Mission-Based Approach to Using

Assessment to Improve Student

Learning & Institutional

Effectiveness

Session #1813

A Shared Enterprise: Assessment as a Cross-Campus Strategy for Improving Student

Learning and RetentionJune 2007

St. Louis, Missouri

Your Assessment Panel

Beth Anderhub, Professor, Diagnostic Medical Sonography

John Cosgrove, Director of Institutional Research, Planning & Assessment

Ed Fliss, Assistant Professor, Biology Larry McDoniel, Professor, English Bob Serben, Director, Center for

Business, Industry, and Labor Donna Wallner, Professor, Nursing

Recent History of Assessment At SLCC

In 1999, SLCC responded to the North Central Association’s call for greater use of assessment data to improve teaching and learning by developing and implementing a Five-Year Assessment Plan.

The Five-Year Plan focused on course and classroom assessment.

SLCC Assessment Model (1999)

Assessment Process (1999)Nichols’ 5-Column Model

St. Louis Community College Mission Statement

St. Louis Community College expands minds and changes lives every day. We create accessible and dynamic learning environments focused on the needs of our diverse communities. The College accomplishes this mission by providing programs and services related to transfer education, career and technical education, general education, basic skill development and remediation, workforce development and continuing education, and personal and academic support.

Remodeling SLCC Assessment

In 2002, the College implemented new programmatic approaches to career and technical education, developmental education, and general education.

The shift to increased programmatic approaches required the College to once again examine its assessment efforts to ensure that they aligned more closely with our mission areas.

With the continuous examination of assessment efforts the College was well-positioned to move forward when its five-year assessment plan expired in 2004.

A Mission-Based Approach To Using Assessment To Improve Student Learning Outcomes And Institutional Effectiveness

Model’s Core Components

This approach “persuades” us to Assess What Our Mission Claims Identify “Most Important” Aspects Provide Consistent, User-Friendly, Self-

Service Access To Data/Information Through Decision Support Tools

Create An Environment For Thoughtful Interpretation of Data/Information

Create An Environment For Action Assess How We Assess As Well As

What We Assess

Mission-Based Assessment Committees

Career & Technical Education Developmental Education General Education Institutional & Student Support

Services Transfer Education Workforce & Community

Development Education

Assessment Support Committees

Divisions & Departments

Governance Internal & External

Communication

Mission-Based Assessment Committees Key Processes

I DID Process INQUIRE — What Do We Want To Know?

Define the specific area or student learning outcome to be assessed.

DISCOVER — What Do We Know? Identify data sources and methods of assessment, and collect assessment data.

INTERPRET — What does the information tell us? Analyze and share the results of the data.

DEVELOP — What actions do we plan to take? Use results to design strategies to improve student learning outcomes and institutional effectiveness

Mission-Based Assessment Committees Key Processes

LAASIE Process Listen, Look & Learn — Specify what needs

to be examined. Act — Determine how to address the issue

under examination. Another Look — Examine the data collected

and analyze results. Share The News — Report what was

learned. Improve & Celebrate — Use the data to

make improvements. Excel — Integrate changes into the unit or

program’s ongoing operation.

St. Louis Community College Assessment Vision

Assessment VisionSLCC collects and uses assessment data to improve student learning, academic achievement, and institutional effectiveness.

Mission-Based Assessment Projects Divisions and Departments

Assessment Projects Mission-Based Student Learning

Outcomes

Developmental Education: Mission-Based Assessment Committee Project

InquireIdentify diagnostic criteria for students unlikely to be successful in developmental courses?

DiscoverExamine data for students who test into base-level English, Math, Reading courses.

InterpretAnalyze data related to student enrollment and learning outcomes.

DevelopEstablish a task force to design and implement alternative academic/life skills coursework and/or career pathways

Developmental Education Assessment Committee Recommendations

Alternative Academic Life-skills Programs Sustained Orientation/First year experience

curricula and support services Workforce Literacy programs with

certification in job-readiness skills Individual attention/Individual Case

Management intervention support for at-risk students

Directed advising and enrollment protocol and support procedures

Service-learning instructional and job-readiness curricula with work-based internships

Learning communities for at-risk students

Institutional & Student Support Services: Mission-Based Assessment Committee Project

Listen, Look & Learn---28% of the fall, new to higher education cohort do not return for the spring term and 50% do not return for the following fall term.

Act---The College participated in the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) project to help better understand student engagement at SLCC.

Another Look---On four of the five CCSSE dimensions, SLCC was below the national index.

Share The News---CCSSE results were widely shared on all 3 campuses and within the College’s governance process.

Improve and Celebrate---CCSSE results are being used as part of division assessment efforts and to improve SLCC’s student orientation program.

Excel---Changes are being made and CCSSE data will be collected again in spring 2008

SLCC & National CCSSE Dimension Results

48.2

47

47

48.2

51.7

50

50

50

50

50

0 20 40 60 80 100

Student Effort

FacultyInteraction

CollaborativeLearning

AcademicChallenge

Support ForLearners

National

SLCC

SLCC CCSSE Student Satisfaction Results

27.4

15

7.1

19.8

26.4

6.1

26

43.6

9.6

17

8.6

62.3

48.4

37.8

40.8

46.8

28.2

60.9

57.2

24

55.7

45.1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Academic Advising

Career Counseling

Job Placement

Tutoring

Skill Labs

Child Care

Finan. Aid

Comp. Lab

Student Org

Transfer Asst

Disabilities

Percentage of Students

% Very Important

% Very Satisfied

Division and Departments:Assessment Support (Campus) Projects

Liberal Arts Division: Embedded Classroom/Course Assessment Related To Gains In Students Critical Thinking and Writing Skills.

Math, Science, Engineering & Technology Division: Course To Course Assessment Related To Student Learning Outcomes In Science and Math Courses For Students Who Started In Developmental Math Courses.

Business, Human Development, and Nursing Division: Assessment of Graduate Skills Levels in Math and Reading for Information Using ACT WorkKeys.

Mission-Based Student Learning Outcomes

Career and Technical Education 61 percent of the career graduates

are employed in a related field within 6 months of graduation.

89 percent of employers say they are either more than satisfied or very satisfied with the overall job preparation of SLCC graduates.

92 percent of employers report that the preparation of SLCC graduates was the same or better than graduates from other colleges.

Mission-Based Student Learning Outcomes

Transfer Education One year after transferring, 90

percent of students who transferred reported a four-year GPA that was similar or higher than their SLCC GPA.

89 percent of the students who transferred reported that their transfer college accepted their 100 level or above SLCC courses.

Institutional Research and Planning’s Assessment Toolbox

The Assessment Information Toolbox helps identify data sources, collect assessment data, and interpret and share assessment results.

Data/information is available through static reports or dynamic queries using the Hyperion (BRIO) decisions support system tool.

The toolbox provides a common data source for faculty, staff, and administrators related to each mission area.

The “So-What” Institutional Assessment Model

Assessment Data Collection

Confusing Activity With Achievement Is Never A Good Thing!

Assessment Data Reporting

Creates A Unifying, Central Theme For Assessment

Makes Assessment Everyone’s Business and Encourages Cross-Campus Sharing

Encourages Thoughtful Interpretation to: Improve Teaching and Student Learning

Outcomes Improve Student Support Services Advance Institutional Effectiveness Document Appropriate Outcomes To

Constituencies

Value Of Mission-Based Approach To Assessment

Assessment: The President’s Role

Demand Mission-Based Assessment Create and Support A Culture of

Inquiry Based Upon Thoughtful Interpretation of Data

Create and Support A Culture of Action & Improvement

Recognize Accomplishments and Improvements

Assessment Requires Leadership and Action

Assessment is 90% mental and the other half is physical.

I wish I had an answer for that because I am tired of answering that question.

In your assessment process, when you come to a fork in the road—take it.

Assessment is like traveling, if you don’t know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.

You Can Observe A Lot Just By Watching

St. Louis Community College Assessment Resources

John Cosgrove, Director of Institutional Research, Planning & Assessmentjcosgrove@stlcc.edu

League for Innovation in the Community College “Leadership Abstracts” (Oct 2006)http://www.league.org/publication/

leadership/issue.cfm St. Louis Community College Assessment

Home pagehttp://www.stlcc.edu/assessment/

“Assessment Tools to Improve Outcomes,” The Business Officer (May 2007)http://www.nacubo.org/x2443.xml