Managing Assessment Presented by Dr Jodi Levine Laufgraben

Managing Assessment Presented by: Dr. Jodi Levine Laufgraben Dr. Stephanie Grace Schull Temple University

Goals for this session Discuss challenges of beginning, sustaining, and enhancing outcomes assessment plans Present a model for managing assessment Consider ways to improve assessment management on your campus

Temple Assessment Model Set strategic goals and measurable objectives Use results to improve programs and procedures; modify goals and objectives as needed Construct performance reports on goals and objectives Design and implement programs and procedures to carry out goals Collect and analyze data to assess performance on goals and objectives

Managing Assessment at Temple Determine purpose and goals for assessment efforts Share assessment stories and examples of improvement Encourage analysis and use of data Ask where assessment occurs Support assessment activity

Where is the leverage? What is motivating assessment activity? Where is support for assessment? What resources are available? Who is “in charge”? What are the consequences of not doing it well?

Assessment Cast of Characters at Temple University Administrators and Administrative Offices Faculty School/College Provost Deputy Provost Associate Vice Provost Coordinator of Undergraduate Assessment Institutional Research Measurement and Research Office Teaching and Learning Center Deans Associate Deans Assessment Coordinators (School/College) Department Chairs Faculty Assessment Designees

Determine Purpose and Goals for Assessment Efforts What it should be What it often is Demonstrating what we do well Regional accreditation Identifying ways we can do better Specialized accreditation Learning about student experiences Accountability measures Framing how we talk about student success

Ask Where Assessment Occurs � Audit of assessment activity ◦ What do programs already assess? ◦ How do they report and share information? ◦ How is assessment used for improvement? � Define ◦ ◦ ◦ the assessment “units of analysis” College Department Degree Track within a degree All of the above � Looking at the curriculum ◦ Curriculum Maps ◦ Outline of requirements (how students move through the program)

Support Assessment Activity Pace Yourself • Give manageable tasks that build slowly over time • Set clear expectations and timelines • Build a network of assessment liaisons Use Technology Creatively • Provide technology for those who want to improve assessment tools and their deployment • Offer workshops and webinars on assessment methods Talk to People • Meet with members of the assessment community in a variety of formats: big events, medium-sized conferences, and one-on-one consulting • Advertise a regular time every week when people can drop by with assessment questions.

Encourage Analysis and Use of Data Clearly emphasize the “description of findings” and the “change as a result of what was learned” in forms that are used to collect assessment. • The assessment cycle is really a story, or narrative, of program change—keep the focus on the telling of a story to ease anxiety. Remind faculty that assessment and improvement effort will provide valuable evidence at the time of periodic program review. • Collaborate with an office of measurement or institutional research that can be a resource for those who have data, but who are not sure how to look at it.

Share Assessment Stories and Examples of Improvement • Series of working sessions to develop an improvement project • Degree program leaders and student services administrators exchanged stories about their projects Summer Workshop Assessment Committee Workgroup Meetings (Associate Deans ) • Monthly presentations of exemplary assessment by school administrators and their faculty • Institution-wide website that is used for reporting assessment data is also a library of assessment cycle reports and assessment tools that coordinators can access and contribute to Website

Recommended Structures to Support Assessment and Reporting Establish an assessment liaison/coordinator in each college, in each department, and in each program Assessment audit to find baseline Make assessment a centerpiece of internal review processes, such as Periodic Program Review, as well as accreditation Tie yearly program assessment reports that demonstrate improvement projects to budget and planning Officially recognize and publicize the work of those who use assessment data to create change

Office of the Deputy Provost at Temple University Jodi Levine Laufgraben Stephanie Grace Schull • 401 Conwell Hall • 1801 N. Broad Street • Philadelphia, PA 19122 • (215) 204 -8873 • Fax: (215) 204 -4609 • Associate Vice Provost and • Director, Periodic Program Review • (215) 204 -7423 • jodih@temple. edu • Coordinator of Undergraduate Assessment • (215) 204 -8725 • schull@temple. edu Visit our website www. temple. edu/deputyprovost/other_accrediting/assessment. html