Academic Assessment Update

Volume 2 | November 2020

ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT UPDATE

In this edition of our newsletter, we offer tips for wrapping up the semester, a summary of our fall 2020 workshops, an update on the General Education Redesign process, highlight the success of one of our academic programs, report on status of the peer-review process, and share details about upcoming events.

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From the Assessment Coordinator

Finishing Strong

As we approach the end of a particularly challenging semester, it's important to pause for a moment to reflect on the student learning that has taken place under these unusual circumstances and to make some forward-thinking plans for how that will be captured in assessment documentation.

Remembering my own experience as a faculty member with additional assessment responsibilities, I thought I would share a few tips for those of you responsible for collecting assessment data and compiling annual student learning assessment documents:

Communicate -- If you are working with a large enrollment course with multiple sections, you might consider sending out an email to remind all of the faculty teaching those courses of what they will be expected to provide to you in terms of assessment results and how you'd like them to organize and submit those materials. When we're all juggling a million little close of semester tasks, it's easy to overlook collecting assessment data that won't be required until later.
Create a file structure now -- Go ahead and build and label the folders you'll need to archive assessment materials. That way, you have a place to put things as they come in to avoid spending hours later scrolling through past emails and having to re-request things that you may have already received. (Pro tip: Use a Google form to collect assessment results. Others can upload files to the form, and it will automatically be organized in a spreadsheet and folder for you.)
Use clear file naming -- Set a pattern that you can follow from semester to semester so that you can see what's in each file at a glance instead of having to open, read, and remember multiple times. Keep it clear and simple, something like Course Code, Course Number, Section Number, Semester, Year Assessment Data.

Another thing you might want to take into consideration is any surrounding information you will need to put the data collected in context, especially considering anything unusual for your course administration this semester. You might want to jot down some notes (and ask others who taught the course to share some notes -- maybe in the Google form mentioned above) about what specific challenges you and your students faced, how those challenges were addressed, and any success stories that emerged. These kinds of details can be helpful in interpreting your data later and thinking about potential action plans for improving student learning going forward.

Best of luck as you conclude your semester!

Jaime

Gen Ed Redesign Update

General Education Redesign Webpage

IAA has recently launched a new General Education Redesign page on our website to help share information about the ongoing work of the GECC on the general education redesign. The redesign process has been organized into six phases with a brief description shared on the website. The GECC is currently engaged in Phase 1: Information Gathering. This phase consists of the Gen Ed Redesign Town Halls held earlier this fall, a Gen Ed Redesign Student Survey distributed in early November, and additional research in preparation for drafting Student Learning Outcomes in Phase 2.

Please remind your students to complete the Gen Ed Redesign Survey before Tuesday, November 24th.

General Education Town Hall Summary

At the conclusion of the General Education Town Hall meetings, IAA reviewed and coded comments and suggestions from all of the 301 attendees of the town hall sessions. Faculty and staff represented the largest percentages of attendees, and all eight colleges were represented by faculty and students. The information collected has been shared with the GECC and provides an excellent starting point next steps in the process.

Fall 2020 Workshops Summary

Data Day

On September 11, IAA offered 30 minute Data Day consultation appointments to anyone who wanted assistance with reviewing, interpreting, and presenting assessment data in their annual student learning assessment document. The majority of faculty who participated rated the sessions as very useful and very effective. 84% of attendees reported feeling prepared or well-prepared for completing their assessment process documentation.

Assessment Document Charrettes

IAA hosted two half-day Assessment Document Charrette sessions on September 17th and 19th. The Charrettes provided participants with a fast-paced, structured preliminary peer-review of a draft of their assessment documents, resulting in actionable suggestions for making improvements prior to submission. Five faculty participated in these cross-disciplinary discussions and all reported that they would recommend this type of workshop to a colleague.

Excellence in Academic Program Assessment:

BS Nutrition and Food Science

Academic programs who consistently reflect best practices in student learning assessment and use data to make improvements to student learning can be granted a two-year assessment cycle. Those on the two year assessment cycle are expected to collect, reflect on, and make adjustments to teaching and learning based on assessment data throughout the two year period, submitting a summary of these activities in their assessment document every other year. As one of the first academic programs to be granted the coveted two-year assessment cycle, the BS Nutrition and Food Science maximized the opportunity to responsively address assessment data collected throughout the two-year period from 2017 to 2019.

Peer-reviewers who serve on the Academic Assessment Steering Committee commended the program on their student learning outcomes. The five student learning outcomes clearly and succinctly capture the most essential learning of the program, and the short titles for each outcome highlight connections to the program mission statement and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, a leading professional organization in the field. Joelle Romanchik-Cerpovicz, Director of the Didactic Program in Dietetics, notes that following the guidelines of the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Diatetics (ACEND) helps to focus the program's efforts and identify measurable outcomes.

These student learning outcomes form the foundation for assessing student learning, and collecting and organizing data that is meaningful for making decisions regarding the curriculum and instruction offered in the program. Peer-reviewers noted that the discussion of the assessment data collected thoughtfully examined variations in scores and proposed possible reasons for these variations. This interpretation of the data pointed toward actions that could be implemented to further support student learning and success.

The action plan is where assessment data is leveraged to make decisions and drive improvements of the program. The BS Nutrition and Food Science excels in connecting assessment data to specific actions and then closing the loop on those interventions by examining follow-up data to determine where improvement could be observed. Looking at assessment data following the execution of prior action plans, the program was able to identify specific aspects of student learning that had improved, and areas where improvement targets were not met were able to be incorporated into action plans for future program improvement.

Peer-reviewers noted the collaboration required to successfully implement a well-designed action plan when they stated, "Faculty worked together to resolve results from past program assessment cycles to address deficiencies and expand expectations of students who consistently met or exceeded expectations." Romanchik-Cerpovicz acknowledges that assessment is a joint effort of the entire faculty -- Padmini Shakar, Amy Jo Riggs, Matthew Cleveland, Jacqueline Charlier, and recently retired Rebecca Black.

Fortunately, the program has been able to continue with 100% face to face instruction in the Fall 2020 semester, using larger classroom spaces to meet social distancing recommendations, and assessment activities have not been interrupted. The program is confident in maintaining the quality of their assessment process through the next two year cycle.

Assessment Document Peer-Review Progress

Following the assessment document submissions for academic programs and core courses in October, the Academic Assessment Steering Committee (AASC) and the General Education and Core Curriculum (GECC) committee members have been reading and compiling feedback. Each document is reviewed by two committee members, first individually and then together to reconcile scores and comments based on the assessment document rubric. When the peer-review process is complete, feedback will be shared with core courses and academic programs for consideration in making improvements to student learning assessment.

Here is the current status of the peer-review process for academic program and core course assessment documents:

Upcoming Events

Graduate Certificate Assessment Plan Crash Course

Starting in the 2020 -2021 academic year, Graduate Certificates will be submitting distinct assessment documentation. Initial Assessment Plans will be submitted for peer-review by the AASC on February 1, 2021. To offer some guidance and support for graduate certificate assessment coordinators, IAA will be offering a half-day crash course on mission statements, student learning outcomes, teaching strategies, and measurement tools and assignments.

Session 1 - Monday, November 23 1-5 p.m.

Session 2 - Wednesday, January 6 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Assessment Document Writers Group Spring 2021

Based on the success of the Assessment Document Writers Group sessions offered during Summer 2020, IAA is offering an Assessment Document Writers Group during Spring 2021. This session will include some asynchronous resources and interaction in Folio and structured peer-review of documents drafts in progress.

Zoom workshops will be held twice monthly on alternating Fridays (times to be determined by registration). You can still participate even if you can't attend the workshops. Recordings will be made available to those with schedule conflicts.

Use the link above to register, and we will follow up with additional details.

Institutional Assessment and Accreditation (IAA) works collaboratively with faculty, staff, and administration to ensure the quality of the programs and educational experiences offered by the university, addressing the unique assessment needs of courses, departments, colleges, or units through individual and group consultations, professional development workshops, recommendations for technology implementation, and best practice reference materials.

IAA website

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