GE, Assessment, and Capacity: Look before You Leap (LEAP)

GE, Assessment, and Capacity: Look before You Leap (LEAP) Barbara Wright, Associate Director,ACSCU/WASC bwright@wascsenior.org

The Assessment Loop 1. Goals, questions 4. Use 2. Gathering evidence 3. Interpretation AAC&U General Education Institute, Minneapolis, MN

Common missteps: We . . . • leap from the perception of a problem to step #4 • think step #2 IS assessment • send out a report after #2, assuming everyone will know how to get around the rest of the loop • underestimate the time, effort, resources and infrastructure (a.k.a. capacity) it will take to institutionalize the process • often assume good outcomes (a.k.a. effectiveness) if the inputs are good AAC&U General Education Institute, Minneapolis, MN

WASC’s 2-part visit process • Capacity and Preparatory Review • Educational Effectiveness Review The point: WASC’s process offers useful concepts for thinking about 1) your institution’s capacity for assessment of GE, and 2) your effectiveness in delivering high-quality GE. AAC&U General Education Institute, Minneapolis, MN

Some distinctions . . . • Capacity – • What do you have to support the gen ed curriculum? • What do you need? • What’s the plan to get what you need? • Educational effectiveness – • How well is your gen ed working? • How do you know? What is the evidence? AAC&U General Education Institute, Minneapolis, MN

Leadership for GE SLOs at all levels Infrastructure Committees Processes Knowledgeable faculty Results of leadership Achievement of SLOs Good, consistent functioning of infrastructure Engaged, active faculty What do capacity & effectiveness mean for general education? High-quality gen ed, supported by systematic asses-ment, has both capacity and effectiveness aspects: Capacity:Effectiveness: AAC&U General Education Institute, Minneapolis, MN

Data collection function Data GE assessment plan for the full assessment cycle A GE program review process Links to planning, budgeting, rewards, etc. High-quality, consistent functioning Analysis, use of data for improvement Plan actualized Program review carried out, leading to improvement Demonstrated support for assessment, PR, GE Capacity and effectiveness, cont. Capacity: Effectiveness: AAC&U General Education Institute, Minneapolis, MN

“Gadfly, try not to tell too many people that you went to this school” AAC&U General Education Institute, Minneapolis, MN

The Assessment Loop – Examples for Capacity and Effectiveness 1. Goals, questions 4. Use 2. Gathering evidence 3. Analysis, Interpretation AAC&U General Education Institute, Minneapolis, MN

Learning outcomes developed Examples of publications where outcomes appear Meeting minutes where outcomes led to questions, ideas for assessment, research Data on achievement of outcomes, degree of achievement Surveys showing student awareness of outcomes Reports on actual assessment, research that led to findings, changes Step 1. Goals, Questions Capacity: Effectiveness: AAC&U General Education Institute, Minneapolis, MN

Institutional policy supports rubric-scored direct methods Theory behind capstones, portfolios, is to display higher-order intellectual outcomes Consistency, quality in collecting, rating of student work. Instructions to students elicit higher-order intellectual skills Step 2. Gathering evidence Capacity: Effectiveness: AAC&U General Education Institute, Minneapolis, MN

Faculty, others are available, willing, trained IR support is available There are standards, benchmarks for quality of performance Community produces useful analysis Institutional research is active, contributing partner Benchmarks are applied, action plan follows from quality of performance Step 3. Analysis, Interpretation Capacity: Effectiveness: AAC&U General Education Institute, Minneapolis, MN

Assessment report is available, disseminated Changes, interventions occur Resources, structures and processes to support improvement are available The assessment report is acted upon Interventions have desired effect, seen in subsequent re-assessment Resources, structures, processes used effectively Step 4. Use for improvement Capacity: Effectiveness: AAC&U General Education Institute, Minneapolis, MN

Another WASC Focus: Not Just Student But Organizational Learning . . . • There’s a culture of inquiry and evidence • There’s a habit of continuous improvement based on evidence • Administrators understand, play their role • There are policies, structures, processes, and resources to support sharing of data, analysis, use, and improvement -within units, across the organization, w/ external entities, e.g., other institutions • Continuous learning, manifested in change and improvement, can be documented AAC&U General Education Institute, Minneapolis, MN

WASC’s learning curve . . . • FROM expecting programs to define standards for student learning . . . • TO asking for evidence that students also achieve those standards AAC&U General Education Institute, Minneapolis, MN

WASC’s learning curve . . . • FROM asking for evidence that the institution acts on findings and can show improvement... • TO also asking “Is this good enough? How do you know? What means do you use to establish standards?” AAC&U General Education Institute, Minneapolis, MN

The WASC rubrics . . . • Cover 1) learning outcomes, 2) capstones, 3) portfolios, 4) program review, 5) general education, & 6) overall educational effectiveness (the “Framework”) • Provide criteria for good practice • Suggest ways to generate evidence • Offer questions for self-review • Suggest directions for future work • Are used by visiting teams AAC&U General Education Institute, Minneapolis, MN

The LEAP Outcomes • Knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural worlds • Intellectual and practical skills • Personal and social responsibility • Integrative learning • Where are you in terms of capacity? • What do you know about your effectiveness? AAC&U General Education Institute, Minneapolis, MN

To access the WASC rubrics: • Go to www.wascsenior.org • Click on “document library” (on left) • Enter • “Capstone Rubric,” • Portfolio Rubric,” • General Education Rubric,” • “Program Review Rubric,” • “Student Learning Outcomes Rubric,” • or “Educational Effectiveness Framework” AAC&U General Education Institute, Minneapolis, MN

GE, Assessment, and Capacity: Look before You Leap (LEAP)