Syllabi:
Assessment reflects curriculum as determined by faculty. The documents that support curriculum and assessment are the syllabi. As in most colleges, syllabi are prepared by the faculty, usually according to the guidelines present in that institution. LCO College began using a syllabus template recommended for faculty use, and copies were distributed at the fall 2002 orientation. A copy is included in the appendix of this Monitoring Report. During the summer, the new assessment coordinator obtained a sample of syllabi for the past year and examined them for course objectives and the assessment activities keyed to those objectives. Some syllabi were developed enough to provide this type of detail while others were partially developed. Assessment activities were not always explicit enough to be identifiable. Further instruction about how to develop syllabi that informs about assessment is needed, and so the fall 2002 orientation focused on assessment and the articulation of course objectives. The fall learning community conference (orientation), held on August 26 and 27, 2002, ended with the assignment to all faculty to refine syllabi and bring their drafts to a meeting on Friday, August 30, for collaborative review and feedback.
Program Objectives:
A detailed study of the current Academic Catalog revealed:
1) Curriculum, the domain of the faculty. Although there appears to be a standardized general education core across all degree programs of study, the eleven general education outcomes identified by faculty are not listed in the catalog.
2)
Degree programs and the general education core requirements: Many
degree programs have a statement of program outcomes with a section on what a
future employer expects of the graduate. As faculty members continue to refine
their degree program outcomes, they will need to refer to the catalog and
mission statement to develop program objectives and means of assessment, and
when appropriate, fold in the feedback from surveys of employers and alumni.
Academic Advising:
A few interviews with several individuals on campus also revealed concerns about academic advising. Academic advising provides the means for students to successfully navigate the curriculum for optimal learning. Faculty advising skills are especially critical in a college with open admissions and a high proportion of first-generation college students. Issues of student attrition are often discussed in advising when students find themselves failing in courses for which they were unprepared. Even though all students are required to take the ACT-COMPASS, the scores are presently used only as guidelines. By developing the Placement segment of the 1999 Plan and by analyzing the data of past student performances in specific courses based on COMPASS scores, faculty will gain special insight into how students succeed and what advising strategies to use to enhance student success. The fall 2002 orientation briefly addressed issues of advising, absenteeism, and procedures to refer students for intervention as well as the explicit articulation of learning objectives in all syllabi as to inform students of faculty expectations in their courses.