what your program needs to know about learning outcomes assessment at uga

What Your Program Needs to Know about

Learning Outcomes Assessment at UGA

FAQs about Assessment

• are programs are required to assess student learning?

• should it matter to faculty?Why..

• is learning outcomes assessment?

• is required for reporting on LOA at UGA?

What..• is responsible for assessment?• evaluates your assessment

practice?Who..

• should you assess and report?• will you receive a call for reports?When..• can you go for help?Where..

Why is LOA required of your program?

By mandate of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

http://www.sacscoc.org/pdf/2012PrinciplesOfAcreditation.pdf





SACS-COC Core Standards


Undergraduate, graduate and professional degree and certificate programs


UGA Academic Affairs Policy 4.12

http://provost.uga.edu/documents/learn-outcomes-assess-policy.pdf

• Faculty-driven• Faculty-reviewed• Comprehensive (grad, undergrad,

certificate)





What is learning outcomes assessment?

Assessment is the ongoing process of • establishing clear, measurable

expected outcomes of student learning

• ensuring that students have sufficient opportunities to achieve the outcomes

• systematically gathering, analyzing, and interpreting evidence

• using results to improve student learning

(Suski, 2009, p. 4)

Define student learning

outcomes

Choose a measure and set criteria

Do the assessment and analyze the evidence

Enact improvements based on

the evidence

Report and plan for future

assessment


The Assessment Cycle

What counts as evidence of student learning?

Direct Evidence

• Ratings of student skills by their field experience supervisors or employers

• Scores and pass rates on appropriate licensure or certification exams

• Cumulative experiences such as research projects, presentations, theses, dissertations, oral

defenses, exhibitions, and performances

• Other significant course work (written work, performances, presentations, etc.)

• Portfolios of student work

• Scores on locally designed multiple-choice or essay tests such as final examinations in key

courses, qualifying examinations, and comprehensive examinations

• Score gains between entry and exit on published or local tests or writing samples

• Observations of student behavior, undertaken systematically

• Student reflections on their values, attitudes, and beliefs

What counts as evidence of student learning?

Indirect Evidence

• Course grades and grade distributions

• Quality and reputation of program (rankings)

• Placement rates of graduates (employment or graduate programs)

• Student ratings of their knowledge and skills and reflections on what

they have learned in the course or program

• Questions on end-of-course student evaluations that ask about the

course rather than the instructor or learning outcomes

• Student, alumni, and employer satisfaction with learning, collected

through surveys, exit interviews, or focus groups

• Student participation rates in faculty research, publications, and

conference presentations

• Honors, awards, and scholarships earned by students and alumni


Student Learning

Assessment

Engagement, Service

Scholarship

Retention

Job placement

Gradedistributions

“Indicators of success” – relate to, but don’t equate to, evidence of learning


QUIZ!Which of the following are examples of direct assessment of student learning?

Course evaluationsJob placementRatings of “good or excellent” on oral presentationsNumber of passing course gradesStudent satisfaction with programJury evaluations of musical performancesAlumni surveysRates of career counseling

Who is responsible for LOA?

The faculty who teach in the program are responsible for• defining outcomes• choosing measures• analyzing evidence• making improvements

See again Academic Affairs Policy 4.12


Faculty are most qualified to• influence the curriculum and its

enactment• make meaning of assessment

evidence• use evidence of student learning to

demonstrate effective teaching• ensure that assessment is integrated

with, not a burden upon, faculty activity in teaching and scholarship


Recommended readings (copies here for your review):

Hutchings, P. (2011, April). What new faculty need to know about assessment.

Gold, L., Rhoades, G., Smith, M., & Kuh, G. (2011, May).What faculty unions say about student learning outcomes assessment.

http://www.learningoutcomesassessment.org/documents/ABfaculty.pdf

http://www.learningoutcomesassessment.org/documents/ABfaculty.pdf

http://learningoutcomesassessment.org/documents/Union.pdf




Who reviews LOA practices?

Subcommittee of Program Review and Assessment Committee (PRAC)• 10-12 members• Work is focused exclusively on LOA• Follows evaluation criteria drawn from

commonly accepted LOA best practices• Issues report and recommendations

See also “Sample LOA Evaluation Report”

What is required for LOA reporting?

Documents Submitted by

Assessment PlanAll degree and certificate programs

Brief Report on Learning Outcomes Assessment

Undergraduate degree programs only

Full report on Learning Outcomes Assessment

Undergraduate and graduate degree programs

See also “Program Review Outline for Evaluation of LOA”


The Assessment Plan

Each academic unit should establish and regularly maintain an assessment plan. The assessment plan documents a number of core elements that are defined by the faculty who teach in the program.


The Assessment Plan• Defines the learning outcomes for undergraduate

students in your program (usually 4-6).• Describes the methods the department will use to

collect data that measure the attainment of the learning outcomes (usually 4-6).

• Describes the methods the department will use to analyze data that reflect the attainment of the learning outcomes.

• Describes how faculty will be involved in the various steps of the assessment process.

• Describes how the department will use information gathered from the analysis to improve its assessment practice and, more importantly, student learning.


Examples of assessment plans:

http://oap.uga.edu/assessment/plan/




The Brief Data Report • 1-2 page description of the data

collected by assessment methods in the preceding year.

• 1/3 of the program’s learning outcomes.

• is submitted for two consecutive years. Only undergraduate programs are asked to submit brief reports.


The Full Report includes• information on ALL of the program's learning

outcomes • faculty analysis of the data • improvements enacted or planned as a result

of that analysis. • The full report is submitted in the third and

sixth years. – Graduate programs are asked to submit

only full reports. – Undergraduate programs will also submit

the full report (years 3 and 6) in addition to the brief reports (years 1,2,4,5).


Examples of assessment reports:





Upload plans and reports to the Academic Planning System (APS) https://aps.uga.edu/APS/

This system houses • Learning Outcomes Assessment plans and reports• Program Review self studies• Strategic plans for your unit/department, • Annual Reporting documents for schools and colleges.

Access to APS is granted by request. Contact Leslie Gordon, Associate Director for Assessment, at [email protected] if you think you need access.

mailto:[email protected]

When do you report?

October 1st

Annual reporting deadline for all programs, any type of report.

Spring reminder issued to deans, academic associate deans, department heads, assessment coordinators

When do you report?

When do you report?

Assessment cycle Items due Submitted by

Years 1-2 Brief Report on Learning Outcomes Assessment

Undergraduate degree programs only

Year 3 Full report on Learning Outcomes Assessment


Years 4-6 Repeat cycle described above

Year 7

Academic Program Review Assessment reports are concurrently evaluated by a faculty subcommittee of the Program Review and Assessment Committee (PRAC) – evaluation and recommendations produced


Where can you find help?

Dr. Leslie Gordon Associate Director for Assessment

• Assessment (re)design consultation• Informal evaluation of LOA• Department/College presentations• Interactive workshops• Classes and Faculty Learning Communities

And more! Begin your assessment redesign now!

Where can you find help?

Office of Academic Planning Website

http://www.oap.uga.edu/assessment/sloa/




Your “Exit Ticket”!

1. Which of the following is required by SACS-COC?a. Quantitative data b. Retention data c. Defined SLOs

2. Which of the following is the best example of learning outcomes assessment?a. 80% of students continue to year 2 of the programb. 94% of students find jobs in the industryc. 33% of students writing the senior research paper could

not organize a reference list.d. 84% of faculty averaged evaluation scores of 4.0 or better

(5-point scale).

3. Describe the faculty role with regard to learning outcomes.

Your “Exit Ticket”!

1. Which of the following is required by SACS-COC?a. Quantitative data b. Retention data c. Defined SLOs

2. Which of the following is the best example of learning outcomes assessment?a. 80% of students continue to year 2 of the programb. 94% of students find jobs in the industryc. 33% of students writing the senior research paper could not

organize a reference list.d. 84% of faculty averaged evaluation scores of 4.0 or better

(5-point scale).

3. Describe the faculty role with regard to learning outcomes. The full faculty is involved in all phases of the LOA cycle.

what your program needs to know about learning outcomes assessment at uga

Documents

student learning outcomes

learning outcomes assessment

evidence of student

course student evaluations

student learningsuski

assessment cyclewhat

faculty research

colleges http