PREPARING OUTCOMES ASSESSMENTS OF STUDENTS’ LEARNING IN THEIR ACADEMIC PROGRAMS Sponsored by Office of the President Office of the Provost Office of Strategic Planning Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center

OUTCOMES ASSESSMENTS OF STUDENTS’ LEARNING Two boys are walking down the street. The first boy says, “I’ve been really busy this summer. I’ve been teaching my dog to talk.” His friend responds, “Wow! I can’t wait to have a conversation with your dog.” The first boy shakes his head. “I said I’ve been teaching him. I didn’t say he learned anything.” M.J. Allen Assessing Academic Programs in Higher Education

OUTCOMES ASSESSMENTS OF STUDENTS’ LEARNING PURPOSES To develop program specific assessment plans for academic programs. To integrate program assessment into the ongoing, annual planning and assessment reporting process.

PROVOST WILLIAM MARCY Significance of Academic Program Assessment

Presentation Overview Program-level outcomes and assessment Key concepts related to outcomes and assessment Course-level outcomes and assessment (reflected in a syllabus) Questions and Discussion

Learning Outcomes and Assessment Texas Tech University is striving to incorporate expected learning outcomes and methods for assessing those learning outcomes into the courses and degree programs offered at the institution

Program-Level Learning Outcomes and Assessment The term “program-level” refers to learning outcomes and assessment methods related to a degree program Program-level assessment investigates what the students are learning in their degree programs Program-level learning outcomes and assessment are reflected in the Strategic Plan

Program Purpose The first step in writing and assessing program-level learning outcomes is determining the purpose of the degree program It is important to engage faculty in this (and all subsequent) steps in the process

Program Purpose Questions to ask to help determine the course purpose include: What role does this program play in the department or college? What is unique or special about this academic area/degree program? What will the students “do” with their degrees?

Expected Learning Outcomes Once the program’s purpose has been established, specific learning outcomes can be developed A program-level expected learning outcome is a formal statement of what the program’s faculty expects students to learn in a particular degree program

Expected Learning Outcomes Expected learning outcomes define: What faculty expect students to know at the end of the degree program AND What faculty expect students to be able to do at the end of the degree program

Possible Example for a History Degree Program Recipients of degrees in this program will be able to: Identify and describe the significant people, events, ideas and developments in history

Program-level Assessment Once the learning outcomes for a degree have been established, a variety of methods are used to assess if the students’ learning matches those expected outcomes.

Assessing Expected Learning Outcomes Assessment of Expected Learning Outcomes can be defined as the process of investigating: 1.what students are learning and 2.how well they’re learning it.

Assessment Plans Departments should develop assessment plans that outline how and when they will be investigating how well both the current students and students who have graduated have learned/mastered the program-level learning outcomes

How to Assess Program- Level Learning Outcomes Methods to Assess Current Students’ Learning Capstone courses Review of senior projects Focus groups Students’ performance on comprehensive exams

How to Assess Program- level Learning Outcomes Methods to Assess Graduated Students’ Learning Graduate follow-up surveys Performance on licensure exams Job placement data Exit interview/surveys

Course-Level Learning Outcomes and Assessment The term “course-level” refers to outcomes and assessments methods related to courses that are offered at Texas Tech Course-level learning outcomes and assessment methods are reflected in the course syllabus

Course-Level Learning Outcomes and Assessment The Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center (TLTC) has developed some resources to assist faculty with creating expected learning outcomes statements and assessment methods

Questions and Discussion

What issues do you expect to encounter as you work to develop program assessment plans?

One question to anticipate: Who uses the program assessment reports? Two questions to answer the above: Who is responsible for the quality of the department’s academic programs? Who receives the reports when they are submitted?

This morning’s task: To examine selected drafts of assessment plans To develop program purpose statements To identify expected outcomes

TEAM (table) WORK Focus first on the purpose statement for the degree program Then develop statements of expected outcomes Work with others at your tables Reeve, McCourt, and Paton are facilitators (if needed)

Morning Session Wrap-up QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSIONS LUNCH!

TEAM WORK CONTINUES Afternoon tasks: Assessment Audit Worksheet (brainstorming) Identifying methods of assessment for each learning outcome

Late afternoon wrap-up Strategies for developing assessment plans: Engage the faculty Begin with discussions at first faculty meetings of the year Use committees to draft materials and share with all faculty Use available resources (TLTC and Office of Strategic Planning – see websites) Create a timeline to meet the December 15 deadline

Late afternoon wrap-up Strategic Planning and Program Assessment Two related but different processes –SP – usually long term goals with benchmarks, objectives and strategies – addresses all aspects of department –PA – continuous (incremental) program improvement based on performance against expected outcomes Integration of the planning and reporting – one common reporting process and one cycle

Late afternoon wrap-up FUTURE WORKSHOPS September – Dr. Doug Eder, Director of Undergraduate Assessment and Program Review, SIU-E. November 11 – Assessment Workshop – Preparing for submission of Assessment Plans

THANK YOU!