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What the Heck is Going on with Assessment and Accountability?

MSCHE Student Learning Assessment Institute September 2009. What the Heck is Going on with Assessment and Accountability?. Linda Suskie, Vice President Middle States Commission on Higher Education 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia PA 19104 Web: www.msche.org E-mail: LSuskie@msche.org.

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What the Heck is Going on with Assessment and Accountability?

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  1. MSCHE Student Learning Assessment Institute September 2009 What the Heck is Going on with Assessment and Accountability? Linda Suskie, Vice President Middle States Commission on Higher Education 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia PA 19104 Web: www.msche.org E-mail: LSuskie@msche.org

  2. The US Accreditation “System” • Regional accreditors • All require liberal arts foundation • Oldest, strongest reputation • National accreditors • Colleges without liberal arts foundation • Specialized accreditors • Mostly programs, not colleges • State licensure • All accreditors voluntary, membership-controlled • Students can receive Federal financial aid only if they attend a college accredited by a Federally-recognized accreditor.

  3. 1965 Higher Education Act (HEA) • Title IV funds go only to colleges accredited by Federally recognized accreditors. • Pell, SEOG, Trio, Migrant grants • Federally-insured student loans • Accreditors must comply with HEA criteria to be recognized.

  4. HEA reauthorization 1986: First outcomes assessment language 1998: Assessment language strengthened Regional accreditors rewrote standards to emphasize assessment of student learning outcomes “Learning-centered” movement 1980s: Movement—and assessment movement—began 1995: Barr & Tagg’s seminal article in Change published 1980s and 1990s

  5. 2000s: Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) • Developed by Rand • Published by Council for the Advancement of Education (CAE)

  6. 2007: Commission on the Future of Higher Education(“Spellings Commission”) • Chaired by Charles Miller • Concluded • College graduates are less well-educated • Based on National Assessment of Adult Literacy • Accreditors look at inputs, not outcomes • Recommended • Comparable assessments • Value-added assessments

  7. Today: A Changing World • Higher ed’s historic lack of interest in economy, efficiency, & effectiveness • Higher ed’s historic reticence…arrogance? • Shifting public policy • Higher education is more a private than public good. • More cost shifted to student • Broadening market for higher education • Most well-paying jobs require post-secondary education • Students & families want • Better pay, not necessarily a richer education • Assurance they’ll get their money’s worth

  8. How to Stop the Madness?

  9. College Navigator (USED) College Board Education Trust USA Today/NSSE US News & World Report Kiplinger’s Barron’s Washington Monthly College Portrait (NASULGC/AASCU) U-CAN (NAICU) Transparency by Design (President’s Forum of Excelsior College) National Association of System Heads Point to Existing & Forthcoming Public Resources

  10. Recognize that EveryMeasure of Institutional Effectiveness is Imperfect • Retention & graduation rates • Published instruments • “Comparable” measures • Value-added measures

  11. Tell the Story of Your Institution’s Effectiveness to Your Key Audiences • How do you define a successful student? • What (systematic) evidence do you have that students meet your definition of success? • How effective are you in ensuring that your students achieve their goals in a timely fashion? • All in 25 words or less! • Transparent, easy to find

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