We have a lot going on here in the Office of Assessment, so I thought I’d take a moment to share some of what we’re up to. If you see anything that piques your interest, reach out! We collaborate with faculty and staff all across campus.
Annual Assessment Workshop
From May 22-24, we are hosting our annual assessment workshop—a direct assessment of student work. In the past, the focus was on assessing student learning on public affairs outcomes. We have a robust general education course review process now, and based on the recommendation of the Higher Learning Commission, we’re now using the workshop to assess the goals of the general education program across colleges. Last year, we focused on assessing student learning in the public affairs section of general education. This year, we’re looking at samples of student work from courses aligned with general goals 6, 7, 8, & 9.
So far, we have either collected or are in the process of collecting student work from faculty and general education coordinators in these courses. There are modest incentives to participate—Starbucks cards for faculty who submit student work and $500 stipends for those participating as reviewers.
If you’re interested in submitting student work or participating as a reviewer, contact JuliaCottrell@missouristate.edu.
Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
Keri Franklin, Director of Assessment, is heading an HLC steering committee. This committee meets quarterly to review recommendations from HLC and update evidence. Missouri State’s last site visit was in 2015, and we have an interim report due in 2019. Our plan is to review the recommendations and assurance argument annually and update evidence on a three-year cycle leading up to the ten-year review in 2025. Dean Tammy Jahnke, who previously led the HLC committee, set us on a positive course. The current committee plans to revise, update, and edit the argument from 2015 as we go and build a team who can support that effort.
CAEP
We have been assisting the College of Education (COE) with their upcoming CAEP accreditation. On Thursday, May 12, 2018, Dr. Keri Franklin will be presenting to Educator Preparation Provider (EPP) faculty and COE partners from local schools at Bass Pro’s Sportsman’s Lodge. The presentation, Building a Culture of Assessment, will allow these faculty to get a first-hand look at EPP data and see how it relates to their accreditation questions. See the abstract below:
Dr. Franklin will provide an overview of data sources, collection, and analyses for on-going review of valid data on which decisions have been and/or are being made. Examples of program questions and data sources to answer questions will be provided. Dr. Keri Franklin will provide program-level data from University sources that can support your understanding of CAEP requirements and student learning. The session will provide time to review valid data at the EPPU and program levels from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) to Public Affairs Scale surveys collected institutionally and disaggregated for program coordinators’ use.
Assessment Grants
Assessment grants are available! Applying is easy; simply think about what you want to know about your students’ learning, think of a way to assess it, and fill out a proposal form. If you would like a thinking partner or would feel more comfortable running your assessment plan by a member of our team, email us at Assessment@MissouriState.edu to set up a meeting. Feel free to drop by one of our Coffee and Conversation sessions in PSU 131 on Tuesdays from 10:00-11:30 am.