Balancing a Myriad of Assessment Strategies: Coordination of Assessment in the Age of Academic Accountability

1. Balancing a Myriad of Assessment Strategies: Coordination of Assessment in the Age of Academic Accountability Chris Crawford, Assistant Provost Larry Gould, Provost Fort Hays State University NSSE Regional Conference

2. The Assessment Imperative • “The higher education community has not found a satisfactory way to measure, report on, and improve performance.” The Futures Project (2005) • “…colleges will need to be more accountable to their customers, more responsive to the marketplace, and more accountable for results.” Current Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty (2005), NSSE Regional Conference

3. The Status Quo of Assessment at FHSU • Mission of assessment at FHSU • The purpose of assessment activity at FHSU is to implement our assigned mission through the systematic collection and analysis of information which can be used to measure and continuously improve the effectiveness of institutional academic and nonacademic programs, policies, and practices. NSSE Regional Conference

4. The Status Quo of Assessment at FHSU, cont. • Vision of assessment at FHSU • Fort Hays State University will have an assessment program that provides systematic, usable information about the effectiveness of the institution including learning outcomes and support services that helps us fulfill our responsibilities to the students who come to us for an education and to the citizens whose trust supports our work. NSSE Regional Conference

5. The Status Quo of Assessment at FHSU, cont. • Good assessment can only be derived from good instruction • Best practices of instruction • Empower faculty and student interaction • Facilitate cooperation between students • Promote and encourage active learning • Communicate expectations, course objectives, and standards NSSE Regional Conference

6. The Status Quo of Assessment at FHSU, cont. • Best practices of instruction, cont. • Accept and respect others • Demonstrate knowledge of the subject material and discipline specific methodologies, and • Provide opportunities for reflection, assessment, and integration NSSE Regional Conference

7. The Status Quo of Assessment at FHSU, cont. • Principles of assessment at FHSU • All university stakeholders play a crucial role in effective assessment practice • The faculty are responsible for setting and assessing educational goals • The focus of assessment is improvement of the educational process and outcomes at FHSU • The unit of study is the program rather than the individual student or faculty member NSSE Regional Conference

8. The Status Quo of Assessment at FHSU, cont. • Principles of assessment at FHSU • Assessment activities will be conducted as unobtrusively as possible, using existing points of contact as much as possible • Single measures are not as effective as multiple measures; • Assessing a large number of goals is not as effective as multiple measures • Assessment results will be reported in aggregate and used for the improvement and development of programs; and • Units should include assessment results in their reports NSSE Regional Conference

9. Levels of Assessment at FHSU • University Level • National benchmarking (Noel Levitz, NSSE, FSSE) • Admission exams (ACT, SAT, GRE, GMAT) • Alumni/stakeholder surveys • College Level • General education/Senior survey • Proposed MBA/Business SLO assessment • Graduate comps (Grad college) NSSE Regional Conference

10. Levels of Assessment at FHSU, cont. • Program/Department Level • Limited national benchmarking (MCSE, CPA) • Competency exams (PLT, NCLEX) • Departmental exit/portfolio/thesis/experience • Embedded assessment (LIMITED, but some) • Course Level • Student assessment • Embedded assessment source NSSE Regional Conference

11. Strategic Plan • Needed to answer the questions… • What are generally relevant characteristics of all graduates? • How are our graduates doing related to those characteristics? • What course of action is required based on the data? NSSE Regional Conference

12. Role of NSSE/FSSE • Philosophy…FHSU is an AQIP school • Quality improvement is a journey not a destiny, NSSE is a yearly pit stop for FHSU • NSSE and other institutional assessments are widely shared – transparentesque culture • Very interested in assessment for the sake of improvement, but compliance is still the “bottom line” NSSE Regional Conference

13. Role of NSSE – Formal • The pivotal tool in providing documentation on the general characteristics • Used by colleges to provide basis for strategy (College of Arts and Sciences) • NSSE data used by different stakeholders • Freshmen data more useful for Student Affairs, • Senior data more useful as a proxy for student learning in Academic Affairs, and • Both are useful to Admin & Finance NSSE Regional Conference

14. Role of NSSE – Informal • Many departments use NSSE items as “big picture” indicators • Useful as a means of assessing strategy and priority for quasi-academic programs (ADP, service learning) • The fodder for those department meetings that we all remember • “Just another piece of the puzzle” NSSE Regional Conference

15. Big Plans • Find ways to incorporate NSSE more directly into departmental assessment (primarily for Gen Ed classes) • Continue to share NSSE widely • Many want data on seniors/graduates: Alumni, Endowment, Student Affairs • Use the freshmen data much more in Academic Affairs NSSE Regional Conference

16. The Bottom Line • Has the data made us more accountable? • Are we using the data to make improvements? • Five years out…does the data still meet our needs? • Where are we in reference to our peers… winning or losing? • What are we missing? NSSE Regional Conference

17. Questions? NSSE Regional Conference

18. Balancing a Myriad of Assessment Strategies: Coordination of Assessment in the Age of Academic Accountability Chris Crawford, Assistant Provost Larry Gould, Provost Fort Hays State University NSSE Regional Conference