Assessment of Student Learning Committee

 Minutes September 27, 2005 

 

In Attendance: Don Baldus, Teresa Brown, Patrick Costello, Susan Jansen, Tammy Lee, Jessie Martinez, Barb Mollberg, Jaime Malcore

 Absent: Carol Bailey, Mike Bequette, Jean Hoth

 Updates:

An overview of the Assessment of Student Learning website (www.acd.roch.edu/asl ) was provided.  Members were encouraged to explore the site, review past assessment plans/goals and ASL initiatives.   

In this transitional year, ASL initiatives will focus on two main strategies:

Strategy 1:  Assess student learning at the program/department level.

Strategy 2:   Provide Assessment of Student Learning professional development opportunities and resources for faculty /staff.

 

Currently 10 RCTC programs/departments have established an ASL documentation framework and an additional 8 are in the process of developing a framework.  Of these 18 programs, 6 have received a FIDG/ASL FY06 grant award.  An overview of each programs/departments application was provided.  Monthly progress reports will be shared with the ASL committee.

 

Brainstorm ASL Issues/Concerns/ Areas Interested in Learning More:

Committee members were asked to brainstorm 1) ASL issues and concerns and 2) Areas they were interested in learning more.  Future committee meetings will focus on finding solutions to issues and concerns. 

ASL Issues & Concerns

Interested Areas to Learn More

 

Participation & Buy IN

·        Motivating department members

·        Moving beyond theory

·        Faculty participation

·        Getting faculty to buy in to assessment

·        Selling faculty on the importance of having measurement practices

·        Faculty workload concerns

·        Language/Lingo

 

Other Methods of Assessment

  • Basic assessment across curriculum
  • General Education
  • Connecting outcomes to MnTC
  • What are other people doing on campus with assessment?
  • Identifying best practice sites
  • What are other institutions doing for assessment?

 

Time

·        Time from class

·        Time for Assessments

 

 

ASL Committee

·        Retreat

·        Conferences

·        Continue ASL sessions during Faculty Development Days

·        Share other department successes

·        What roll will administration play in ASL?

 

 

Department Consensus

·        Getting faculty in a department to all use the rubric the same way

·        Changing lab exercises to make them more assessment friendly.

·        How is the data that is collected going to be used?

·        Why should we get involved?

·        How should progress be documented

·        Why are departments not taking advantage of FIDG for ASL projects?

·        Contact person

 

 

Assessment Tools

 

·        Establish assessment tools

·        Common rubric format

·        Alternative talks for measurement outcomes

 

 

 

Data Management

·        eLumen data reporting difficulties

·        eLumen demo

·        Data entry

·        Data management

·        Training for eLumen

·        Secretaries to add duties

·        How is data to be analyzed

·        Electronic tools to process assessment effectively

 

 

 

Evaluation

·        Developing an evaluation tool

·        Many rubrics are too sophisticated

·        How will this committee measure progress

·        Identifying core department outcomes

·        Curriculum mapping