What Does Middle States Want?

Linda Suskie, Vice PresidentMiddle States Commission on Higher Education

3624 Market Street, Philadelphia PA 19104Web: www.msche.org E-mail: LSuskie@msche.org

MSCHE Student Learning Assessment Institute

September 2009

What Should You Document?

• Clear statements of goals

• Organized, sustained assessment process– Principles, guidelines, support

– What assessments are already underway

– What assessments are planned, when, & how

• Assessment results documenting progress toward accomplishing goals

• How results have been used for improvement

How Might You Document This?

• Need not be a fancy bound document!

• Need not be in a consistent format or single repository

• An overview in the report to MSCHE

• A chart or “roadmap” in the report to MSCHE or an appendix

• More thorough information in the on-site “resource room,” online, and/or burned onto CD

• A few samples of student work

– Exemplary, adequate, inadequate

Tell a story.

• Key questions to address:

– What have you learned about student learning?

– What are you doing about what you have learned?

– When, where, and how are you doing it?

• Focus on “big news.”

– Identify meaningful vs. insignificant differences.

Questions an MSCHE Reviewer Might

Ask

Used

Cost effective

Reasonably accurate &

truthful results

Clear & important

goals

Is the Institution Engaged in “Good” Assessment?

Valued

Goals Assessments Improvements

For Each Goal…

• How is the goal being assessed?

• What are the results of those assessments?

• How have those results been used for improvement?

Do Institutional Leaders Support and Value a Culture of

Assessment?

• Is there adequate support for assessment?– Overall guidance, coordination, resources

• Are assessment efforts recognized & valued?

• Are efforts to improve teaching recognized & valued?

How Much Has Been Implemented?

• Are there any missing pieces?

What Do Assessment Results Tell Us?

• Do results demonstrate…

– Achievement of mission and goals?

– Sufficient academic rigor?

Have Assessment Results Been Used?

• Have they been appropriately shared & discussed?

• Have they led to appropriate decisions?

– Curricula and pedagogy

– Programs and services

– Resource allocation

– Institutional goals and plans

Is the Process Sustainable?

• Simple

• Practical

• Detailed

• Ownership

• Appropriate timelines

Where is the Institution Going with Assessment?

• Will momentum slow after this review?

• What Commission action will most help the institution keep moving?

Five “Rules” for Assessment

1. Keep it useful.

2. Tie assessments to important goals.

3. For student learning, include some “direct” evidence.

4. Use multiple measures.

5. Keep doing something everywhere, every year.

Encourage Volunteers for Middle States Evaluation

Teams!• We need:

– Presidents– Provosts– Finance VPs– Assessment coordinators– Online learning– General education– Every academic discipline– Planning– Institutional research– Everything else!

• To volunteer:– Have your resume

handy– Go to www.msche.org– Click on “Evaluators”