The Future of Student Learning Outcomes Assessment within the VSA

1. The Future of Student Learning Outcomes Assessment within the VSA Christine Keller Voluntary System of Accountability Paul Gore University of Utah Session #19 Southern Association for Institutional Research Orlando, Florida ▪ September 22-25, 2012

2. Presentation Outline Review of original goals of VSA and student learning outcomes Selected findings and recommendations from NILOA evaluation of VSA Pilot Application of evaluation results: technical work group, communications advisory group Next steps for VSA: wrap up pilot, new reporting options, refocus/rebranding

3. Voluntary System of Accountability the undergraduate student experience through a common web report – the College Portrait. www.collegeportraits.org Initiative by public universities to supply straightforward, comparable information on

4. Background • VSA developed, launched in 2007 • Sponsored by APLU and AASCU • 320 participating public universities • Three original objectives • Demonstrate accountability, transparency • College search tool • Support measurement and reporting of student learning outcomes

5. Student Learning Outcomes Pilot Goal: Directly measure, publicly report student learning gains (value-added) at institution level using a common method Skills: critical thinking, analytic reasoning, problem solving, written communication Tests: CAAP, CLA, ETS Proficiency Profile Reporting includes link to institution specific learning outcomes data Pilot period ends December 2012

6. Evaluate Effectiveness of Pilot Conducted by National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) Focus groups Interviews Surveys Google Analytics College Portrait statistics

7. NILOA’s mission is to document student learning outcomes assessment work, identify and disseminate best practices, and support institutions in their assessment efforts. Surveys ● Web Scans ● Case Studies ● Focus Groups ● Occasional Papers ● Website ● Resources ● Newsletter ● Listserv ● Presentations ● Transparency Framework ● Featured Websites ● Accreditation Resources ● Assessment Event Calendar ● Assessment News ● Measuring Quality Inventory ● Policy Analysis ● Environmental Scan www.learningoutcomesassessment.org

8. Findings I Both participating and nonparticipating institutions agree that VSA in 2007 was a wise, timely, useful, necessary response to the accountability , transparency demands of the time Many eligible institutions - about 1/3 - do not participate in the VSA Nearly half of the participants have not yet met expectations of student learning outcomes pilot 50% of participating institutions have yet to post student learning outcomes information (Sept 2012)

9. The Student Learning Outcomes section of institutional College Portraits attracts little traffic

10. Findings II College Portrait: “Information posted may not reflect the needs of prospective students, families or provide the information they seek to make decisions about where to attend college.” Student Learning Outcomes: “The standardized test measures of student learning outcomes lack broad credibility and acceptance in the higher education community, undermining institutional participation and engagement with the VSA and campus faculty and staff support of the VSA initiative.”

11. Recommendations “Mend it, don’t end it” Expand range of assessment tools and approaches Focus on specific audiences and communicating meaningful information

12. Working Group Deliberations Technical work group considered alternative measures of learning outcomes to recommend to VSA Board Confirmed importance of student learning outcomes reporting within the VSA No perfect of measure of student learning exists for all audiences External accountability Institutional improvement College selection

13. Working Group Deliberations II Continue use of value-added measurement using CAAP, CLA, ETS Proficiency Profile Introduce option to use VALUE Rubrics based on AAC&U essential learning outcomes written communication critical thinking Introduce option to use aggregate scores from professional and graduate admissions exams such as the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, and MCAT

15. VSA Board Decisions College Portrait re-focus from “college selection tool” to “consumer information tool to demonstrate effectiveness of educational programs” Instrument options: CAAP, CLA, ETS Proficiency Profile AAC&U VALUE rubrics – critical thinking, written communication GRE General Test Reporting options: value-added, benchmarking

16. Next Steps for SLO Reporting VSA participants describe, publish pilot project experiences using three part form Required for institutions with no SLO results published Strongly encouraged for all institutions Data entry opens week of Oct 1, closes Jan 7 New SLO reporting options released for 2012-13 data cycle (week of Jan 18, 2013) Deadline: Spring of 2015 No data more than 3 years old

17. Required Reporting for Pilot Report overall experiences participating in the pilot – whether 1 of the 3 value-added tests was administered or not. Provide information about an additional institutional assessment initiative on campus, including results from a recent administration and/or cycle. Disclose which of the newly approved SLO reporting options your campus is likely to consider for future VSA reporting.

18. http://www.collegeportraits.org/slo_preview.html

20. Communication Advisory Group Includes individuals from public affairs, communications, government affairs Develop outreach strategy to recruit new participants and connect with key audiences Identify and promote key elements on College Portrait: success and progress rate, cost of attendance, financial aid, future plans Create streamlined view targeted at policy makers, government affairs professional

21. The Heat is On • Unprecedented public challenges for higher education to be more accountable for results. • Accompanying external demands for information about student and institutional performance are growing calls for institutions and accreditors to become more transparent about what they do and the results they achieve. (Ewell, 2010)

22. More Information Reports & Presentations www.voluntarysystem.org Christine Keller, VSA Executive Director ckeller@aplu.org Teri Hinds, VSA Associate Director thinds@aplu.org Paul Gore, U of Utah paul.gore@utah.edu