Assessment of Student Learning


DATE/TIME:

Tuesday, March 3, 1998

2:00 PM in the Moccasin Flower Room

SUBJECT:

Minutes of the Eighth Meeting of the Committee on Assessment of Student Learning

PRESENT:

Bert Ahern (Chair), Mary Elizabeth Bezanson, Mario French, Tom Johnson, Carol Marxen, Erica Rosch, Engin Sungur (Coordinator of Assessment)

ABSENT:

Jim Cotter, Aaron O’Leary, Sam Schuman (Dean)

 

AGENDA

Unit Assessment Responses

Response to Questions Raised by Psychology

Sub-committee Reports

External Consultant

 

MATERIALS DISTRIBUTED

Guidelines for Unit Assessment Plans

Summary of Responses to GenEd Faculty Survey

Endorsed Program Unit Surveys (13)

 

 

GenEd Web working on their assessment plan.

Unit Assessment Responses

In the preliminary discussion of unit results, it was stated that the disciplines would like input from ASL committee. Some find unit goals difficult to relate to institutional mission. The mission statement is not helpful as to student learning. ASL committee relayed this in October ‘97 memo to Andy Lopez, Chair of Campus Resources and Planning Committee.

 

 

Response to Questions Raised by Psychology

Critical comment by the NCA official casts suspicion on our current faculty assessment. Does account-ability to someone else imply a distrust of our methods? NCA wants more documentation rather than saying we are not doing it correctly. We need to explain what we are doing in an acceptable way. Would be helpful to take out references to specific courses in assessment methods. How do we share a sense of how our students are progressing in the goals for the major? Do they only complete courses successfully? The whole is more than the sum of the parts. Some disciplines keep student learning portfolios. Aren’t goals on a continuum and we want students to progress as far as possible? The NCA has made us look at our programs and brought up issues we hadn’t addressed before. How do we go about having conversations about refining our programs?

 

Next meeting will be March 10 at 2:00 PM in the Prairie Lounge.

Meeting adjourned at 3:00 PM.