1. Monroe Community College 1 Assessment of General Education Social Sciences Knowledge and Skills Area Presenters Frances Dearing, Assessment Coordinator fdearing@monroecc.edu Wanda Willard, Assistant Professor, Psychology wwillard@monroecc.edu Susan J. Belair, Chair, Anthropology/History/Political Science/Sociology sbelair@monroecc.edu SUNY General Education Assessment Conference November 13, 2003

2. Monroe Community College 2 PRESENTATION OVERVIEW MCC’s Assessment Liaison System Assessment Liaison Experience General Education Social Sciences Faculty / Department Chair Perspective Conclusion Group Discussions –Creative ideas to build faculty ownership of assessment

3. Monroe Community College 3 SUNY President Assessment Committee Committee Liaison Department Assessment Coordinators Committee Liaison Committee Liaison Committee Liaison Department Assessment Coordinators Department Assessment Coordinators Department Assessment Coordinators History of Assessment Monroe Community College 1990 Assessment

4. Monroe Community College 4 Vice President Academic Services Dean Curriculum & Program Development Assessment Coordinator Office of Outcomes and Assessment Discipline Assessment Liaisons General Education Program Assessment Liaisons Career Programs Faculty Assessment Committees Monroe Community College Assessment Organization 2000 – Current

5. Monroe Community College 5 Discipline Assessment Liaisons General Education Ten Knowledge and Skills Areas Two Competency Areas One Liaison per Area Three Year Rotation Cycle

6. Monroe Community College 6 Program Assessment Liaisons Career Programs Seventy Career Programs One liaison per three to five related programs Seven year rotation cycle

7. Monroe Community College 7 ASSESSMENT LIAISON RECRUITING CRITERIA Recommendations from Vice President of Academic Services, Deans and Department Chairs Achievement of tenure and college contributions Evidence of team building interpersonal skills and tenacity Demonstrated/or potential leadership and accountability Possesses a sense of humor Knowledgeable of faculty and administrative politics

8. Monroe Community College 8 ASSESSMENT LIAISON INCENTIVES Release time (3.0 hours) for two semesters Support and guidance from Assessment Office Advice and feedback from Institutional Research Availability of internal and external assessment training Recognition from College for promotions and/or personnel file

9. Monroe Community College 9 Assessment Liaison Experience General Education Social Sciences

10. Monroe Community College 10 General Education Social Sciences Assessment 2 campuses 3 extension centers 6 departments 33 courses 59 faculty members 127 course sections 4,836 enrolled students

11. Monroe Community College 11 Departments Represented and Diversity of Courses Assessed Anthropology Economics Geography Political Science Psychology Sociology ANT 102: Cultural Anthropology ANT 201: Native American Peoples and Culture ECO 101: Introduction to Economics GEG 102: Human Geography POS 110: Introduction to Political Science PSY 101: Introductory Psychology SOC 101: Introductory Sociology SOC 200: Social Problems

12. Monroe Community College 12 Benefits of Assessment Liaison System Administrative support –Assessment Coordinator, Office of Assessment, release time, training, support of division deans and senior administration Effective and ongoing dialogue among faculty –course and curriculum development

13. Monroe Community College 13 Benefits (cont.) Establishing course learning outcomes –to better match SUNY General Education Social Sciences learning outcomes Streamlining curriculum –evaluating courses that meet/do not meet the requirements of SUNY General Education Social Sciences

14. Monroe Community College 14 Benefits (cont.) Better understanding of the difference between teaching objectives and student learning outcomes –teaching objectives = what instructors should teach in a given course –student learning outcomes = what students actually learn in a course Greater appreciation of faculty commitment to teaching and learning

15. Monroe Community College 15 Challenges of Assessment Liaison System Developing common learning outcomes among diverse courses and disciplines Determining assessment measures to be used, given diverse courses and educational philosophies –course-embedded –grade-dependent

16. Monroe Community College 16 Challenges (cont.) Designing assessment measures to better correspond with needed statistical information –frequency distributions per learning objective Including adjunct faculty in assessment process –different campuses and extension sites –evening and Saturday courses

17. Monroe Community College 17 Challenges (cont.) Managing and overseeing complete assessment process for social sciences –number of courses, faculty, departments, and sites involved –insuring that courses not offered during current assessment cycle are assessed in subsequent semester –timely reporting of results

18. Monroe Community College 18 Keys to Assessment Success Faculty involvement and ownership –six faculty members, each representing a separate discipline –opportunities for input from all faculty

19. Monroe Community College 19 Keys to Success (cont.) Clarification of purpose of assessment –to improve student learning outcomes –it is learning outcomes, not individual students or faculty, being evaluated

20. Monroe Community College 20 Keys to Success (cont.) Organization skills –committee members with effective organization skills Communication skills –ongoing and frequent communication at all levels

21. Monroe Community College 21 Keys to Success (cont.) Knowledge about assessment principles and best practices –reliability/validity –writing behavioral objectives –terminology  “course-embedded”  objectives versus outcomes –diversity in assessment techniques

22. Monroe Community College 22 Keys to Success (cont.) Recognition that assessment is a continuous process –assessment results should lead to meaningful change in courses and/or curriculum

23. Monroe Community College 23 General Education Faculty Perspective Philosophy of Assessment Original Process Department / Discipline –multiple courses in one department/discipline –multiple general education areas in one department/discipline

24. Monroe Community College 24 Cheerleader DAL Selection –faculty involvement –faculty motivation –faculty ownership –release time Discipline Representative Selection –no release time

25. Monroe Community College 25 Responsibilities DAL / Discipline Representatives –department configuration –discipline configuration –workload issues:  tool development, administration and collection  results and reporting of results  implementation of changes –maintain faculty ownership over the process

26. Monroe Community College 26 Discipline Representatives Fall 2002 Objective development Tool development Tool administration –full-time/part-time/adjunct faculty –multiple campuses –off-site locations Data collection Results analysis Reporting

27. Monroe Community College 27 Discipline Representatives Spring 2003 External reporting of results Internal reporting of results –changes to:  tool and/or  curriculum –re-administration of assessment tool  reanalysis of results

28. Monroe Community College 28 Assessment Liaison System Evolutionary System Administrative Support Faculty Collaboration Faculty Incentives Faculty Ownership

29. Monroe Community College 29 Helpful Words… Outcomes assessment is not “one more thing” we have to do. It’s the only thing. It’s the only way of knowing if students are learning what we think we are teaching…. Without outcomes assessment, we must take it on faith that students are learning what we are teaching. Diane Halpern Keynote Address: Best Practices in Assessment in Psychology Education Atlanta, GA September, 2002

30. Monroe Community College 30 Creative Ideas to Build Faculty Ownership What assessment strategies have been successful at your institution?

31. Monroe Community College 31 Closing Comments and Questions

32. Monroe Community College 32 Contact Information Frances Dearing fdearing@monroecc.edu Wanda Willard wwillard@monroecc.edu Susan J. Belair sbelair@monroecc.edu www.monroecc.edu