ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT & CURRICULUM IMPROVEMENT

1. ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT&CURRICULUM IMPROVEMENT Presentation to the Review Committee September 19, 2007

2. Topics • AACI Principles • AACI at City College • Short Term: Next Steps Fall 2007 • Long Term: A Sustainable Process • Discussion

3. AACI PrinciplesA Cyclical Process of Goal and Data Driven Decision Making; • What do we want our students to learn? • How do we know they have learned it? • How do we use results of assessment? • How do we know interventions worked?

4. AACI PrinciplesOn Nested Levels, with Different Timelines and Methods; • Lecture, Lab (entry quiz, homework, clickers) • Course Outcomes (measurable outcomes for graded assignments and finals, student perception of learning) • Program Outcomes (totality of Course Outcomes Feedback, Capstone Courses, seniors’, alumni, employers perceptions of learning, CPE)

5. Students Students’ Family Faculty Department/Program College The Profession/Discipline Employers Industry Societal Groups Society ......................... WE’RE DOING THIS (AACI) ALREADY, BUT IT NEEDS SOME TLC AND REMODELING, AND WE HAVE NOT “CLOSED A LOOP” YET AACI PrinciplesWith Many Stakeholders - What Students Learn, Matters to:

6. AACI at City College • What it was • Initiating Change • Accomplishments 2005-2007 • Where we are now • Challenges

7. AACI at City CollegeWhat it was & Initiating Change • Five Year Reviews and Previous Accreditations • Isolated Events • Low Involvement • Focus on Attitudes & Satisfaction, not Actual Learning • Assessment Committee 2003 • Each year CLO’s for 20% of all courses • Surveys, Town Meetings, Focus Groups, Faculty Retreat WE COULD DO BETTER AND WE DID BETTER THAN THAT

8. AACI at City CollegeThe Period 2005-2007 • Achievements: (Some Resisted, Others Went “The Extra Mile”) • A Structure for Assessment • Missions, Program Outcomes and Course-Program Links • Course Outcomes & Syllabi • Middle States Web Site • Faculty Training • Resource Rooms • Assessment Instruments • Pilot and First Round of Assessment • Preliminary Reports

9. AACI at City CollegeWhere We Are Now • Program LO Assessment • 87% of 30 UG Depts. and Programs Reported • Instruments: Direct & Indirect Measures • Preliminary Results • Best Practices & Interventions • General Education Assessment • Science Core • Other courses • Preliminary Results

10. AACI at City CollegeWhere We Are Now – First Impressions of DA Findings • Majors • Higher Order Academic Skills • Writing Skills • Critical Reflection • General Education • Science: Intro Math & Physics • Courses for non-Science Majors • Hum-Soc: Grading?, CPE • What is the Extent of Weaknesses? • What Minimum Level do We Expect for our Bachelors Degree? • What is the Role of General Education? • What is the Role of Program Structure?

11. AACI at City CollegeWhere We Are Now – First Impressions of DA Findings, cont. • “Students need help in citing sources for research papers.” (Theatre) • “Analysis of student writing demonstrates limitations in their ability to build coherent arguments, and to synthesize material across diverse sources”. (Psychology) • “The weakest area I can find is critical thinking. Many of the students present a summary of the text.” (BA Literature) • “Final essays are generally shorter than desired and required. Students seem to have special difficulty producing longer essays without the revision process. I will need to think through what can be done about helping students better meet this particular goal.” (DWE)

12. AACI at City CollegeWhere We Are Now – First Impressions of DA Findings, cont. • “The majority of this course proved to be useless because I learned most of this material in 8th grade and early high school. It deeply saddens me that this is a college level math course.” (math 150) • “Too much is piled into a semester, limiting our abilities to fully comprehend and retain the material—a challenge for many of us who are liberal arts majors.” (math 150, same section) • “From their short essay answers in the exams it can be seen that they memorize, sometimes word for word. They see a word and write an answer instead of reading the question carefully. It would be a challenge to enhance more critical thinking”. (EAS)

13. AACI at City CollegeChallenges, or: What We Need To Work On • Faculty Participation • Adjunct Faculty • Sustainability: Efficiency & Cost Effectiveness • General Education • Design Improvements, Targets & Benchmarks • Internal & External Communication / Inclusion of (more) Constituencies

14. Next Steps Fall 2007 • Dept. Review of Findings & Decision Making • What did we learn? • What will we do? • How will we do it and who’s responsible? • What resources do we need? • Departmental Plan

15. Next Steps Fall 2007, cont. • Faculty Development • Organize assessment – e.g., select student materials • Develop & incorporate new assessment methods • Interpret and use results for improvement • Deans’ Involvement • Broadcast Necessity, Communication • Provide Structure, Support & Appreciation • Work with Divisional Coordinators

16. A Sustainable Process - Conditions • Incorporate in Existing Processes & Structures • e.g., Combine curriculum review with 5 yr review • e.g., 1st Faculty / P&B meeting for semester review and planning • e.g., Chair addresses problems with individual courses • Clear Responsibilities and Lines of Authority

17. A Sustainable Process - Conditions • Useful & Intellectually Satisfying • e.g., effective & fair grading – transferable & less time consuming, transfer evaluation • e.g., opportunities for professional growth • e.g., discipline specific educational research, publications • Appreciation for Growth, not Retaliation for Weaknesses

18. Afterthought Oh, Yes, MIDDLE STATES