As we come to the end of another year, it’s time to assess what we have accomplished and how we have met our goals. What have we done well, and what can we do better? What are areas that need some attention and improvement? When we think about assessment at an academic institution, our first thoughts might be of student assessment, course evaluations, and program assessment. Of course, the data from these types of assessment are crucial in order to prove and guarantee the quality of our educational offerings, but did you know that assessment is equally important in all other areas of our institution? In this first of a series of posts on Assessment, I will focus on undergraduate curricular assessment. Future posts will address staff assessment, co-curricular assessment, and graduate assessment.
Annual program assessment has been an ongoing task of every academic department since our last reaffirmation of accreditation in 2006-07. Every program objective in every major is evaluated by two assessment measures: an entry level assignment and an upper level assignment. These are identified in an annual Assessment Plan prepared at the beginning of each academic year. The results are evaluated and reported in the Assessment Report, completed at the end of each academic year. A summary report contains an analysis of the data with noted differences between entry and upper level student achievement, identifying areas that fall below given benchmarks and those that reach or exceed them. The report closes the feedback loop by suggesting ways in which the program can make improvements based on this data. The goal is to improve student success and assure the adequate academic support for retention, persistence, and completion. Faculty members work together to use the Plans and Reports to improve the quality of programs.
Three specific tools for measurement are the Effective Written Communication Assessment Rubric, the Public Speaking Assessment Rubric, and the Critical Thinking Assessment Rubric. Although rubrics for all for undergraduate levels have been developed, the Office of Accreditation and Assessment Services has selected the third year, or junior level, rubric to provide a standard by which to show improvement over time. These three rubrics connect assignments in the classroom with course objectives, program objectives, and the University Portrait Statements.
Effective Written Communication and Public Speaking assess the Portrait Statement “Communicate Effectively.” These skills are assessed in General Education writing (ENG 1400 Composition) and speech (COM 1100 Fundamentals of Speech) courses and in Senior Capstone project presentations. Critical Thinking assess the Portrait Statement “Think Broadly and Deeply,” and is assessed in the first Bible minor course (BEGE 1720 Spiritual Formation) and in Senior Capstone project presentations.
In 2013 an online tool was developed for capturing and analyzing the data from each of these three rubrics. Using the Assessment Capture Tool (ACT), each instructor with students who are being assessed with these rubrics, enters data in this tool at the end of every semester. The ACT is able to compile data from previous years, and by means of this data analysis, we are able to measure the effectiveness across the academic programs in supporting two of our Portrait Statements.
Posted in: Uncategorized