THE FUTURE OF STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT WITHIN THE VSA

North East Association for Institutional ResearchBethesda, Maryland ▪ November 3-6, 2012

Christine KellerVSA Executive Director

Teri Lyn HindsVSA Associate Director

PRESENTATION OUTLINE

• Review original goals of VSA, student learning outcomes pilot project

• Discuss selected findings, recommendations from NILOA evaluation of SLO Pilot

• Describe use of evaluation results: technical work group, communications advisory group

• Outline next steps for VSA: wrap up pilot, new reporting options, refocus/rebranding

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

BACKGROUND• VSA developed, launched in 2007• Sponsored by APLU and AASCU• 300+ participating universities• Three original objectives

– Demonstrate accountability, transparency– College search tool– Support innovation in the measurement and

reporting of student learning outcomes

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

EVALUATE EFFECTIVENESS OF PILOT• Conducted by National Institute for

Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA)

– Focus groups

– Interviews

– Surveys

– Google Analytics

– College Portrait statistics

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

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

• 50% of participating institutions have yet to post student learning outcomes information

• The student learning outcomes section of attracts little traffic

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.”

RECOMMENDATIONS

“Mend it, don’t end it”

• Expand range of assessment tools and approaches

• Focus on specific audiences and communicating meaningful information

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

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

Work Group Ratings of Recommended VSA Instruments in Key Areas

Instrument1= lowest rating 10=highest rating

CLA CAAP ETS PP(short form)

ETS PP (long form)

VALUE Rubrics GRE

Allow comparisons, benchmarking across institutions?

6 8 9.5 9.5 6 7

Offer a representative sample? 7 7 7 7 7 2

Usefulness to faculty/students for learning improvement?

inst-2class-7

5 2 2 9 3

Transparency of method, results 6 8 8 8 9 8

External accountability 8 7 7 7 5 5.5

Ease of administration on campus 5 6 7 6 4 9.9

Reasonable costs (time, resources) 5 7 7 6 startup -3 marginal- 8

9

Motivation for students to do well? 3 3 3 3 9 9.9

Likely interest to consumers? 2 2 2 2 5 6

Valid learning outcomes instrument for average student? 5.5 6 6 6 portfolios -9

assign -7 3

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 (currently under review)

• Reporting options: value-added, benchmarking

NEXT STEPS FOR SLO REPORTING• VSA participants describe, publish pilot

project experiences using three part form– Required for institutions with no SLO results

currently published– Strongly encouraged for all institutions– Data entry opens October 3, closes January 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

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.

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

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

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)

MORE INFORMATION

Reports & Presentations www.voluntarysystem.org

Christine Keller, VSA Executive Director ckeller@aplu.org

Teri Hinds, VSA Associate Director thinds@aplu.org