What you need to know about Middle States and Assessment

1. What you need to know about Middle States and Assessment New York State Disability Services Council June 20, 2012 Lake Canandaigua, NY Presented by: Mary Beth Orrange Kathy Hoffman

2. Middle States Commission on Higher Education MSCHEaccredits degree-granting colleges and universities in the Middle States region, which includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and several locations internationally.

3. The Commission The Commission is a voluntary, non-governmental, membership association that defines, maintains, and promotes educational excellence across institutions with diverse missions, student populations, and resources. It examines each institution as a whole, rather than specific programs within institutions.

4. MS Standard 7: Institutional Assessment 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

5. Evidence of the Assessment Cycle • Evidence goes beyond anecdote show systemic evidence • Such as grade distributions, not individual GPA • Aggregate numbers, not star alumni

6. Evidence of the Assessment Cycle Assess and quantify your activities with constant focus on improving student learning. Connect each activity or service provided by your office to student learning.

7. The Assessment Cycle • What have our students learned? • How can we improve? • Implement changes leading to improvement. • Re-measure student learning. Show what you are doing and have done, not what you plan to do!!!!

8. Your role in institutional assessment Each institutions report and assessment process is unique as is your role. Some of you are central to the institution by functionality and others by personality. Focus on systemic assessment of student learning outcomes is the common thread throughout all your reports.

9. MS Cycle of Assessment • Decennial site visit – every ten years with a range of follow-up activities • Periodic Review Report (PRR) – five years after decennial. No site visit required but full report on 14 standards

10. Key components of Assessment Process Systemic Sustainable Evidence Connect to Student Learning Outcomes

11. Assess your activities 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 Your office fits into this overall assessment process.

12. Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) – Self Assessment Guidelines (SAG) • Very specific, well organized guidelines • 14 components • 5 steps in self-assessment • Criterion measure rating scale • Examples • How to create an action plan

13. Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) CAS Self-Assessment Guide for Disability Support Services Update http://www.una.edu/studentaffairs/CAS_Disability_Support_Services.docx.pdf Update link Updated version available September 2012

14. Benchmarking IPEDS http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/ IPEDS is an open website.

15. IPEDS 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

16. IPEDS Selected NY CC as my EZ peer group.

17. IPEDS - Benchmarking

18. MSCHE website http://msche.org/

19. Your role in institutional assessment Standard 9 – Context

20. Program Review process at your own campus Participate!!! Case Study Erie Community College

21. Questions???

22. Contact Information Mary Beth Orrange Erie Community College Middle States, Faculty Chair orrange@ecc.edu Kathy Hoffman Erie Community College Director of DSS hoffman@ecc.edu