This component represents the extent to which evidence of student learning is used to identify areas where changes in policies and practices may lead to improvement, inform institutional decision-making, problem identification, planning, goal setting, faculty development, course revision, program review, and accountability or accreditation self-study.
Data-Informed Decision Making
In the 2019-2020 school year, the Office of Assessment is presenting six Lunch and Learn sessions on data gathered from the 2018 NSSE. We are having six sessions to be able to cover the mass of data that we have, and we are focusing on the Engagement Indicators of the seniors. These are the top items that indicate whether the student experience is positive enough that students want to be here. Each session involves reviewing and discussing data, followed by an activity to create curriculum improvements based upon the data.
Session 1: Higher-Order Learning
This Engagement Indicator captures how much students' coursework emphasizes challenging cognitive tasks such as application, analysis, judgment, and synthesis.
Session 2
Reflective and Integrative Learning
This Engagement Indicator captures how much instructors emphasize reflective and integrative learning which motivate students to make connections between their learning and the world around them, reexamining their own beliefs and considering issues and ideas from others' perspectives
Session 3
Learning Strategies
The knowledge about the prevalence of learning strategies helps colleges and universities target interventions to promote student learning and success.
Session 4
Quantitative Reasoning
This Engagement Indicator captures how much students have opportunities to develop their ability to reason quantitatively - to evaluate, support, and critique arguments using numerical and statistical information.
Session 5
Effective Teaching Practices
This Engagement Indicator captures how much instructors have organized instruction, clear explanations, illustrative examples, and effective feedback on student work - all of which represent aspects of teaching effectiveness that promote student comprehension and learning.
Session 6
Quality of Interactions
Students who enjoy supportive relationships with peers, advisors, faculty, and staff are better able to find assistance when needed, and to learn from and with those around them.
Caring for the Curriculum
In early Spring of 2017, all full time faculty gathered for a lock-in to work on curriculum assessment and planning. This all-day lock-in helped faculty care for the curriculum by learning about best practices in assessment and formalizing assessment plans within each program. A video collage of photos from the lock-in can be found below.
The experience was so successful on our campus that staff from the Center for Teaching and Learning made a presentation to the February 2018 Association for Continuing Higher Education Annual Conference to share our experience with other schools. The "'Locked In' to the Assessment Process" presentation is available for view.
