Vol. 3 Issue 2                                                       UNK Assessment                                                  Spring 2007  

 IN THIS ISSUE:

Feedback on departmental and program assessment reports 

Office of Assessment: Spring 2007 Activities

 Follow-up to the General Studies Student Survey

A Case Study: Assessment of Student Learning through Industrial Internships

Assessment Awards Luncheon

2007 Platte Valley Assessment Conference

Report of Commission on the Future of Higher Education

Office of Assessment Activities:
Feedback on departmental and program assessment reports
Sarah von Schrader, Coordinator of Assessment

It was a busy fall semester in the Office of Assessment. By our October 1, 2006 deadline nearly 80% of the departmental assessment reports had been submitted; and by December, 100% were submitted! This is the first year we have had 100% of department and programs reporting.  Thanks to everyone involved in preparing these reports, not only did we have more reports, but the quality of the reports continues to improve each year. In April of 2008, the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA) will return to UNK for an assessment focused visit, so both the great response and the improving quality of the assessment reports are very encouraging.  

In the past few years the Office of Assessment has focused efforts on providing feedback and assistance to departments that were struggling with the assessment process. This year, we are meeting with the person preparing the assessment report in every department. So far, we have had over 40 meetings with faculty from every college of the university. I thought it might be helpful to review a few issues and questions that have frequently come up during these meetings.

One major issue that we are addressing in each meeting is how important it is that assessment results are shared with all faculty members.  All faculty, regardless of their participation (or lack thereof) in the assessment process, should be aware of assessment, how it is done within their department, and how results are being used for program improvement. The assessment report submitted each October should not be written then filed away till next year.  It should be shared, actively discussed by faculty members, and used to bring about change in departments.  This spring and next fall, Jeanne Butler (Director of Assessment) and I will be attending departmental faculty meetings to discuss how important it is that faculty are aware of and using departmental assessment data.

Last year, the assessment committee developed the general guidelines for preparing reports. In our meetings with report preparers, we are providing feedback using Table 1. Assessment Report Guidelines. In next years’ reports, we hope that each of the report components will be addressed in every department’s report.    

Table 1. Assessment Report Guidelines

We are asking each of the departments to visit the assessment website and be sure that their mission, plan, and instruments are current. If you visit the assessment website, you may notice some changes. At the entry to the assessment website, there is an informative diagram that demonstrates the process of departmental assessment at UNK.  Kim Elliott and Jeanne Butler have done a great job of reorganizing and streamlining the website so that relevant assessment information is at your fingertips.  When accessing department and program reports, use the password: “myreport”. 

There has been some confusion about the submittal of various assessment reports.  The Office of Assessment provides feedback on departmental assessment reports. General Studies assessment reports are submitted to and reviewed by the General Studies Council.  The General Studies Program then submits a summary report to our office.  Writing Intensive (WI) assessment plans and reports are submitted and reviewed by the WI committee.

Finally, one of the biggest goals of the assessment report feedback meetings is to let faculty know that our office is here as a resource for all aspects of assessment. Please don’t hesitate to contact us: Sarah von Schrader, Sarah's email, phone: 308-865-8495 and Jeanne Butler, Jeanne's email, phone: 308-865-8495.

back to top

_________________________________________

Assessment Activities: Spring 2007

Assessment events for Spring of 2007 include:

• On February 7^th, we will be holding the Annual Assessment Awards Luncheon to recognize departments, programs, and colleges that have made significant contributions to assessment at UNK.
• In March, a team of five people from UNK will travel to Chicago for the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) Workshop on Making a Difference in Student Learning: Assessment as a Core Strategy. We are sending representatives from the Office of Assessment (Jeanne Butler and Sarah von Schrader), the General Studies Program (Daren Snider), Student Services (Lois Flagstad), and the Student Assessment Committee (Bethany Albrecht).  The HLC is part of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), our accrediting organization at UNK. This workshop promises to be a good preparation for the upcoming focused visit and for future accreditation reviews from NCA.
• In April, Richard Meznarich and Stan Lightner from the Department of Industrial Technology at UNK will present a paper related to their assessment practices at the HLC Annual Meeting in Chicago. If members of your department are interested in presenting a paper related to assessment at a conference, the Office of Assessment can provide funding for travel. Read part of their proposal here.
• Also in April, we will be holding the biannual Platte Valley Assessment Conference. This conference will provide a terrific opportunity to learn about assessment practices at UNK and beyond! Read more about the PVA conference below.

back to top

_________________________________________

Follow-up to the General Studies Student Survey
Bethany Albrecht, Student Assessment Committee Chair

In the spring of 2005, the Student Assessment Committee and the General Studies Council worked together to develop a survey of student perceptions related to the General Studies Program.  In 2005, 631 students responded and the General Studies Council as well as the General Studies Roundtables were able to use this information in the evaluation of the current General Studies Program.

In the fall of 2006, it was determined that the Student Assessment Committee would conduct a follow-up to the previous survey.  It was the desire of the committee to determine current student perceptions and to examine any differences between the 2005 and the 2006 responses.  Based on comments from the previous survey, suggestions from the General Studies Council, and ideas from the current Student Assessment Committee some minor revisions were made to the survey. On October 24, 2006 the Assessment Office sent out an e-mail to the student body requesting participation in the survey. The Survey was completed by 606 students. Respondents seemed to be representative of the UNK population as there was a relatively even distribution across classification status (Freshman = 174, Sophomore = 167, Junior = 151, and Senior = 204) and college of major (Business and Technology = 138, Education = 110, Fine Arts and Humanities = 67, Natural and Social Sciences = 189). The Survey was based on a five point Likert Scale with each question having separate anchor statements and 5 generally indicating a more positive statement. 

Those areas in which there may be room for improvement (lower than 2.5 on the 5.00 scale) were: expression of goals for the program (mean = 2.20), student understanding of the General Studies Program (mean = 2.48), coherence within the General Studies Program (mean = 2.46), and image of the general studies program (mean = 2.28).

The general studies program shows strength (above 3 on the 5 point scale) in the areas of: teaching values and social responsibility (mean = 3.62), attention to a global perspective (mean = 3.28), including multiculturalism (mean 3.60), faculty understanding of student experiences (3.21), faculty addressing student differences (mean = 3.34), completion of course evaluations (mean = 3.06), and faculty experience (mean = 3.34). Based on the same survey, 54.11% want to see changes in the general studies program as indicated by selection of a 4 or 5 on the question related to their desire to see changes.

Means on individual questions from the 2005 survey and the 2006 survey were compared and indicated that many student perceptions were significantly more positive (p < .05) in 2006. Also the revised survey contained questions related to teaching format, cooperative education, and on-line courses that were not included on the previous survey. The results from these questions indicated that students prefer classes that are activity based and would like have more General Studies courses available online.

The General Studies Council and General Studies Roundtables will have the opportunity to use these results in further evaluation of the General Studies program.  The survey has also provided information about differences among specific student populations based on age, class status, and college.

The results of the survey can be viewed at: Full results.

back to top

_________________________________________

A Case Study:  Assessment of Student Learning through Industrial Internships
(Brief Rational for the Session)
Stan Lightner and Richard Meznarich
Department of Industrial Technology

The purpose of the session is to provide case study assessment data from internships at a major electrical distributor, the problems faced, and how the analysis of the qualitative and quantitative data collected resulted in an improvement of the internship experience as well as overall improvement of the department’s curriculum.

The Industrial Technology Department assesses its program effectiveness to assure student learning through a comprehensive assessment process tied to student outcome statements.  Quantitative and qualitative assessment data is collected and analyzed by department faculty, industry representatives, and industry program advisory committees to determine appropriate changes to the curriculum.

This session will present the department’s comprehensive assessment program for the improvement and enhancement of student learning.  Five assessment measures are utilized, two direct and three indirect.  The five assessment measures include:

Final Evaluation of Intern by Work Site Supervisor (Direct Measure):  The intern's industry supervisor assesses and documents the intern’s work performance and evaluates training plan objectives developed at the beginning of the internship.

Comprehensive Exam (Direct Measure):  Administered to all graduating seniors to assess the level of technical and non-technical knowledge mastered by the student.

Employer Survey (Indirect Measure):  Employers provide assessment data about graduates initial hire position, current position, increased responsibility, work performance, productivity, business techniques, personal characteristics and the employer’s satisfaction with the graduate.

Graduate Survey (Indirect Measure):  Sent to all graduates one and five years after graduation.  This survey gathers data to assess the success and advancement of graduates in the workplace.

Student Confidence Scale (Indirect Measure):  Correlating directly to student outcome statements and administered prior to graduation, it provides an assessment of the student’s perception of their ability to successfully enter the workplace.

The session will focus on the “Final Evaluation of Intern by Work Site Supervisor,” a direct assessment measure, used to assess student intern performance during their required internship experience.  The speakers will present qualitative and quantitative data collected from internship experiences with a major electrical distributor and demonstrate how the experience has improved both student outcome learning success and the program.

To assure a continuous cycle of curriculum improvement, faculty and industrial advisory committees regularly meet to assess the data.  Industrial advisory committees play an integral role in assessing data and making recommendations to faculty for curriculum improvement.  Changes to assessment methods, instruments, and curriculum are made as appropriate to continuously improve student learning.

The internship experience has proven to be beneficial for all involved.  For the student, it becomes an excellent opportunity to apply what has been learned in the classroom to the workplace environment.  For the employer, it offers the chance to work with persons who have recently been involved in educational experiences and are eager to learn and apply their newly acquired knowledge to the workplace.  For the university, it provides interaction with business and industry, providing the opportunity for program enhancement.

 back to top

_________________________________________

Assessment Awards Luncheon

Mark your calendars for the Assessment awards Luncheon on Wednesday, February 7^th.  All persons preparing reports are invited to attend.  Several awards will be presented to departments and colleges such as:

General Studies Assessment - recognition of the continuing and exemplary efforts of these departments in collecting and reporting student performance data for their General Studies courses.

Research on Assessment - recognition for presentations and publications on assessment at the regional and national level

Support of Assessment at UNK - recognition of individual's efforts to facilitate student assessment at UNK

Exemplary Contributions to Assessment- recognition of the department who exemplifies the assessment process in collecting and reporting assessment data

Rapid Response Award- recognition of the college that had 100% compliance in meeting the October deadline for Assessment reports in 2006. 

back to top

_________________________________________ 

2007 Platte Valley Assessment Conference

The purpose of the Platte Valley Assessment Conference is to encourage the faculty and students of regional institutions to share their ideas and best practices in the assessment of student outcomes.

The PVA 2007 Conference will take place at the Nebraskan Student Union on the University of Nebraska at Kearney campus on April 20, 2007. We are still accepting proposals for presentations. 

back to top

_________________________________________ 

Report of Commission on the Future of Higher Education
(aka The Spellings Report) 

In September of 2006, a report was released by the US Department of Education Secretary Margaret Spellings and the Commission on the Future of Higher Education.  Many of the suggestions from the report relate to the need for increased accountability and transparency in higher education. The following passage is from a summary of the report (p.4):

”We believe that improved accountability is vital to ensuring the success of all the other reforms we propose. Colleges and universities must become more transparent about cost, price, and student success outcomes, and must willingly share this information with students and families. Student achievement, which is inextricably connected to institutional success, must be measured by institutions on a “value-added” basis that takes into account students’ academic baseline when assessing their results. This information should be made available to students, and reported publicly in aggregate form to provide consumers and policymakers an accessible, understandable way to measurethe relative effectiveness of different colleges and universities.”

For those interested in the future of higher education, please take the time to read the full report. 

back to top

_________________________________________