Assessment of Student Learning Committee
October 22, 2002
Minutes

Attending: Don Baldus, Teresa Brown, Bonnie Flaig, Katherine Hickman, Jean Hoth, Nirmala Kotagal, Jane Kruger, Tammy Lee, Barb Mollberg, Anne Niccolai, Robin Paynter, Ivonne TjoeFat, Paula Theisen, Marilyn Treder

Absent Members: Carol Bailey, Steve Cole, Judy Harris, Yuko Taniguchi

Assessment Website
The committee agreed to keep the Science Department ‘Highlight’ on the committee’s website through the month of November since the completion of the site was delayed. As a result, the monthly assignments will be shifted by one month as indicated below.

Month Department Person Facilitating
November 2002 Science Teresa Brown
December 2002 English Bonnie Flaig
January 2003 Dental Hygiene Anne Niccolai
February 2003 Math Marilyn Treder
March 2003 Nursing/Surgical Tech Katherine Hickman
April 2003 Social Science Jean Hoth
May 2003 Supervisory Management/Business Tammy Lee

The web address for the committee site is www.acd.roch.edu/asl.

Members agreed to have their picture taken for the site. A media services representative will be stopping by the members’ offices to take the photos.

Assessment Pilot Updates
The Math Department has planned to implement three embedded critical thinking questions in MATH 098. Three rounds of questioning are planned and the first has been completed. The initial assessment has led to much discussion concerning ‘What is critical thinking?’ The department is discussing different styles of questions.

The English Department has chosen to utilize a standardized writing exam from ACT. The exam is taken twice during ENGL1117, Reading and Writing Critically I. The pre-examination has been completed and is currently being evaluated by ACT. The exam cost is $11 per student. Some instructors in the department plan to utilize the second round of testing as their final. The ACT testing administrators have recommended that the department make copies of the exams so that the results of the assessment will be more meaningful.

The Science Department is creating a series of questions that can be used to assess the students’ abilities to read and interpret graphical representations of data. The pre- and post-assessments will take place in BIOL 1101 and CHEM 1127.

Statement of Purpose Discussion
The committee discussed and accepted the following statement of purpose and committee roles.

Statement of Purpose
To assist faculty and students in determining student acquisition of knowledge, skills, and values through multiple measures of course outcomes with the goals of involving students in the learning process and providing feedback for improving student success.

Committee Roles
Identify effective methods of assessment of student learning.
Identify whether faculty and student expectations of learning are being met.
Maximize student success and satisfaction with the learning process through timely feedback.
Maximize faculty utilization of continuous assessment measures to enhance student/faculty communication and improve faculty-teaching strategies.

Levels of Assessment

The rubrics used in February of 2002 to evaluate the “Levels of Implementation” of a continuous assessment program were distributed along with faculty, administration, and student results. Student involvement in the assessment process is minimal. Discussion of this weakness took place. One suggestion to improve student involvement was to have a student representative on the assessment committee. Another suggestion was that we evaluate the assessment practices at other institutions such as an ‘Assessment Day’. Upon further discussion, it was recommended that we go back to the rubric used to evaluate assessment program implementation and glean what steps need to be taken in order to move students from Level 1 (Planning) to Level 2 (Emerging) on the rubric.

The committee’s charges for the next meeting are to review the distributed results as well as the rubric utilized and prepare suggestions for moving the assessment program forward.