UB’s Decennial Re-Accreditation: Academic Program Assessment Requirements

1. UB’s Decennial Re-Accreditation: Academic Program Assessment Requirements

2. Agenda • Overview of Middle States Re-Accreditation – Mike Ryan • Middle States Requirements for Program Assessment – Carol VanZile-Tamsen • Biological Sciences Case Study in Student Learning Outcomes – Gerald Koudelka • Next Steps

3. What is accreditation? • Accreditation is: • a process of peer review adopted by the higher educational community for its self-regulation • intended to strengthen and sustain the quality and integrity of higher education by establishing and enforcing standards of excellence

4. Higher Education and Regional Accreditation

5. Is Accreditation Important? Extremely!

6. What are Middle States’ standards for accreditation? • Mission and Goals • Planning, Resource Allocation, and Institutional Renewal • Institutional Resources • Leadership and Governance • Administration • Integrity • Institutional Assessment • Student Admissions and Retention • Student Support Services • Faculty • Educational Offerings • General Education • Related Educational Activities • Assessment of Student Learning

7. What is the Re-Accreditation Process and Timeline for UB? Step 1: Submission of Self Study Design (Summer 2012) Step 2: Self-Study Review (2011-2013) Step 3: Submission of Final Self-Study Report (Fall 2013) Step 4: Site Visit by Evaluation Team (Spring 2014)

8. UB’s Goal: Re-affirmation of accreditation Anything less WILL affect UB in critical ways: • Recruitment/enrollment • Flagship status/UB 2020 goals • Perception of UB in WNY, Albany, Washington • Perceptions of UB among AAU peers • Perception of UB nationally • Implications for specialized accreditation • Implications for funded research

9. Where does UB stand? Summer 2009 - Periodic Review Report • UB needs to address: • Identification of challenges beyond funding issues • Process for assessing institutional effectiveness • Enrollment management strategies • Systematic assessment of student learning at all levels

10. Major changes at Middle States since 2003: New Focus on Assessment

11. UB’s Assessment Challenge • Provide evidence and reliable information that demonstrates how we are measuring our goals, and using that information to achieve our mission. • Documenting on-going program assessment and improvement efforts.

12. Academic Program Deliverables

13. Program-Level Assessment Process Step 1: Program mission Step 2: Program goals for student learning outcomes Step 3: Strategies to achieve outcomes (program implementation) Step 4: Measures and collection of data to assess student learning Step 5: Use of assessment data for program improvement

14. Common Questions/Concerns • How does establishment of learning outcomes impact my academic freedom? • We already grade all of the students in our program. Doesn’t that count as assessment?

15. Step 1: Program Mission • Statement that clearly articulates the purpose of the academic program. Mission Statement Template: The mission of name of programis to what unit is expected to achieve by providing what unit doesto whom unit serves.

16. Step 2: Student Learning Outcomes • Reflect what students should know and/or be able to do upon completing the program. • Written in behavioral terms and indicate the level of learning desired. • Communicated clearly to students. • Few in number (5-10 that may or may not be broken into sub-goals).

17. Step 2: Student Learning Outcomes • Bloom’s Taxonomy • A framework for categorizing or describing the level at which learning occurs • http://www.odu.edu/educ/roverbau/Bloom/blooms_taxonomy.htm

18. Step 2: Student Learning Outcomes -- Examples • Students who complete the master’s program in school counseling will: • Demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to design and implement a comprehensive developmental counseling and guidance program; • Demonstrate leadership and advocacy skills within the school setting; and • Demonstrate individual and group counseling and classroom guidance skills.

19. Step 3: Implementation • Designing and delivering instructional experiences that provide opportunities for student learning • Curriculum Mapping • Each learning outcome must be addressed in at least one course or learning experience. • The most important outcomes should be addressed in multiple courses/ experiences. • Course objectives must be mapped back to learning outcomes.

20. Step 3: Implementation Basic Curriculum Mapping • Shading here reflects the depth of coverage in each course. • Instead of bullets, one might use: • actual topical areas from each course • indications of the expectations for student learning, e.g., introductory, developed/practiced, mastery

21. Step 4: Measures/Data Collection • Embedded Assessment: • Exam questions/Exams • Essay questions/written assignments • Performance observations • Course Evaluations • Add-On Assessment: • Portfolios • Standardized tests • Performance observations • Exit Surveys

22. Assessment Matrix for Embedded Assessment Step 4: Measures/Data Collection

23. Step 5: Using Results • The collected assessment data should be used to review and evaluate program requirements, courses, and other learning experiences. • Any changes based on the assessment results should be documented. • Assessment continues to ensure that changes result in improvement.

24. A Case Study in Assessment: Biological Sciences • Step 1: Mission • Step 2: Student Learning Outcomes • Step 3: Implementation • Depth Grid • Depth Grid with Some Courses Complete • Step 4: Measures/Data Collection • Step 5: Using Results

25. Next Steps • Program Self-Evaluation of Student Learning Outcomes Assessment • Review Materials on Accreditation & Assessment Web Site: • Template for Program Assessment Plan • Program Assessment Examples from Peer Departments (CAS) • Peer Support and Sharing • Workshops and Individual Help

26. Questions? • Also, send questions or requests for assistance to: ub-aaams@buffalo.edu