Feedback from key stakeholders (indirect evidence) Proxy signs that students are probably learning Stakeholders Students fundamental source of assessment information – Faculty continually observe and reflect on student learning – Field experience supervisors can be a fountain of information on how well – students are demonstrating key goals, including knowledge, skills, attitudes, and dispositions Alumni can describe their post-graduation experiences and their views of their – education Employers can provide valuable information about employer needs and how – well a program or college prepares students for careers in their businesses Techniques Surveys elicit information about or attitudes – people’s beliefs, experiences, Interviews provide an opportunity for interaction between interviewer and – interviewee Focus groups planned discussions among small groups of participants who are – asked a series of carefully constructed questions about their beliefs, attitudes, and experiences Reflective essays invite students to reflect on some aspect of their university – experience Others Retention and graduation rates Quality and reputation of graduate programs Placement rates Student participation rates Honors, awards, and scholarships Feedback mechanisms and response (use of the results) Who is involved Chairperson/Director (or Assistant/Associate), Program Coordinator, – Faculty (individuals or committees) Where it is done Department/School meetings, retreat (general or assessment), – informal conversations Examining the data Rubric a scoring guide; a list or chart that describes the criteria used to – evaluate completed student assignments Content analysis summarize common themes and the extent of consensus – concerning those themes Establishing standards can set expectations based on the relative performance of their – students Summarizing the results Frequency table a visual depiction of data that shows how often each value – occurred Measures of central tendency Mean arithmetic average – Median 50th percentile – Mode most common score – Qualitative summary
Feedback from key stakeholders (indirect evidence) Proxy signs that students are probably learning Stakeholders Students – fundamental source of assessment information Faculty – continually observe and reflect on student learning Field experience supervisors – can be a fountain of information on how well students are demonstrating key goals, including knowledge, skills, attitudes, and dispositions Alumni – can describe their post-graduation experiences and their views of their education Employers – can provide valuable information about employer needs and how well a program or college prepares students for careers in their businesses Techniques Surveys – elicit information about people’s beliefs, experiences, or attitudes Interviews – provide an opportunity for interaction between interviewer and interviewee Focus groups – planned discussions among small groups of participants who are asked a series of carefully constructed questions about their beliefs, attitudes, and experiences Reflective essays – invite students to reflect on some aspect of their university experience Others Retention and graduation rates Quality and reputation of graduate programs Placement rates Student participation rates Honors, awards, and scholarships Feedback mechanisms and response (use of the results) Who is involved – Chairperson/Director (or Assistant/Associate), Program Coordinator, Faculty (individuals or committees) Where it is done – Department/School meetings, retreat (general or assessment), informal conversations Examining the data Rubric – a scoring guide; a list or chart that describes the criteria used to evaluate completed student assignments Content analysis – summarize common themes and the extent of consensus concerning those themes Establishing standards – can set expectations based on the relative performance of their students Summarizing the results Frequency table – a visual depiction of data that shows how often each value occurred Measures of central tendency Mean – arithmetic average Median – 50th percentile Mode – most common score Qualitative summary
HerrmannSympJan13.docx