assessing current i nstitutional practices: the alfi toolkit
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Assessing Current I nstitutional Practices: The ALFI Toolkit . PLA with a Purpose Symposium Columbus, Ohio April 29, 2014. Serving Adult Learners. Adult-Learning Focused Institutions (ALFI) Project Origins - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Assessing Current Institutional Practices: The ALFI Toolkit
PLA with a Purpose SymposiumColumbus, OhioApril 29, 2014
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Serving Adult Learners
Adult-Learning Focused Institutions (ALFI) Project Origins
CAEL’s 1999 Benchmarking Study of six high-performing, adult-serving colleges and universities
Best Practices in Adult Learning, a CAEL book
Study findings distilled into Principles of Effectiveness for Serving Adult Learners
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CAEL’s ALFI ProjectCAEL’s Principles of Effectiveness for
Serving Adult Learners
1. Outreach2. Life & Career Planning3. Financing4. Assessment of Learning Outcomes5. Teaching-Learning Process6. Student Support Systems7. Technology8. Strategic Partnerships9. Transitions
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All of the Principles
The Principles of Effectiveness are:
Integrated – they work together
Indivisible – they form a whole
Imperative – not just “a good idea”
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The ALFI Assessment Toolkit
The ALFI Assessment Tools(2 surveys)
Institutional Self-Assessment Survey (CAEL & NCHEMS) is for adult degree program administrators and faculty.
Adult Learner Inventory (CAEL & Noel-Levitz) is an adult student survey based on ALFI.
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ISAS
Institutional Self-Assessment Survey (ISAS)
The ISAS is a survey that is completed by administrators, faculty, and staff and offers an opportunity for dialogue across departments about adult learners.
It provides the framework to
reflectively examine how resources, structures, and practices impact the success of adult learners.
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ISAS Survey Categories
Institutional Background Mission, Leadership, and
Organizational Structure Tuition and Financial Aid Teaching and Learning Faculty Recruitment and
Development Student Services Key Constituencies
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Completing the ISAS
Approximately 50 items One survey is submitted;
completed by an institutional team
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ISAS Items
The ISAS: The Institutional Self-Assessment Survey
Sample Item: To what extent does your institution partner
with other organizations (community-based organizations, employers, other post-secondary providers) to deliver student support services: Not at all Not very much Somewhat A great deal Almost always (provide examples on
supplementary page)
Survey to capture the experience of adult students in undergraduate programs
Developed through a partnership between CAEL and Noel-Levitz
ALI focuses on eight of the nine CAEL ALFI Principles (Strategic Partnerships principle is not covered because students are unlikely to know about this area)
Version for four-year institutions and a version for two-year community colleges; same items with text adjustments
Structure of the instrument follows the Noel-Levitz model with students indicating both the level of importance and the level of satisfaction for each item
Items rated on a 1-7 scale (1 is low; 7 is high)10
The ALI
47 items rated for importance and satisfaction
10 optional items defined by the institution, rated for importance and satisfaction
2 summary items – overall satisfaction and likelihood student will recommend to other adult students
18 standard demographic items (gender, age, employment, class load, etc.)
2 optional demographic items (one major/program and one other11
ALI Items
Importance scores How important is it for your program
to meet this expectation? Satisfaction scores
How satisfied are you that your program is meeting this expectation?
Performance gap scores The discrepancy between the
expectation (importance score) and the reality (satisfaction score).
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ALI Scores
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The ALFI Report Provides:
Comparative data: External: Your team’s and your
students’ ratings vs. students and teams at other institutions that have used the ALFI Assessment Tools
Internal: The institution’s perspective vs. adult learner perspective for each scale
An evaluation of performance based on an external evaluator’s “grades”
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ALFI Is Not:
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Using the Tools
How Institutions Have Used the Tools
Identifying and marketing strengths Setting priorities for strategic
planning Preparation for accreditation review Internal program review Development of strategic plans Aligning resources to best meet the
needs of adult learners
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Using the Tools
How Institutions Have Used the Tools
(cont’d.)
Baseline data for future assessments Including data in annual report Creating recruitment messages Facilitating discussion & debate Helping with market niche reporting
Focusing attention on adult learner needs and issues
http://www.cael.org/Whom-We-Serve/Colleges-and-Universities/Adult-Student-Services/ALFI-Assessment-Tools
www.cael.org
http://www.cael.org/pdfs/21_ToolsforTwoYearColleges
To Learn More about Using ALFI
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Questions?