Emphasizing the Dialog at Monterey Peninsula College Fred Hochstaedter Academic Senate President SLO Coordinator Monterey Peninsula College What we do, What we emphasize, And why

 We hope that SLOs can provide a formal framework for faculty to converse, as professionals, about teaching, learning, pedagogy, and curricula.  Professional teachers talking to each other about teaching and student learning is a primary characteristic of a vibrant academic institution.  We hope that the result of these conversations is more insightful pedagogy that improves student learning in MPC courses. -MPC SLO Committee, 2007 Our Philosophy

What We Wanted  A process that is simple (Keep it Simple Sweetheart)  A process that is sustainable in a variety of budget environments  A process that fit with our existing processes such as resource allocation Led to Three Principles…

Three Principles 1.All SLOs (program, institutional, general education) must be evaluable at the course level. More info:

Evaluation of student work Grades: Information for the Student SLOs: Information for the Program Leads to… More info: Three Principles 2. Instructors regularly evaluate student learning. The result of this effort is valuable information for quality improvement for the program.

Three Principles 3. We need to give faculty members time to engage in the dialog. More info:

Monterey Peninsula College Planning and Resource Allocation Process (simplified version) 1. Planning  3-year Institutional  Educational Master Plan 2. Program Review  6-year Cycle  Annual Report with Action Plans 3. Institutional Review  Administration  Faculty-led advisory groups 4. Resource Allocation  Infrastructure  Equipment  Personnel 5. Evaluation  Institutional  Area

Monterey Peninsula College Planning and Resource Allocation Process 1. Planning  3-year Institutional  Educational Master Plan 2. Program Review  6-year Cycle  Annual Report with Action Plans 3. Institutional Review  Administration  Faculty-led advisory groups 4. Resource Allocation  Infrastructure  Equipment  Personnel 5. Evaluation  Institutional  Area SLOs live here  Data driven  Dialog

2. Program Review  6-year Cycle  Annual Report with Action Plans Instructor Reflections on Student Learning Program Reflections on Student Learning These Forms/Processes are the Heart of MPC’s SLO Efforts. They are designed to prompt  Dialog  Collaboration  Improvement Efforts  Action Plan Rationale Code word for SLO

1. Instructor Reflections on Student Learning 2. Program Reflections on Student Learning 3. Action Plans

Instructor Reflections … …leads to…

Program Reflections … …Two hours during each flex day… …leads to…

…Annual Report / Action Plans PRSL = SLO

2. Program Review  6-year Cycle  Annual Report with Action Plans

From the Student Learning Section…

And then…

And finally… SLOs are fully integrated into the 6-year program review guidelines

Integration of Student Learning and Program Reflections into *all* resource allocation processes.

1. Faculty Position Requests 3. Foundation Grant Proposals 2. Classified Position Requests

Excerpts from Anthropology Program Reflections

At MPC, the Program Reflections are  The heart of dialog during flex activities  Cited as rational for action plans  Well integrated into the Program Review Process  Well integrated into all resource allocation processes  Viewed as the basis for dialog  Visited at least once per semester  and most importantly…

At MPC, the Program Reflections are A grass-roots, bottom-up, approach to evaluating student learning and using the results to inform plans to improve.

 We hope that SLOs can provide a formal framework for faculty to converse, as professionals, about teaching, learning, pedagogy, and curricula.  Professional teachers talking to each other about teaching and student learning is a primary characteristic of a vibrant academic institution.  We hope that the result of these conversations is more insightful pedagogy that improves student learning in MPC courses. -MPC SLO Committee, 2007 Our Philosophy

 The primary purpose of an ACCJC-accredited institution is to foster learning in its students.  An effective institution ensures that its resources and processes support student learning, continuously assesses that learning, and pursues institutional excellence and improvement.  An effective institution maintains an ongoing, self- reflective dialogue about its quality and improvement.” -ACCJC, “Introduction to the Accreditation Standards” From the ACCJC