1. Rob Johnstone Educause ELI Institute January 30, 2012 Making Your Data Work

2. What we will cover 1. Framing the issue 2. What we learned from the BRIC Initiative, the Aspen Prize, and Completion by Design 3. Making the connection Building Stronger Systems for SLOs and Program Review – September 2011 2

3. WHO IS THE RP GROUP? Putting our work in context Building Stronger Systems for SLOs and Program Review – September 2011 3

4. The RP Group  Strengthens the abilities of California community colleges to gather, analyze and act on information in order to strengthen student success  Provides research, evaluation, professional development, and technical assistance services that support evidence-based decision-making and inquiry  Work is defined and conducted by community college practitioners Building Stronger Systems for SLOs and Program Review – September 2011 4

5. A RESOURCE FOR INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE A Culture of Inquiry An Applied Inquiry Framework for Student Completion – September 2011 5

6. What is a Culture of Inquiry? Institutional capacity for supporting open, honest and collaborative dialog focused on strengthening the institution and the outcomes of its students. An Applied Inquiry Framework for Student Completion – September 2011 6

7. Culture of Inquiry: Why All the Fuss? ● Because this ongoing work is challenging but necessary! ● Work needs to marry insight & evidence ● Problems are large and recurring ● No silver bullet / evident answers ● Multiple solutions likely needed ● Progress is not linear ● Requires cross constituency interaction An Applied Inquiry Framework for Student Completion – September 2011 7

8. Culture of Inquiry: Features ● Widespread sharing and easy access to user-friendly information on student outcomes ● Encouraging more people to ask a wider collection of questions and use their evidence and conclusions to enhance decision making ● Shared, reflective and dynamic discussions An Applied Inquiry Framework for Student Completion – September 2011 8

9. Culture of Inquiry: More Features ● Multiple opportunities to discuss information within and across constituency groups ● Continuous feedback so adjustments can be made along the way and processes can be adapted ● Culture that values curiosity, questions and robust conversations An Applied Inquiry Framework for Student Completion – September 2011 9

10. THE IMPETUS FOR OUR WORK Why does prioritizing a culture of inquiry make sense? Building Stronger Systems for SLOs and Program Review – September 2011 10

11. You’re wasting time and money when your outcomes don’t focus on the right data. 11

12. Retention Rate Success Rate 19992008 20 year trend for institutional outcomes What does that tell us about the usefulness of these metrics in setting institutional strategies? Building Stronger Systems for SLOs and Program Review – September 2011 12

13. Much of what is needed to support good decision making is beyond the traditional accountability measures. 13

14. What is Our College’s Transfer Rate?

15. Data do not speak for themselves. 15

16. The vital role of conversation ● In order to make data useful, ample time and space are needed to discuss and analyze the information and connect it back to the original research question. ● Answers are not always immediately apparent, so skilled facilitation may be needed to dig out the deeper meaning. ● Multiple perspectives and types of information are often needed to make sense of individual data points. ! Building Stronger Systems for SLOs and Program Review – September 2011 16

17. WHAT CAN WE DO? What the RP Group has learned Building Stronger Systems for SLOs and Program Review – September 2011 17

18. BRIC’s on-campus support helps colleges improve internal practices. Technical experts who are community college practitioners Focus on discrete practices such as program review Opportunities for dialog Building Stronger Systems for SLOs and Program Review – September 2011 18

19. Strategy 1: Reform processes to make them simpler and provide more useful information. 19

20. age 2: While what colleges developed varied, each system was: Meaningful Sustainable Consistent Building Stronger Systems for SLOs and Program Review – September 2011 20 For example For example …

21. Comprehensive Assessment Report Examples http://www.rpgroup.org/resources/comprehensive- assessment-reports-best-practice-examples-around- country Resource Compendium on Assessment http://www.rpgroup.org/resources/assessment-strategies- and-models-help-tell-story Building Stronger Systems for SLOs and Program Review – September 2011 21

22. Strategy 2: Create space and time to talk so good ideas can be put into action 22

23. Get conversations going using inquiry guides. Assessing Student Learning Outcomes Using an Equity Lens to Assess Student Learning Assessing Student Services Outcomes Maximizing the Program Review Process Assessing Non-credit Student Learning Outcomes Building Stronger Systems for SLOs and Program Review – September 2011 23

24. Strategy 3: Make better use of existing processes; don’t reinvent the wheel. 24

25. Strategy 4: Pick your organizational improvement priorities and stick to them. 25

26. Strategy 5: To build lasting changes, ensure you involve a broad range of leadership. 26

27. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU How can you improve your accountability and success efforts? Building Stronger Systems for SLOs and Program Review – September 2011 27

28. Brainstorm & Discuss Pick one of the following questions to answer and pair up with someone to share your ideas. What process could we simplify at our college? How could we create more opportunities for conversations about our student outcomes? What is a process we could redesign to make it more useful? What should be my college’s top improvement priority? How could we build stronger and deeper support for improvement efforts? Making Your Data Work – November 2011 28

29. Find Out More The RP Group Website www.rpgroup.org Rob Johnstone, Senior Research Fellow rjohnstone@rpgroup.org Bob Gabriner, Leadership Chair gabriner@sfsu.edu 29