Institutional Effectiveness at CCC The Journey

The Priority  It is always important to know if what you are doing is effective. This is the story of how CCC built a climate of institutional assessment—or a focus on engaging in assessment for the benefits it brings.

The Past  In 1991, The College formed the Assessment Committee in response to a SUNY mandate.  In the mid-1990’s, it focused itself on two major tasks …

Getting Started  Creating a summary of all data collected by the College and compiling it into the now famous “Institutional Effectiveness Report” that has been published in 1997, 2000, 2005 and coming soon  Standardizing the academic program review process, and adding systematic review of Student Services departments.

Leadership  CCC made assessment a priority in 2001 when resources were committed to support a half-time Academic Assessment Coordinator.  The Assessment Committee became part of the faculty governance structure.

The Charge  Duties of the Academic Assessment Coordinator include: –Proposing policies and procedures to the Assessment Committee and the VPAA –Assisting units with their assessment plans and procedures –Assisting in the development of assessment instruments and strategies

The Charge  (continued): –Serving on the Assessment Committee –Serving as liaison between the College and SUNY –Working with the General Education Committee in developing and monitoring the College’s General Assessment Plan

The Charge  (continued): –Developing and maintaining an archive of assessment-related materials –This position was created from the full-time faculty ranks but shifted to the Associate Dean of Institutional Research & Planning in 2004.

Making it Work  The Assessment Committee has become a very active committee of the College.  Assessment expanded to include all Student Services offices.

Guiding the Process  The Assessment Committee created a Policies and Procedures statement, complete with a timeline and guide to program review.  The committee has also devised a formal protocol for program reviews, including a process to ensure follow-up on recommendations that arise from the self- study process.

Assessing Gen Ed  The General Education Committee responded to SUNY and devised it’s second cycle three-year plan to assess student learning outcomes in all of our general education courses.  Coordinating this effort is a monumental task, originally assigned to the Assessment Coordinator it was later created as a half-time faculty assignment.

Middle States & Institutional Effectiveness  We received a “pass” regarding institutional assessment from Middle States during our most recent re-accreditation review.  In the next review, the bar for assessment is set much higher.  There are three separate standards that deal with assessment in the new Middle States Standards of Excellence.

Addressing the Standards  Standard 7 deals with Institutional Assessment. They expect to find an assessment plan that we have implemented that evaluates the effectiveness of every aspect of the institution, from resource allocation to governance and leadership.  The Office of Institutional Research was created in 2004 to be able to conduct the necessary research to meet this standard.

Demonstrating Institutional Effectiveness  Standard 12 deals with General Education. We will demonstrate that our students have college- level proficiency in general education and essential skills.  Standard 14 addresses assessment of student learning. Middle States expects that we will demonstrate that students have the knowledge, skills, and competencies consistent with institutional goals.

Achieving the Future  Our goal is to create a “Culture of Assessment” at CCC in which resources are allocated to conduct assessment and faculty and staff are invested in using assessment results to improve CCC. (Lorna Forster, Ph.D., Professor Emiratis, CCC)

Sharing the outcomes  IR Web Page is designed to provide “all things assessment” to the community.  The Institutional Effectiveness Report consolidates data collected for a variety of reports in a quick reference document.

Institutional Assessment Through the Years  “Study the past if you would define the future.” Confucius  “The beginning of knowledge is the discovery of something we do not understand.” Frank Herbert  “Knowledge is expensive.” Hanna Gray (University of Chicago)