Meet the TAFall 2007

The current TA Members• Kimberly Bolig

– Director of Academic Support Services & Act 101 Administration• Ward Caldwell

– Director of Residence Life• Tina Evans

– Assistant Professor, Dental Hygiene/Applied Health Studies• Jeremiah Gee

– Assessment Coordinator for Integrated Studies• John Kehoe

– Director of Strategic Planning/ Research• Lizabeth Mullens

– VPAA/Provost• Veronica Muzic

– Special Assistant to the President for Academic Affairs• Irwin Siegel

– Professor of Business • Colin Williamson

– Dean of Transportation Technology

TA’s role

• Show how the College mission is being accomplished by examining the existing processes and elements of assessment across the campus.

• Facilitate the accreditation/certification/endorsement efforts of the College and its programs.

• Review statistical reports, surveys, and program reviews; look for changes and trends.

• Communicate assessment efforts and needs to the College community.

• Collect and share useful information about student learning and institutional effectiveness.

• The Business Management (BM) associate degree program review showed that many students were underprepared for advanced courses.

• More than half had a GPA of 2.0 or less after their first semester.• Student focus groups revealed need for a more cohesive first semester.• These assessment results were used to make changes to the program:

– Insertion of MGT 110 (Introduction to Business) within the first semester curriculum, to provide a business foundation.

– Creation of a section of MGT 110 dedicated to BM students, to enhance cohesion within the program.

– Postponement of MGT 115 (Principles of Management) to the second semester, after students have completed MGT 110.

– Postponement of Accounting classes to the third and fourth semesters, when students have more of a grounding in business.

uality examples: Program Level

Middle States Categories of AssessmentInstitutional Assessment

(Middle States Standard 7)

“The institution has developed and implemented an assessment process that evaluates its overall effectiveness in achieving its mission and goals and its compliance with accreditation standards.”

Middle States Components:Planning, Budgeting, RenewalInstitutional ResourcesLeadership & GovernanceAdministrationIntegrity

Assessment of Student Learning (Middle States Standard 14)

“Assessment of student learning demonstrates that, at graduation, or other appropriate points, the institution’s students have knowledge, skills, and competencies consistent with institutional and appropriate higher education goals.”Middle States Components:Admissions & RetentionStudent Support ServicesFaculty & Educational OfferingsGeneral EducationRelated Educational Activities

Defining “assessment” at Penn College

Assessment at Penn College is defined as an open process that encompasses the following principles:

• It is mission-focused, at both the institutional and programmatic levels;

• It is systematic, iterative, collaborative, documented, and adaptable;• It applies multiple measures, both qualitative and quantitative;• It identifies strengths and areas that warrant improvement;• It informs planning and decision-making for the purpose of

ascertaining learning and development, thereby improving programs, services, functions, performance, and the overall value of the educational experience.

Suitable Assessment Tools

• One size does not fit all! Differences between programs and courses beget a variety of tools.

Here is a sampling of available methods:– Classroom assignments and exams, quizzes, projects, lab

evaluations, and the like;– In-person focus groups with students, graduates, advisory

boards, employers, and other stakeholders;– Surveys and questionnaires;– Third-party reviews, such as for accreditation/certification;– Reports from Institutional Research.

• The Nursing Department uses student focus groups and program evaluations completed by their graduates.

• These focus groups are led by an outside reviewer who is neither Nursing nor Health Sciences faculty/staff.

• Recent evaluations revealed that LPN students did not feel prepared for handling heavy patient loads in nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

• Thus, the program was altered to focus more instruction in the practices associated with long-term care facilities.

uality Examples: Program Level

• The CSC110 course uses existing final exams as “embedded” assessment. The final consists of three components, each of which is matched with particular course goals/outcomes.

• The exam results show areas of students’ strength and weakness compared to the course’s intended outcomes.

• The CSC110 assessment report communicates these areas of strength and weakness to the course instructors.

• The report also lists “possible causes and solutions.”

• Results are used to determine content areas that need to be emphasized as well as improvements that can be made in textbooks and exam questions.

uality Examples: Course Level

TA’s First Year in Review

• During the past year, the QTA:– Gained familiarity with the assessment practices currently

underway on campus, including plans and goals, assessment tools, and program reviews;

– Reviewed the Middle States PRR and received recommendations from the PRR workgroup;

– Defined “assessment” at Penn College;– Discussed the College’s mission, vision, and philosophy

statements;– Discussed institutional planning’s tie to assessment.

Recommendations from 2006-07

In preparation for the Middle States self-study that will begin in 2009-10, the QTA recommended that the College community begin to:

• Assess its Philosophy, Mission, Vision statements;• Review institution-wide planning, including its

connectivity to budgeting, institutional effectiveness, and outcomes assessment.

These items are now institutional initiatives for 2007-08.

Becoming Involved• Visit the QTA website:

– URL: http://www.pct.edu/assessment

– Find the IR tools that are available for your use.

– Find the “Assessment Primer” and a copy of this presentation.

• Take the faculty assessment survey:– Let us know how you assess student learning.

• Be proactive:– There will be more opportunities for you (personally) to shape

the process of assessment. Get in on the action so that the process will be useful to you– not just a “hoop” to jump through.

• Please post your questions or give us feedback: qta@pct.edu.

• Keep watching for future announcements!