee (PRAC) – evaluation and recommendations produced
Undergraduate and graduate degree programs
Where can you find help?
Dr. Leslie Gordon Associate Director for Assessment
• Assessment (re)design consultation• Informal evaluation of LOA• Department/College presentations• Interactive workshops• Classes and Faculty Learning Communities
And more! Begin your assessment redesign now!
Where can you find help?
Office of Academic Planning Website
http://www.oap.uga.edu/assessment/sloa/
Your “Exit Ticket”!
1. Which of the following is required by SACS-COC?a. Quantitative data b. Retention data c. Defined SLOs
2. Which of the following is the best example of learning outcomes assessment?a. 80% of students continue to year 2 of the programb. 94% of students find jobs in the industryc. 33% of students writing the senior research paper could
not organize a reference list.d. 84% of faculty averaged evaluation scores of 4.0 or better
(5-point scale).
3. Describe the faculty role with regard to learning outcomes.
Your “Exit Ticket”!
1. Which of the following is required by SACS-COC?a. Quantitative data b. Retention data c. Defined SLOs
2. Which of the following is the best example of learning outcomes assessment?a. 80% of students continue to year 2 of the programb. 94% of students find jobs in the industryc. 33% of students writing the senior research paper could not
organize a reference list.d. 84% of faculty averaged evaluation scores of 4.0 or better
(5-point scale).
3. Describe the faculty role with regard to learning outcomes. The full faculty is involved in all phases of the LOA cycle.