As indicated in the 1999 Plan, instructors from like
disciplines formed degree panels charged with articulating outcomes, objectives,
and assessment procedures for each associate degree. The accomplishment of this
segment of the Assessment Plan has been “uneven” as stated in the 1999 Plan
narrative. Several plans appeared, some of them incomplete. Other degree
programs, especially those with licensure exams or outcomes dictated by the
professional organizations, have developed detailed assessment plans. Clearly,
this portion of the Assessment Plan needs attention.
Program outcome assessment, while daunting to design in a
vacuum, may benefit from exploring assessment plans at other institutions with
similar programs of study. To meet this need, the academic dean and assessment
coordinator have attended an assessment workshop tailored to tribal colleges.
Additionally, the new assessment coordinator, because of her knowledge of the
diversity of assessment strategies at the program outcome level, will be able to
assist programs to select multiple measures that demonstrate student learning
and program outcomes.
Some educational programs and other courses of study are
grant-funded. This provides an opportunity to integrate grant objectives into
the assessment plan and thusly, by conducting assessment of student outcomes,
the grant report can also incorporate these results.
According to the LCOOCC mission statement, the college will “provide opportunities for individual self-improvement in a rapidly changing technical world.” In the latest academic catalog, many programs of study list employer expectations that articulate current skills needed for success. In addition to academic outcomes, employer expectations may have some influence in forming the matrix of program assessment.
In summary, program outcome assessment had been one of the primary areas of concern in the 1999 Plan. Some programs have well-conceived outcomes, objectives and assessment strategies while others have not articulated outcomes or objectives. The current academic catalog has many degree programs with lists of employer expectations. These expectations could frame future discussions of program outcomes within the context of the College’s Mission and Philosophy, if they have not already. Opportunities exist to study program assessment strategies at other colleges with similar missions and to utilize some of the evaluation requirements of grant-funded initiatives.