completing quality degrees: idaho’s agenda for post-secondary learning

COMPLETING QUALITY DEGREES:

IDAHO’S AGENDA FOR POST-SECONDARY

LEARNING

Daniel J. McInerneyTuning USA Advisory Board

Professor & Associate Department Head

Utah State University, Department of History

daniel.mcinerney@usu.edu

learning & listening – not just lecturing

as much a matter of vocabulary as an issue of pedagogy and administration

the ambitious agenda for post-secondary education

learning & listening – not just lecturing

the ambitious agenda for post-secondary education

integrating – not simply adding – reform projects

example

60% of Idahoans ages 25-34 will have a degree or certificate by 2020.

Idaho must grow talent within the state to fuel innovation and economic competitiveness.

increased education attainment improves the quality of life for Idahoans and drives a vibrant, diverse economy.

It is imperative we commit to efficiently and effectively increase postsecondary degrees and certificates.

In 2010, the Board set an attainment goal that 60% of Idahoans, age 25 to 34, have a postsecondary degree or certificate by 2020.

This will require a focus not only on increasing the number of students who complete college, but also on maximizing students’ abilities and potential for success in the workforce.

To encourage access and completion involves demystifying the college going process and experience.

Ensuring there is alignment between secondary graduation requirements and postsecondary expectations so that students are ready for the rigor and expectations of college are integral to completion, which includes the development of a statewide model for assessment of college and career readiness.

The transition from secondary to postsecondary education opportunities must be clear and straightforward, by simplifying and streamlining the college admissions process.

And, transfer processes between colleges must be understandable and attainable.

WHAT IS THE FOCUS? -numbers of degrees -percentages, growth

-transferring courses credits

GPAs

QUANTIFICATION & ADMINISTRATION OF DEGREES

.

Post-secondary degree -represents Carnegie credits, grade point averages, residency requirements, state-mandated requirements?

  -symbolizes institutional identification, college “rankings”?

“Gen Ed,” “Core, “Major field” -represent lists of courses, credits, minimal grades?

What do degrees and curricula and cores and major fields represent in terms of learning?

What do degrees and curricula and cores and major fields represent in terms of learning?

-How clearly do we define the learning that our institutions & programs develop?

-How well do our students (and their parents, their employers, their policymakers) understand these goals?

-Student understanding of these issues: -when they complete program of study? -when they enter program of study?

-How well do we clarify these objectives and expectations to secondary schools & other post-secondary institutions?

THE QUESTIONSADDRESSED BY IDAHO’S INITIATIVES

THEIR FOCUS:

WHAT DO DEGREES REPRESENT?

-the learning that informs post-secondary work

-the quality of degrees

-the intentionality of academic programs

-the knowledge, skills, and abilities students develop

-the clarity with which we communicate this information

HOW DO THE INITIATIVES

FIT TOGETHER?

What should post-secondary education aim to achieve?

What qualities should students develop in post-secondary education?

What qualities do educators develop at different degree levels?

What should students’ majors aim to achieve – overall and at different degree levels?

What is one way of determining if we are achieving our goals?

What can we do to facilitate transfer and mobility?

WHY SHOULD ANY

OF THIS MATTER TO

YOU?

top-down approach

isolated from the rest of the world

one size fits all

collecting (but not

using)data

shhh . . . be quiet; maybe assessment

will go away

-Assessments are here to stay

-Who else but discipline experts should respond?

-Assessment and education

A GOOD STARTING POINT

The types of issues addressed in the Tuning project

Clarify what (too often) remains unstated

Tuning is a a faculty-led project

-within individual disciplines

  -working together across different sectors of post-secondary education

to clarify the subject-specific knowledge, skills, and competencies we expect students to learn, demonstrate, and master upon completing a program of study

-not simply to generate more degrees but quality degrees understandable degrees

-not simply discussions among academics but a range of stakeholders in higher ed students parents administrators alumni policy makers employers

-not simply stating our learning goals but scaling our learning goals

-within a curriculum -to different degree levels

Central question Tuning poses: What should students

know, understand, and be able to do

when they complete a program of

study?

~~ a question that helps us address theissues involved with LEAP, ELOs, DQP ~~

EU USFOCUS OF THE INITIATIVES

teaching learning

educational “inputs” learning outcomes

teacher-centered student-centered

degree as a reflection degree as reliable

of an institution “credential” of

accomplishments

implicit purposes clarity, transparency

Tuning’s DUAL commitmentsTen Tips For

harmony

common reference

points

diversity

autonomy

(1) informing question

“What should students know, understand, and be able to do?”

“When students complete our program of study, they will be able to . . . .”

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(1) informing question(2) bottom-up approach(3) discipline-specific (4) focus on learning outcomes (5) clarity and transparency (6) degree levels (7) colleagues at other institutions (8) inclusive; many “stakeholders” (9) diversity and autonomy “wind up singing in the same key – though not the same tune”(10) a process, not a finished product

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THE TUNING

ELEVATOR SPEECH

The “Tuning” project asks faculty to drill down and clarify the core goals and the key skills pursued in their disciplines. We want to answer a basic question: when students complete a program in a discipline, what should they know, understand, and be able to do? We ask this question to understand our own roles and responsibilities in higher education. And we want our students to understand what they take from their studies into employment, further education, and civic life.

2009: 2009: start of Tuning USA start of Tuning USA projectproject April, Chicago April, Chicago

Utah’s work in TuningUtah’s work in Tuning

8 state institutions◦2 research universities◦4 comprehensive or regional universities

◦2 community colleges

Utah’s work in TuningUtah’s work in TuningWhat did Utah offer?

-10+ years of state-wide meetings

-Majors’ Meetings - all institutions in the Utah

System of Higher Education - 37+ disciplines, annually

-Annual Conference: “What Is An Educated Person?” – faculty from all institutions

Utah’s work in TuningUtah’s work in TuningWhat did Utah offer?

- general education- articulation- transfer- trust

Utah’s work in TuningUtah’s work in TuningWhat did Utah lack?

(1) a coordinated body of goals and objectives

(2) evidence of goals achieved

(3) discussions outside of circle of faculty and administrators

Approaches

Ten Tips ForMEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARENOT WHERE YOU WANT THEM TO BE

2008-9: annus horribilis

administrative orders

functions of conflict and complaint

start at the endpoint

Ten Tips ForDON’T GO IT ALONE

UK learning outcomes

AHA lit on assessment

Australian colleagues

Ten Tips ForBUILD THE PROJECT INCREMENTALLY

provisional learning outcomes:knowledge / skills / thinking

syllabi

rubrics

single rubric for capstone

inter-rater-reliability

revise intro survey for majors

create a pre-major

Ten Tips ForTALK WITH PEOPLE OUTSIDE ACADEME

stakeholders students, parents, alumni, employers, policy makers

surveys focus groups alumni letters

HARTRESEARCH

P e t e r D

A S S O T E SC I A

Raising The BarEmployers’ Views On College Learning In The Wake Of The Economic Downturn

Key findings from survey among 302 employersConducted October 27 – November 17, 2009

Search: “aacu raising the bar”

47

Employers: room for 2-year & 4-Employers: room for 2-year & 4-year year colleges to improve colleges to improve

Doing good job

Some improvement needed

Significant improvement needed

How good a job are our colleges/universities doing in preparing students effectively for the challenges of today’s global economy?

60%

68%

Two-year colleges and universities

Four-year colleges and universities

48

% saying two- and four-year colleges should place MORE emphasis on helping students develop these skills, qualities, capabilities, knowledge

Employers’ Top Priorities For Employers’ Top Priorities For Student Learning Outcomes In Student Learning Outcomes In CollegeCollege

Effective oral/written communication

Critical thinking/ analytical reasoning

Knowledge/skills applied to real world

settingsAnalyze/solve complex

problemsConnect choices and

actions to ethical decisions

Teamwork skills/ ability to collaborate

Ability to innovate and be creative

Concepts/developments in science/technology

Ten Tips ForBUILD A BASKET OF METRICS

rubricsstudent portfolio

course evaluationscourse management systems(Moodle, Blackboard, Canvas)

Ten Tips ForCLARIFY WHAT DISTINGUISHES THE

MAJOR

levels

pre-major

Ten Tips ForFAMILIARIZE STUDENTS WITH THE LANGUAGE OF TUNING

“requirement sheet”

guide to graduation guide to learning

Historical study develops one’s ability to: investigate problems, identify reliable sources, analyze information, contextualize complex questions, and communicate conclusions in a clear and thoughtful manner.

Embrace your distinctiveness

mission priorities

student profile curriculum

entry point majors

interdisciplinary evaluations

spec. resources soc/civic engagm’t

Ten Tips For

Here is a coherent set of learning goals.

Here are the ways our institution fosters that

learning in distinctive ways.

Tuning EU: www.unideusto.org/tuningeu/

Tuning USA: tuningusa.org/

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board – Tuning in Texas

www.thecb.state.tx.us/index.cfm? objectid=8FFC700A-D9F8-57C3-

CD178199FADC8CD4

On the Tuning USA website -PDF: “Why Tune?” (2011) -Tuning guide -Degree Qualifications Profile

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Kentucky Tuning Project cpe.ky.gov/committees/tuning/

Midwest Higher Education Compact Tuning Project

www.mhec.org/ProgrammaticInitiatives

Tuning in the discipline of History

http://www.historians.org/projects/tuning/

Tuning at Utah State University, History Department

history.usu.edu/assessment

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