Self analysis and evaluation are essential to good health.

1. Accreditation, SLOs and You – What are the patient outcomes? or Will the patient survive?Facilitators: Janet Fulks and Phillip Maynard

2. Self analysis and evaluation are essential to good health. How do you take your institutional vital signs? Who makes the diagnosis and writes up the treatment plan? Accreditation provides the perfect opportunity to diagnose and heal chronic problems. SLO and outcomes provide a health check on our curriculum and programs. These essential processes are areas of faculty primacy; they need to be understood and driven by faculty leadership through the local senate. What is the blood pressure and temperature on your campus?

3. Accreditation • What it is and What it is NOT! • Handout with summary of 2002 Standards • National scene and efforts to support accreditation • Look at the recent Accreditation Actions handout – it is not business as usual • Review of the annual report that now requires reporting on SLOs

4. ACCJC Annual Report

5. Accreditation • What it can provide for an institution if faculty are involved - Vital Signs • Do and Don’ts • A means to get things done – the lever or the hammer • Importance of campus –wide involvement.

6. Why Student Learning Outcomes Assessment?

7. What is Student Learning Outcomes Assessment? An ONGOING process to: • Understand student learning • Set appropriate criteria and high standards for learning quality • Collect evidence that makes learning visible • Document and improve performance ONGOING Assessment • Prompts deep learning for students, faculty, and the institution

8. So Who Owns SLO Assessment? Not Accreditation! • Accreditation simply validates that SLO Assessment is: • Locally appropriate and meaningful • Crafted to institutional culture • Enables diverse student populations to succeed • Identifieswhat is meaningful to our campuses

9. Who Owns SLO Assessment?Not Administration! • They enable and help implement • Faculty collaborate and cooperate with administration • SLO Assessment is important to curriculum and programs -- Faculty must lead • Local senates must support SLO Assessment • See handout with resolutions and Assessment Philosophy Statements

10. Benefits of Assessment

11. Benefits of Assessment . Kearsley, G. (2003).   http://tip.psychology.org/feedback.html

12. Benefits of Assessment • Assessment motivates and invigorates dialogue between • Faculty & Students • Faculty & Administration • Faculty and Faculty • Institutions and their Boards

13. SLO Coordinators • Over 100 faculty • Various levels of training and experience • Heavy workload with varied reassign • Varied knowledge of governance • Very few explicit job descriptions • Selection process very murky • Some supported by Senates and some not THEY NEED YOUR HELP! -

14. ACCJC Annual Report

15. SLO Coordinator Role • Must be a faculty lead • Lead a shared responsibility • Must work cooperatively with the administrators and staff

16. Who chooses them and who do they report to? • Board • College President • Vice President of Instruction • Senate • Curriculum • Program Review

17. ACCJC Annual Report • These same questions must be filled in for: • Courses (As above) • Certificates and Degrees • General Education • Instructional Support • Student Services

18. Accreditation and Assessment can • Link educational tracks • Create cohesive student pathways • Encourage interdisciplinary discussions

19. Assessment can • Help students think about their own learning • Create deep long-lasting learning • Target skills, values and behaviors not JUST content

20. Faculty and Assessment • “Classroom assessment is the purest form of assessment-for-improvement, because the information gleaned can be immediately used to improve teaching and learning …the further away from the individual classroom you get, the harder it becomes to turn assessment data into useable information” (Miller, 1997)

21. Assessment Done Right

22. Faculty and Assessment • Faculty are NOT motivated to do assessment because of accreditation. • Faculty ARE motivated to do assessment: • to see measurable improvement • to discover what works and what does not • To produce consistency and fairness in grading

23. Assessment in Action • Grass Roots Approach to Change: Nichols Model Focuses on Faculty Ownership of the Process Nichols Model Extends Outcomes Assessment Beyond Academic Departments (SLOs) into Service Units (AUOs)

24. Mt SAC Steering Committee Creates SLOs/AUOs Implementation Plan Framework: • “Grass Roots” Approach to Change • Campus-Wide Participation • Clear Roles for All Constituents • Integration of SLOs with Existing Processes • Variety of Communication Methods • Financial Support

25. Mt SAC Develops Clear Roles for All Constituents • Board ratifies implementation plan • President approves implementation plan and assesses AUOs in his office • President’s Advisory Council advises President on implementation plan • Institutional Effectiveness Committee assesses progress toward goals through SLOs/AUOs • Vice Presidents assess AUOs in their areas • Deans/Managers assess AUOs in their divisions/units • Academic Senate approves plan and supports faculty participation • Faculty/Staff assess SLOs/AUOs in disciplines and units • Faculty/Staff SLOs/AUOs Implementation Team Members and Researcher facilitate assessment in departments/units

26. Mt SAC SLOs/AUOs Integrated with Existing Processes: • Annual Program Review Process (Planning for Institutional Effectiveness) • Annual Review of Governance and Operational Committees • Institutional Effectiveness Efforts

27. Mt SAC Communication Methods SLOs Coordinator Communicates to Campus through: Updates on SLOs web site Campus Update Spread sheets SLOs/AUOs newsletters Appearances in Teams/Divisions/Units Institutional Effectiveness Committee Curriculum and Instruction Council Classified Senate Reports to Academic Senate President’s Advisory Council

28. Financial Support Board Approves Financial Support for Implementation Plan 2004-07 • 220% Released Time for Faculty Facilitators and Coordinator in Implementation Phase 2005-06 • Educational Research Assessment Analyst Position • Trac Dat Software System Purchase • Funds for Workshops/Staff Development 2007-Ongoing • 100% Released Time for Institutionalized Faculty SLOs and Gen Ed Coordinator Positions • Funds for Workshops/ Staff Development

29. Final Note • Be Prepared: Changes in faculty and administrative leadership may require adjustments to the implementation plan • Be Aware: This will not be the only major initiative on campus! • Be Flexible: Modifications to plan components may be necessary before, during, and after implementation • Be Patient: Revolutionary change takes time!

30. Who Owns SLO Assessment and Accreditation? • YOU must – you own your own course and program • YOUR CAMPUS must – own their own institutional outcomes, processes, and self study report • YOUR SENATE must – take the lead in the accreditation self study, support and help define the SLO coordinator position and committee

31. Thank You • Questions???