+ Wendy Weiner Chatham University Middle States Conference December 7-9, 2008 Baltimore, MD Establishing a Culture of Assessment

+ General Education Goals Establishing/fine-tuning gen ed goals Whole-college assessment Verification of all gen ed goals being supported in each degree program 1

+ Common Glossary of Assessment Terms Goals v. objectives Learning outcomes v. objectives Assessment v. evaluation 2

+ Faculty Ownership of Assessment Program If the faculty doesnt own it, its not going to happen Faculty-led assessment team 3

+ On-going Professional Development Internal series of assessment professional develop workshops Sending out teams to regional, national, international workshops 4

+ Administrative Support and Understanding Assessment is everyones business Starts with president Requires some financial, administrative resources 5

+ Practical, Sustainable Assessment Plan Cost effective Realistic Rollover assessment 6

+ Systematic Assessment Planned rollout with multi-year cycle Not once and done 7

+ Student Learning Outcomes for All Courses and Programs Departmental collaborationidentify what students should be able to do and know Use Blooms taxonomy Remember, understand and learn arent measureable 8

+ Comprehensive Program Review Improvement Growth Accountability 9

+ Assessment of Co-curricular Activities Learning outside the classroom Example: College-wide global focus 10

+ College-wide Involvement in Institutional Effectiveness Going beyond student learning outcomes. How well the college is meeting its mission and goals Areas not to overlook: presidents office, administrative services, the college board of trustees, workforce development, the foundation, public relations, all components of student services Library services 11

+ Forums To Share the Strategies and Results with the College Faculty learn from each other Cross departmental pollination peer review the efforts, steer away from failed experiences replicate successes where appropriate 12

+ Assessment Results Reflected in Planning and Budgeting Faculty participation Support Rewards Closing the loop 13

+ Celebration of the Successes; Learning from the Failures Clear message that assessment report didnt drop off the face of the earth Discussing what went wrong Prevent repetition of mistakes Tweak to make it a successful activity 14

+ What Happens When a New Initiative Is Proposed Most compelling indicator of having a culture of assessment Important questions: What are the goals and objectives? How will we assess it? 15

+ Review your lists What else could identify your culture of assessment?

+ Questions?