AASCU Academic Affairs Summer Meeting Portland Oregon ▪ July 28-31, 2011 Christine M Keller VSA Executive Director

on the undergraduate student experience through a common web report – the College Portrait. Initiative by public 4-year universities to supply comparable, transparent information AASCU & APLU g

Provide a streamlined college search tool for prospective students, families, and high school counselors Provide a mechanism for public institutions to demonstrate transparency and accountability Support institutions in the measurement and reporting of student learning outcomes through original research and by providing a forum for collaboration and exchange

: Directly measure, publicly report student learning gains at institution level using a common method – Skills: critical thinking, analytic reasoning, problem solving, written communication – Tests: CAAP, CLA, ETS Proficiency Profile – Reported: At, Above, Below Expected 2012: 4-year trial period ends : Evaluate what works, what doesn’t work, next steps

SLO measurement and reporting will continue to be essential element of VSA How can the section be improved to better meet the needs of participating institutions and external stakeholders within the current environment?

Interviews with key internal and external stakeholders – National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) Focus Groups, Conference Sessions Surveys Advisory panels, working groups

CLA N=80 ETS PP N=18 CAAP N=11 34% or 109 College Portraits have published SLO results as of July 2011

Short survey to gauge progress, gather feedback from VSA contacts ~200 responses in June/July – 61% institutional research – 16% academic affairs – 13% assessment – 10% other

83% administered at least one test – 23% CAAP – 37% ETS PP – 51% CLA 60% posted results on College Portrait 92% plan to continue using one of tests

Helpful as overall indicator of student progress … powerful stimulus to other more local efforts Benchmarks to compare skill levels of our students with other campuses Good faith effort to be transparent Selected Comments VSA SLO Survey 7/5/2011 Dovetails with institutional priorities

Lack of faculty buy in … small sample sizes provide limited value at operational level Major limitation of VSA, please change this section … add AAC&U rubrics Selected Comments VSA SLO Survey 7/5/2011 Testing protocol is negative because of cost (cash/staff time) with no useful results Unfortunately I don’t think many people look at this section

UsedEffective AAC&U VALUE Rubrics 39% (52 of 135) 53% (43 of 80) Electronic Portfolios 68% (105 of 155) 58% (71 of 122) ETS Major Field Test 61% (90 of 147) 64% (68 of 102) Professional Licensure/Certification 93% (161 of 173) 87% (135 of 155)

Gather feedback on efficacy of the SLO pilot study (Summer/Fall 2011) Assemble brainstorming group to consider learning outcomes in current context (Fall 2011) Convene technical workgroup to evaluate options (early Spring 2012) Work with senior advisory panel and VSA Board to recommend next steps and future directions (late Spring 2012)

Questions about evaluation plan or current status of VSA/SLO Your input on strengths, weaknesses, recommendations for future for student learning measurement and reporting within the VSA

What are the benefits of the current VSA approach to measuring/reporting SLO? – Has it been effective with external stakeholder groups? What are some of the challenges or barriers of the current approach? How can the current approach be expanded or modified to better address current needs, challenges, external demands, etc?

Websites Christine Keller, VSA Executive Director Wendell Hall, VSA Assistant Director Elspeth Payne, VSA Project Coordinator