1 Student Learning Assessment Assessment is an ongoing process aimed at understanding & improving student learning Formative Assessment – Ongoing feedback for the purpose of improving learning and student performance Summative Assessment – Culminating evaluation of Student performance against a Set of predetermined standards Content-based Assessment – The testing of a student’s understanding of a predetermined body of knowledge Outcomes-based Assessment – The testing of a student’s ability to use knowledge and skills to create a complex and multifaceted product or by completing a complex task

2 How might we do assessment? Possible Units of Analysis  Institution  College  Program  Course  Individual student Possible Targets  Institution-wide learning outcomes  College-wide goals  Program goals  Course goals  Student goals

3 Working ideas of how to assess  Institution level  Program level  Course level  Individual level NSSE Benchmarks Program-wide Learning Outcomes & Maps Project or Synthesis Exercise Course student evaluations Faculty e-portfolio Student e-portfolio

4 UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO NSSE 2005 Jane Baillargeon Institutional Research and Assessment

5 Program Overview  What do you know about college student engagement?  What is NSSE?  NSSE 2005  University of Idaho data  Using NSSE data  Questions and discussion

6 What Really Matters in College Student Engagement The research is unequivocal- Impact of college is largely determined by individual effort. Students are not passive recipients of institutional efforts to “educate” or “change” them. Important to focus on ways in which an institution can shape its academic, interpersonal, and extracurricular offerings to encourage student engagement. Pascarella & Terenzini. (2005). How college affects students: A third decade of research

7 What is NSSE? (pronounced “nessie”)  Evaluates the extent to which first-year and senior students engage in educational practices associated with high levels of learning and development  Supported by grants from Lumina Foundation for Education and the Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts at Wabash College  Co-sponsored by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Pew Forum on Undergraduate Learning

8 Why A National Survey?  Refocus conversations about undergraduate quality to what matters most  Enhance institutional improvement efforts  Foster comparative and consortium activity  Inform accountability  Provide systematic national data on “good educational practices”

9 Effective Educational Practices  Student-faculty contact  Active learning  Prompt feedback  Time on task  High expectations  Cooperation among students  Respect for diverse talents and ways of learning Chickering and Gamson. (1987). Seven principles of good practice in undergraduate education.

10 NSSE Project Scope  Almost 1000 different colleges and universities  50 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada  Data from more than 880,000 students  Institutions include Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges, and all female and all male colleges YearColleges/ Universities

11 Use and Validity of Self-Reports Validity of Self-Reporting Improves When…  Requested information is known to respondents  Questions are clear and unambiguous  Respondents take questions seriously and thoughtfully  Answering does not threaten, embarrass, or violate privacy or compel a socially desirable response National assessment experts designed the NSSE survey, The College Student Report, to meet these conditions

12 What Does The College Student Report Cover? Student Behaviors in College Institutional Actions And Requirements Institutional Actions And Requirements Student Reactions to College Student Background Information Student Background Information Student Learning & Development

13 Survey Administration  Administered to random sample of first-year & senior students  Paper & Web-based survey  Flexible to accommodate consortium questions  Multiple follow-ups to increase response rates

14 NSSE 2005 Institutions by Carnegie Classification

15 NSSE 2005 Respondents Race and Ethnicity Percentage of Respondents

16 NSSE 2005 Response Rates  University of Idaho’s response rate = 44%  39% overall for all NSSE 2005 institutions  35% for Paper mode institutions  42% for Web-only institutions  39% for Web+ institutions  Response rates ranged from 9% to 89%

17 External Campus Uses  Assess status vis-à-vis peers, competitors  Identify, develop, market distinctive competencies  Encourage collaboration in consortia (e.g., state-wide NSSE conference)  Provide evidence of accountability for good processes (while awaiting improvement in outcomes) Public Accountability Fund Raising Governing Boards Prospective Students Alumni State Policy Makers Performance Indicators Focus on Right Things Accrediting Bodies Media Parents

18 Internal Campus Uses  Gauge status of campus priorities  Examine changes in student engagement between first and senior years  Assess campus progress over time  Encourage dialogue about good practice  Link with other data to test hypotheses, evaluate programs  Improve curricula, instruction, services Institutional Improvement Learning Communities 1 ST Year and Senior Experience Academic Affair Learning Assessment Faculty Development Academic Advising Peer Comparison Student Affair Institutional Research Enrollment Management

19 Using NSSE Data  Discover current levels of engagement (institution, major field, year in school)  Determine if current levels are satisfactory (criterion reference, normative, or peer comparison)  Target areas for improvement  Modify programs and policies accordingly  Teach students what is required to succeed  Monitor student & institutional performance Areas of Effective Educational Practice Areas for Institutional Improvement

20 NSSE Benchmarks of Effective Practice  Level of Academic Challenge  Active and Collaborative Learning  Student-Faculty Interaction  Enriching Educational Experiences  Supportive Campus Environment

21 University of Idaho  Benchmark description and survey items  Comparison of UI to selected peers  Comparison of UI to all NSSE schools  First-Year to Senior comparison  What does it mean for us?

22 How Do I Find Out More? NSSE Website Jane Baillargeon