Levels of Implementation

By now people are probably familiar with the framework that NCA has proposed to gauge how well colleges are doing in assessing student learning:

Level 1: Beginning Implementation. Learning goals are either vague or absent. Assessment plans are not well developed or implemented. Direct measures of student learning beyond the classroom are not being collected or analyzed.

Level 2: Making Progress on Implementation. Assessment plans are well underway, but not necessarily fully implemented. Assessment data are not yet used to drive curricular decisions or departmental planning.

Level 3: Maturing Stages of Continuous Improvement. Assessment plans fully implemented. Assessment data are used to drive curricular improvement.

Patterns of Characteristics
The second layer of information NCA provides (which we haven't talked much about on campus to date) is a list of different components of the institution and how well assessment is done and/or understood by these components. NCA calls these components patterns of characteristics. Below I list these patterns that NCA feels are important, along with evidence that an institution might be at Level 3 with respect to this component.

I. Institutional Culture

a. Collective/Shared Values

- Assessment has become an institutional priority.

- Institutional decisions are tied to assessment results.

- Academic units and programs consider assessment of student learning to be integral to their educational operations

b. Mission

- Every academic program has a published statement of its purpose and educational goals, developed by the faculty.

II. Shared Responsibility

a. Faculty

- Faculty members engage in effective assessment practices.

- Faculty members speak privately and publicly in support of assessment.

- Faculty members systematically educate persons unfamiliar with institutional and departmental assessment programs about their value.

- Faculty members routinely link their assessment findings to decision making and instructional and program improvement.

b. Administration and Board

- Board members advocate the continual improvement of student learning as an institutional priority.

- Senior administrators regularly provide resources for special projects to enhance the assessment program (e.g., pilot projects, summer stipends, departmental grants, and support for assessment symposia).

c. Students

- Students routinely participate in discussions with faculty about improvements that might be made in areas of learning where assessment results indicate a need for strengthening.

- Students are regularly required to present verbal and written explanations of how work products they have selected demonstrate attainment of publicly stated goals and objectives for learning.

III. Institutional Support

a. Resources

- A budget line has been established and sufficient resources are allocated in the annual budget.

- The Assessment Committee solicits proposals and awards funding for programmatic and departmental assessment activities and initiatives.

b. Structures

- Syllabi state measurable objectives for student learning and provide for the assessment of students' academic achievement.

- The comprehensive assessment program is evaluated regularly and is modified as necessary for optimal effectiveness.

- Department chairs report annually to the CAO on accomplishments and challenges relating to assessment.

IV. Efficacy of Assessment

- Student learning is central to the culture of the institution.

- A "culture of evidence" has emerged, sustained by a faculty and administrative commitment to excellent teaching and effective learning.

- Explicit statements regarding the institution's expectations for student learning are widely publicized.

- Programmatic benchmarks are established against which students' learning outcomes are assessed.

- The institution publicly and regularly celebrates demonstrated student learning, performance, and achievement.

As I look at these objectives and the threshold for being considered a "mature" (Level 3) assessment program, I believe we are functioning in many ways in that capacity. Still, there are ways we can get better. The Assessment Committee and I need and value your feedback about what you think we do well and what you think we need to improve as we strive to attain a mature assessment program on campus.