State of Assessment Report
May 2, 2005
Prepared by Jennifer Mihalick, Co-Chair,
Faculty Senate Committee on Assessment of Student Learning
During 2004-2005, eight members from the faculty, one from the academic
staff, a student representative of OSA, and an administration liaison,
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Curricular Affairs Margaret Genisio, met
monthly during the academic year. Todd Borgerding was chair
during the fall semester and Jennifer Mihalick was chair during the
spring semester. A website with reports and examples of
assessment plans <http://www.uwosh.edu/assessment/>
was maintained by Jennifer Mihalick.
Status of Program Assessments
Grids showing the status of each program are attached to this report
(and also appear on the website). This year plans were approved
for new graduate programs in Management Information Systems and Social
Work, and the committee is working with the new Athletic Training
program on revisions to their plan. Only the majors in Music
Performance and Religious Studies do not have any assessment plans.
The grids have been expanded to show that departments are in many
different stages with assessment and curriculum revision. Most
departments have collected and evaluated assessment data; many have
used those data to revise their curriculum; and a few have been able to
collect enough data after a revision to judge the impact of the
curriculum change on student learning.
Once an assessment plan is approved, departments are asked to report to
the FSCASL once every two years. In 2004, 9 programs submitted
status reports which were reviewed by committee members. Several
programs also consulted committee members on revisions to their
assessment plans. The rest of the programs should submit updates
in summer 2005. The following programs have not sent status
reports in the past three years: Art, Bachelor of Liberal
Studies, Educational Leadership, English, Human Services, Nursing
(graduate), Psychology (graduate), Public Administration (graduate),
and Special Education.
Status of General Education Assessment
The plan for General Education Assessment was revised in
2003-2004. As a result of this, new information was
requested from departments. In October 2004, each department
teaching general education courses was asked to identify which of the
University’s ten broad goals are applicable to their subject, then
define more specific learning objectives to be assessed in their
courses. To date 18 COLS departments that offer general education
courses (2/3 of the total) have submitted these reports. To
continue the process, every two years each department will be asked to
report on the tools used to assess student learning and to summarize
the results of the assessment.
The addition of classroom response systems to large lecture halls has
created a convenient way to collect data on student learning.
This should be particularly useful in general education courses.
Several members of the FSCASL have adopted the system for their classes
and will be able to provide examples of how to add this tool to an
assessment plan.
The Committee members reviewed available standardized exams which would
provide feedback on the overall design of the general education
program. The Academic Profile, produced by Educational Testing
Services, was determined to have the best match to the University’s ten
goals for general education. The Department of English agreed to
assist by requiring the exam in a selection of their Advanced
Composition courses. Those courses must be taken by all students
after they have earned 60 credits, so are often the last general
education requirement to be completed.
The committee agreed with the English faculty that students should
receive information about the value of these examinations. The
FSCASL will provide a description of the purpose of assessment and its
potential use in improving the curriculum. The committee will consult
Career Services about how information on proficiency in reading,
writing, critical thinking and math could be valuable in career
planning.
Preparation for NCA Accreditation
In 2007 the North Central Association will decide if the University
should be reaccredited for another 10 years. Criterion Three (out
of five) deals with student learning. To meet this criterion, the
University must collect evidence of student learning. Much of the data
will come from the files the FSCASL has compiled over the last ten
years. Several current and former members of FSCASL are on the
University's NCA Higher Learning Commission Accreditation Preparation
Committee and some of its subcommittees.
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Initiative
Assessment of student learning is a key feature of many projects
developed under the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
initiative. As this program develops we will cooperate on
development of and training in assessment tools and strategies.
Grids Showing Status of Assessment Plans:
General Education
College
of Business Administration
College
of Education and Human Services
College
of Letters and Science
College
of Nursing
back to assessment home page
last updated May 2, 2005