In the Fall of 1995 the college completed a focused Self-Study Report on Student Academic Achievement. This was reviewed during an NCA site visit in March of 1996. The assessment report and the subsequent Academic Assessment Techniques: A Faculty Handbook, (hereafter referred to as the “Assessment Handbook”) resulted from the efforts of faculty and the Academic Dean. This handbook, and its identification of student portfolios at the core of academic assessment efforts, has proven to be difficult to implement.
The time required by faculty to educate their advisees on the importance of portfolios and the processes to be used to create and maintain them is considerable. Significant reliance upon the student to ensure that proper documentation is accumulated in this portfolio also met with varying degrees of success. Additionally, the adoption of the portfolio system by the college did not arise from a college-wide dialogue of the faculty and administration, and subsequently not all those responsible for implementing the plan felt they had had an opportunity to actually create the plan. This lack of "buy in" undoubtedly played a role in the inconsistent actualization of the various assessment components.
As stated by the NCA evaluation team following the focus visit in 1996, one of the greatest difficulties in the development of accurate and useful assessment procedures has been that of proceeding on an established and realistic timeline. During the regular faculty meetings at the start of each semester student assessment program needs are discussed and reviewed. Additionally, faculty have been working at these times on the goal of developing clear and measurable outcome objectives for each course and degree/certificate program.
All new students to the college are required to go through orientation where, among other things, they take the Test of Adult Basic Education, (TABE.) This is a norm-referenced test. Results from these questions are summarized in three grade-equivalency scores in Reading, Mathematics and Language. The current version of the TABE, (Survey Form, Level A), has been used by the college since January 1993. The aim of this test is to provide information for advising purposes and for selecting appropriate math and language arts courses for new students. Presently the scores are used for advisement purposes only, not placement. The college does not mandate placement into developmental skills courses; therefore not all students who could benefit from this type of instruction elect to take it. During intake interviews for new students, (conducted by Student Support Services), assessment results and student feedback are utilized to identify potential academic needs in advance and outline strategies for meeting them.
One of the keys for providing timely and appropriate academic advising for new students is the coordination of registration and assessment activities. Many new students enroll in classes prior to the assessment done during orientation, and/or without meeting with an academic advisor. Much of this recruitment and attendant registration takes place off campus and may be done by college faculty, administration and/or recruiters hired on a part-time basis.
The college holds orientation for new students the week before classes begin each semester in an effort to obtain information needed to effectively advise students in class selection. This works well for those students who are able to attend this orientation. Many of our students, however, are unable to attend these early orientations because they have children at home who are not yet in school, and/or they are working seasonal jobs which are often in greatest demand during late summer. The college offers new student orientation on two separate days, once in the morning and also in the afternoon, to allow for as many students as possible to attend. Late orientation is also held during the first week of classes at which time schedules can still be restructured if the assessment and advising processes seem to indicate a need.
While a model syllabus format was adopted by the school in 1997, the realization of the impact this was meant to have has not yet been accomplished. While most syllabi do contain sections defining objectives and assessment, the quality of these stated objectives and the appropriateness and completeness of the described assessment processes varies widely. Much of the faculty still rely upon traditional, indirect measures of assessment, and the objectives often represent those derived from textbooks and/or existing curricula which have not undergone regular scrutiny to validate their appropriateness.
Broader measures of institutional effectiveness such as information regarding transfer student success, satisfaction surveys, employer surveys, etc., have for the most part been acquired anecdotally. Other aspects of the college, such as finances and facilities, have never been comprehensively assessed from the standpoint of determining how well they are being managed to facilitate student learning. The college's annual Report contains summaries of various departments' activities for the academic year, but does not generally contain a careful analysis of objectives and accomplishments and attendant suggestions for improvement.