Course-Level Assessment
Course Assessment Plans:聽 As new courses are proposed, the department develops measurable student learning outcomes that are recorded in an Assessment Plan for each credit course offered by the department.聽 For most courses, the Assessment Plan includes 3-5 student learning outcomes (SLOs), assessment strategies or assignments, and an identified target for each outcome.聽 For courses included in the General Education Limited Distribution Core, the Plan will also include the 4+1 program outcomes appropriate for the course category.聽 These Plans are submitted to the Academic Programs & Curricula Committee at the time the course is being considered for approval and becomes the starting point for the department鈥檚 course-level assessment process.聽 Moving forward, assessment results and action plans will be reported electronically in TracDat in accordance with the college鈥檚 course-level assessment process and tracked by the Office of Academic Assessment.
Core Course of Study:聽 In addition, a Core Course of Study is created for each course and contains the departmentally approved course description, goals, student learning outcomes, common core of material to be covered in the course, and the out-of-class requirements to be utilized by all instructors teaching the course.聽 This document is particularly important for courses with multiple sections to ensure that a common core of knowledge is being covered regardless of modality or whether the course is taught by full- or part-time faculty.聽 Departments may require common assessment strategies for the core content and/or general education student learning outcomes.
Curriculum Mapping:聽 If the course is a requirement or support course for a program of study, the course student learning outcomes are aligned to the goals and learning outcomes at the program level.聽 As each course and program is assessed and action plans developed, it is important to ensure that this alignment is maintained.
Student Feedback:聽 In addition to the faculty members鈥� assessments, the college gains input on course quality from Student Response Surveys conducted for all credit classes offered each semester through an online survey issued via College email.聽 The data is collected by the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs and provided electronically to the appropriate academic dean.聽 Faculty members receive their survey reports by course section once the semester has ended.
Student Learning Outcomes Assessment (Yearly):聽 Student learning outcomes assessment is the process by which student learning is defined for a course and assessment methods are used to generate and collect information for evaluating overall educational quality.聽 Through course action plans, faculty compile evidence and build on existing efforts to improve student learning. The outcomes assessment process is an extension of the professional work regularly conducted by faculty and is intended to be meaningful, measureable, and manageable.聽
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The expectation is that all active courses will be assessed each academic year and will submit an assessment plan for the semester the course is offered or the semester they choose to assess. For conducting assessment, course faculty will design a common assessment tool and/or measurement instrument (i.e. rubric, checklist, exam) that assesses SLO competency near or at the end of a course. The assessment will measure student competency at a minimum baseline: 75% of students will demonstrate competency at a C or higher. Assessment results and reporting will be required for all of the following; Fall, Spring, Summer courses and for all modalities to include face-to-face, on-line and hybrid.聽
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This ongoing process records the assessment results, proposed changes, and the results of those changes.聽 Based on the results, new changes may be developed and implemented for the next assessment cycle.聽 Faculty conversations on course-level assessment results are designed to allow for the sharing of ideas among colleagues and collaboration on best practices.
Instructor Responsibilities
Single Section Course
- With the Course Lead assistance, complete a yearly assessment plan.
- Develop an assessment tool and measurement instrument to measure the Course and Gen Ed SLO鈥檚 indicated on the assessment plan.
- Compile and then report the assessment data to Course Lead.
- If the Course Lead, report data to assessment office.
- Develop and implement improvement action plans if necessary.
Multi-Section Course
- All full-time faculty (and adjuncts if available) teaching the course collaborate to complete a yearly assessment plan.
- Develop an common assessment tool and measurement instrument to measure the Course and Gen Ed SLO鈥檚 indicated on the assessment plan.
- Course lead distributes to adjuncts.
- Course lead compiles and reports data to assessment office.
- Develop and implement improvement action plans if necessary.