FECS 2007 Assessment and its Role in Accreditation Deborah Whitfield Frances Bailie Adel Abunawass

Overview Assessment Process Accreditation Assessment at Slippery Rock University Assessment at Iona College Assessment at the University of West Georgia Conclusions

Assessment Process Goals Objectives for each goal Assessment Tools Timetable Process Responsibility Assess the Assessment

Accreditation Why? Distinction Administrative pressure ABET and the CAC Assessment for Accreditation First of the seven criteria Select own objectives to be assessed

Accreditation New ABET assessment criteria Effective cycle Communication abilities Ethical and professional abilities Critical Thinking Abilities Technical abilities Continuing Professionally

Assessment at Slippery Rock University Deborah Whitfield Professor of Computer Science 8,000 students ABET accredited 3 BS degrees: CS, IS, IT Began assessment in 1995

Assessment Framework Three goals, each with five objectives Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Communication and Interpersonal Skills Ethical and Professional Responsibilities Stakeholders Students, Faculty, Advisory Board (employers) Assessment Methods Student surveys Course embedded Internship appraisal

Assessment Process and Timetable Student surveys – Soph, Jr, Sr Blackboard, 1 st day of classes Course embedded Programming assignments, written papers, presentations Internship appraisals Report to stakeholders Incorporate recommendations into final report Modify internship survey for more accurate tracking Increase credit hours in CS1 Change languages to Alice, Java Identify courses to assess ethics Repeat the cycle

Observations Time needed Graduate assistant Reduced load Short-cuts Automate surveys Templates for rubrics shared by faculty Advantages to assessment More open discussion of course content Students know objectives of assignments Increase of credits ok’d by administration Accreditation visit easier

Assessment at Iona College Fran Bailie Associate Professor of Computer Science Small suburban college ABET accredited BS in CS No institutional support Faculty driven

Assessment Plan Stakeholders: Students, Faculty, Alumni, Employers, Advisory Board Structure of Responsibilities Course coordinators Assessment Committee Full Department Determine Goals and Objectives ( Department and Coordinators ) College & department mission statements Program goals & objectives Course objectives

Assessment Plan (con’t) Identify Data Sources and Develop Instruments (Assessment Committee) Students (course evaluations, exit surveys & interviews) Faculty (course assessments) Alumni (surveys) Employers (surveys and internship evaluations) Advisory Board (meetings and surveys) Perform Assessment Administer instruments, analyze results (Committee) Identify and track problems (Committee & Department) Suggest & implement solutions (Department) Next round – determine effectiveness of solution (Department)

Assessment Reflections Problems Do results indicate an actual problem? Assessments must be repeated Requires patience and perseverance Faculty cooperation uneven Positive Outcomes Identifies weaknesses Heightens faculty awareness of objectives Fosters proactive approach to improvement Solves problems before they become crises

University of West Georgia Assessment Adel Abunawass Professor Chair, Department of Computer Science Over 10,000 students CAC/ABET accredited BS and MS degrees (BS is CAC/ABET accredited) Four Graduate Certificates in Computing A Proposed BA in CS with Threads in Software Development, Cyber Forensics & Security, & Digital Media.

COMPASS History We borrowed learning outcomes from the CC2001 ( ) We built our own database for data collection Accredited by ABET in 2002 We adopted a CMS (Moodle) for our courses We evolved the CC2001 learning outcomes We integrated/recreated our database with Moodle We also integrated our instruments with Moodle We have another ABET visit this coming Fall

COMPASS Four components: Process Loop Input Analysis Implementation Timeline Assessment Input Assessment Output

Our Experience A culture shift in the Department Not a replacement for informal assessment Faculty plan course work based on students’ needs & program’s goals Students are aware of program, curriculum, course, & assignment expectations Better planning Requests for resources easier to justify Made University/State reviews easier to complete Yes, there is some pain, but it is a good sort of pain :-)

Conclusion Keep It Simple Get Faculty, Staff, Students, etc. involved Design your assessment to meet your needs Data collection is seductive Use results: to improve your programs & processes; to plan; to support requests for resources; etc.