ALUMNI VOICES & OUTCOMES- BASED ASSESSMENT WASC ARCAPRIL 2014

Occidental College 2  Founded in 1887  Mission: Excellence, Equity, Community, and Service  Eagle Rock, CA  Small, Private, Highly Selective, Residential Liberal Arts College (FTE=2123)  31 Majors  Faculty-Student Ratio: 10 to 1  Assessment

Why Alumni? 3  Alumni Engagement  Institutional Learning Outcomes (post-Oxy)  Post-Graduation Success  Time to Job  Graduate School  Lifelong Learning  Connecting

Alumni and College-Level Assessment

College-Wide Assessment 5 Direct & Indirect Evidence  Direct Evidence Senior Capstones & Comprehensives Course Level Student Work  Indirect Surveys Student Surveys (CIRP: TFS, YFCY, CSS, DLE) Faculty Surveys Alumni Surveys Focus Groups

Alumni Survey Schedule 6 Summer 2013 In-House 1 & 5 Year Summer 2014 HEDS Survey 1, 5, 10 Years Summer 2015 In-House 1, 5, 10, 15 Years Summer 2016 In-House 1, 5, 10, 15 Years Summer 2017 In-House 1, 5, 10, 15 Years Summer 2018 HEDS Survey 1, 5, 10 Years

Results 7  2013 Alumni Survey Findings  In-House: 1 & 5 Years  50% response rates  Presented to Senior Staff & BoT  Shared and Presented to Department Chairs

ALUMNI SURVEY: Initial Findings What is current (primary) status? 8

ALUMNI SURVEY: Initial Findings If employed, what is your employment? 9

10 ALUMNI SURVEY: Initial Findings If enrolled in Grad School, What is your highest degree planned?

ALUMNI SURVEY: Initial Findings CLASS OF 2012 (Recent Graduates) 11  40% (31) had a job lined up before graduation  80% (62) had a job within 3 months of graduation  97% had a job within 6 months of graduation What, if any, challenges did you face in your job search?

Are you doing what you thought you’d be doing after graduation? 12 When I imagined post- graduate life, I imagined an entry-level (underpaid or volunteer) job in a psychology-related field while continuing to apply for graduate school and more education. In the job I have now, I work at one of the top children's inpatient psychiatric units in the country and I have more responsibility with a Bachelor's degree than I thought would be possible. Currently, I'm just paying off student debt thanks to secure full-time employment at a "mom'n'pop" retail store. I hoped to stay in Los Angeles to pursue a career in music, but I didn't have the money to live independently out there. I had no clue what I wanted to do. I hoped to be working in a museum or other cultural history institution. I have realized that to secure a job in a museum I will need further schooling so plan to return to graduate school Fall 2014.

Question Acquired Skills at Oxy Applied Skills Post Oxy TECHNICAL & HARD SKILLS (the ability to perform on-the-job & industry specific skills including languages, finance, software programs, design skills, lab skills, etc.) 57%77% MANAGEMENT & ADMINISTRATION SKILLS (the ability to analyze tasks, identify resource materials, delegate responsibility for task completion, motivate/lead people, organize people & tasks to achieve specific goals, etc.) 63%69% HUMAN RELATIONS & INTERPERSONAL SKILLS (the ability to maintain group cooperation & support, delegate tasks & responsibilities, persuade others, teach a concept or method, work across difference, work under time & environment pressures, etc.) 83%63% PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT & LEARNING SKILLS (the ability to develop personal growth goals, identify one's strengths & weaknesses, accept & learn from criticism, take risks, accept consequences of one's actions, etc.) 86%59% COMMUNICATION SKILLS (the ability to use various form of written communication, speak effectively to individuals & groups, use media to present ideas, effectively communicate value judgments, etc.) 92%58% INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SKILLS (the ability to sort data & objects, compile & rank information, apply information creatively to specific problems or tasks, evaluate information against appropriate standards, etc.) 78%57% DESIGN & PLANNING SKILLS (the ability to identify alternative courses of action, set realistic goals, follow-through with a plan/decision, manage time effectively, predict future trends/patterns, set priorities, etc.) 82%57% CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS (the ability to identify critical issues when making a decision or solving a problem, define the parameters of a problem, create innovative solutions to complex problems, etc.) 94%50% RESEARCH & INVESTIGATION SKILLS (the ability to identify problems & needs, design an experiment that systematically defines a problem, formulate relevant questions, identify appropriate information sources, etc.) 95%41%

College-wide Alumni Engagement 14  Connect the Dots  Changing perceptions for Alumni  Investment  Engagement  Protect their meaning and quality of their degree  Support Outcomes-Based Assessment

Alumni & Program Review

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Self-Study Components 17  Program Overview  Goal Achievement  Curriculum Relevance  Student Experience  Program Resources  Supporting Documentation  Exhibits: CVs, Course Syllabi, etc. EXAMPLE: Psychology Self-Study for External Review TeamPsychology Self-Study for External Review Team

Example: Self-Study Psychology 18  Alumni Survey: Qualtrics & Facebook  Sample Questions  Results included in the self-study  Response Rate: 45%  Findings

Psychology Alumni Survey 19

Psychology Alumni Survey Questions 20  General Experience Questions  Specific PLOs  How well do you think the department met these goals?  Which specific experience (e.g., course, research, lab, etc.) in the psychology major has had the most positive impact on you? Why?  If you had to select an aspect of your psychology major that needed the most improvement, which would it be and why?

Psychology Alumni Survey & PLOs 21 QuestionsMean Emphasis on leadership skills3.58 Emphasis on contributing to your community3.95 Emphasis on oral communication skills3.98 Structured opportunities for community service and for research4.30 Opportunity for faculty mentoring4.51 Emphasis on writing skills4.65 Small class sizes4.65 High availability of faculty for academic consultation (course work, advising)4.65 High level of personal interaction between faculty and students4.65 Opportunity for classroom discussion4.70 High quality of courses in the major4.77 High-quality teaching4.91

Example: Education Department 22  Lost Accreditation from CA Commission on Teacher Credentialing  Self-Study  Triangulation of Data  Expert Panel called together by Education Dept  Expert Panel called together by Administration  Expert Panel called together by ALOED  Affected Future Programming  Loss of credential  Attempting to get a major  Climbing “uphill”

Example: Program Review- English 23 Self-Study: Alumni in Graduate School Alumni Survey and Focus Group Graduating Seniors  Alumni Jobs, Graduate School, National Awards Closing the Loop  Align requirements for graduate programs with senior capstone  Honors Requirement Changes

Next Steps 24  Connect with the Alumni Office  Create opportunities for the Alumni Office and Faculty/Departments/Colleges to collaborate in assessment  Create a culture of sharing results and collaboratively “close the loop”  Continue the momentum for the engaged alumni  Get Creative!