Assessment: Will It Be a “We Have To?” or “We Get To?” Ralph A. Wolff, President Senior College Commission, WASC

Main Points Assessment is a central requirement of all accrediting agencies and mandated by federal regulations (part of the “We have to”) Once undertaken, assessment is enormously value adding for students, faculty, governing boards and institutions (“We get to”) Trends will require that assessment results be made public and comparable (“We need to get busy”) MUM 12-10

Institutions Public 4-year institutions 643 Private 4-year institutions, nonprofit 1,533 Private 4-year institutions, for-profit 453 Private 2-year institutions, nonprofit 107 Private 2-year institutions, for-profit 533 Total 4,314 MUM 12-10

Where Students Go Public 4-year institutions 6,955,013 (39%) Private 4-year institutions 4,285,317 (24%) Private 2-year institutions 293,420 (1%) Total 17,758,870 81% of all freshmen in the fall of 2006 who had graduated from high school in the previous year attended colleges in their home states. MUM 12-10

Concern About Student Achievement Completion rates: 54% after 6 years -- need for increased transfers from community colleges -- impact of increased work hours and debt load Student learning results: NAAL, employer surveys Data from national surveys – NSSE, CIRP MUM 12-10

Decline in Global Competitiveness Drop in high school graduation rates (77.5%) Dropped from 1st to 7th in college participation rates of 18-24 year olds 2d for 35-64 yr. olds; 10th for 25-34 15th in completion rates Lower than OECD average for science and math literacy for 15 yr. olds (PISA scores) MUM 12-10

De-Institutionalization of Learning >one-third of students attend more than one institution About 10% are simultaneously enrolled at more than one institution Recognition of prior learning Availability of open source courses – MIT, iTunesU, YouTubeU DIY – do it yourself learning – eHow.com MUM 12-10

Rise of For-Profit and New Institutions Fastest growing sector, 285% in 10 years 42% of online market Growth, scalability and high profitability of national systems Increasing mergers, acquisitions, conversion of nonprofit universities Joint ventures with nonprofit institutions MUM 12-10

Common Expectations of Assessment Aligned at course, program and institutional levels Uses multiple methods of assessment beyond surveys Results are collected over time and discussed by appropriate stakeholders (including governing board) “Closing the loop” demonstrated Extends to student services and nonacademic units MUM 12-10

Course Assessment Clear statement of course learning outcomes – what are students to know, do, apply Alignment of course outcomes to program and institutional outcomes (CETYS U. example) Alignment of course assignments and pedagogical approaches to outcomes Assessment of outcomes (and pedagogy) beyond grading Feedback to students – involvement of students MUM 12-10

Program Outcomes Assessment Most important – leads to assessment of graduates (not courses) Identifies key outcomes Aligns courses to program outcomes (at beginning, intermediate and advanced levels) Multiple measures of assessment undertaken periodically ( one assessment measure per year?) Need for measures of direct assessment of student learning MUM 12-10

Assessment at the Institutional Level Assurance of core competencies of graduates Alignment of program outcomes Are students applying TM and the values of MUM after graduation Alumni surveys – what was the most important learning at MUM? Integration of growth of consciousness with knowledge, skills, self awareness, motivation, etc. MUM 12-10

What’s Working to Make Assessment a “Get to”? Pitzer experience – transforming institution and faculty engagement University of California, Berkeley – changed student and faculty attitudes UCLA – capstone certification; developed overall faculty ownership for student learning CSU, Long Beach – linked academic and student learning outcomes assessment (increase in retention) MUM 12-10

Periodic Program Review Essential part of assessment program Provides external feedback Links achievement of program outcomes with curricular currency, program planning and budgeting WASC Resource guide on Program Review MUM 12-10

Infrastructure for Assessment Assessment Committee Syllabus review groups Groups reviewing samples of papers and projects over 2-3 years Involvement of Institutional Research Development of assessment/faculty development centers with assessment specialist Involving students – is assessment done to them or with them? MUM 12-10

Tools Available WASC toolkit HLC assessment academy and annual meeting Middle States resource guide on assessment WASC Academic Resource Conference Books and consultants Collaborating with other institutions MUM 12-10

Where is assessment heading? Calls for accountability and public reporting will increase Student preparation upon entry will vary more greatly Focus will shift from identifying outcomes to whether learning results are good enough Tension over who sets standards of judgment Accrediting agencies will require more evidence of learning (not just assessment activities) MUM 12-10

Your Questions? MUM 12-10