Help Me Understand the Basics of Non-academic Assessment A BETHUNE-COOKMAN UNIVERSITY OFFICE OF ASSESSMENT WORKSHOP Presented by Cory A. Potter Executive Director of Assessment

BACKGROUND INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY INVOLVED IN CONDUCTING ASSESSMENT WITHIN THEIR ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES UNITS AND ACADEMIC & STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES UNITS.

THE DRIVING FORCES Within Assessment & Institutional Effectiveness, non-academic units are free to stretch themselves to the limit and to attempt innovative approaches to providing support services without fear of penalty. Within Assessment & Institutional Effectiveness, units are not held accountable for failure or success, only for having in place a process for stating outcomes, measuring accomplishments, and using the results to improve programming.

THE DRIVING FORCES The desire to 1.know how well the unit is doing and 2.improve in strategic planning efforts, decision support, resource allocation, and operational excellence are all motivators for conducting assessment. University of Central Florida Administrative Assessment Handbook

THE DRIVING FORCES How do we know if we are successful? Are we measuring our progress? Are we tracking continuous quality improvements? Are we becoming more efficient? Are people (stakeholders) satisfied with what we are doing? Is there consequential relevance to the things we are measuring?

THE DRIVING FORCES Consequential Relevance The utility of results are worth the time and effort spent on assessing Assessment data can help to answer all kinds of questions and inform a variety of different decisions. –What did / didn’t the assessment measure? –What can / can’t the data tell you? –What kind of inferences can be made from the data?

WHAT MAKES US UNIQUE?

All employees of B-CU must be familiar with the Strategic Plan. Specifically: Vision Mission Core Values Strategic Goals Big 7 Ideas Divisional and Institutional KPIs Plan Implementation & Assessment

TEAMWORK!

ALIGNMENT Job description: Job description: Essential functions, duties and responsibilities strategic plan Employee functions and is given the strategic plan with all its components Employee understands overall strategic plan of the University and is given insight into Divisional KPIs the Divisional KPIs measureable, assessable outcomes Each unit develops measureable, assessable outcomes that are aligned with the Divisional KPIs, assessed annually, and reported on an annual template to the Office of Assessment and to the Divisional VP. what they are supposed to dowhat B-CU finds most important whythey are doing what they are doinghow to assess what they are doing Employee then know what they are supposed to do, what B-CU finds most important, why they are doing what they are doing, and how to assess what they are doing.

Institutional Level: Strategic Plan President, Cabinet, and Administration Institutional Level: Strategic Plan President, Cabinet, and Administration AcademicNon-academic Student Learning OutcomesOutcomes focused on Other Programmatic Outcomes Satisfaction, Count, Efficiency, Quality Benchmarked Report Card B-CU Annual Report Divisional KPIs B-CU’s Strategic KPIs KPIs External/Common Internal/Unique Continuous Improvement Efforts Improvements in relation to Mission KPIs Annual Divisional Report Annual Planning, Budgeting, and Assessment Report B-CU Annual Support Services Assessment Report B-CU Annual Academic Program Assessment Report B-CU Annual Divisional Report Divisional Level Deans and Divisional VPs Unit Level Academic Programs, Administrative Support Services, Academic & Student Support Services Key = Reports from Faculty & Staff = Aggregated Reports by IE / Office of Assessment

SO WHAT SHOULD YOU ASSESS? The extent to which your unit meets preset (planned) expected levels of achievement (ELOA) for each stated outcome. The unit outcomes are aligned with Strategic Goals and Divisional KPIs (and goals / objectives). Assess comprehensive activities, systematic activities, and activities in which continuous improvement is expected. Outcomes are specific statements that describe desired performance of a service or function of an administrative unit.

SO WHAT SHOULD YOU ASSESS? Keys Worth the time and effort to assess Informs your planning decisions (Decision Support) Consequential Relevance Quality (CQI – Continuous Quality Improvement) Efficiency / Effectiveness Satisfaction Assess Continual Improvements in: Gather initial counts (including demand) Develop baseline measures Assessing New Outcomes?

ASSESSMENT OUTCOMES Specific - The outcome is clear to anyone familiar with the unit / field, yet understood by everyone Measurable - Concrete methods assessing progress, achievement of outcome (rubric, checklist, survey) Attainable (yet Aggressive) – The outcome is reasonable given the program's resources and influence Relevant (and Results-oriented) - The outcome must be relevant to the program's mission, responsibilities, and all people affiliated with the program Time-bound - The period of time for accomplishing the outcome (annual)

SO WHAT SHOULD YOU ASSESS? OutcomesExpected Level of Achievement Measure/ToolResultsUse of Results (to include analysis and Action Plan)MetNot Met Budgetary Considerations Build capacity for assessment at the institutional, divisional, and unit levels (4.14.3) 1.) Conduct 6 strategic planning and assessment workshops for all staff development of assessment skills / capacity IE Monthly Reports Google Calendar Held 12 assessment workshops for staff from 7/1/14 to 6/30/15 Analysis: Workshops successfully assisted staff to understand how to collect, aggregate, analyze and report data by preparing annual assessment reports. More attention and focus needs to be given to assisting staff to engage in the strategic planning and assessment processes. Action Plan: The Office of Assessment received six assessment reports from non-academic units for The plan is to triple that number for Regarding the number of assessment workshops for staff, the focus for the coming year will be on increasing individual consultation with staff, especially those AVPs, directors, and managers who oversee units and will be completing assessment reports. MET Office of Assessment requires staff development opportunities such as AALHE Conference and SAIR Conference $2,500 2.) Receive an overall rating (weighted average) of 3.5 or above on a 4.0 scale regarding meeting staff’s needs and expectations (4-Excellent, 3- Satisfactory, 2-Needs Improvement, 1-Poor) and a response rate of >40% Survey Monkey (online) Assessment Workshop Satisfaction Survey Instrument Q1 (see appendix for survey) Weighted Avg. = 3.72 Response rate = 56% n = 25 / N = 45 Analysis: The workshops were well received. Nothing was rated as poor or needs improvement other that the facility used for one workshop.  92% answered that their skills/knowledge increased as a result of participating in the assessment workshops  71% rated the workshops as excellent and 29% rated the workshops as satisfactory. Action Plan: Continue offering the Assessment Workshop Satisfaction Survey Instrument to attendees. METNo budgetary considerations.

THE PROCESS

COSTS OF NOT MEASURING PERFORMANCE IN NON-ACADEMIC UNITS Four Main Functions of Assessment 1.To Improve – Assessment must provide feedback with consequential relevance. 2.To Inform – Decision-makers will have data. 3.To Prove – Units need proof of accomplishments and CQI. 4.To Support – The assessment process provides support to data-driven decisions, reviewing activities, and strategic planning. Decisions based on assumptions rather than fact Failure to meet customer expectations Failure to identify potential improvement areas Lack of optimum progress toward organizational vision Source: UCF Administrative Assessment Handbook (2005, pp. 5-6) k.pdf SO WHAT?