Assessment Newsletter
January-March 2022
Academic
Annual Assessment
- January: Faculty hold spring semester assessment meetings to discuss outcomes from 2021; establish plan for 2022.
- All reflections and recommendations due to be entered into Weave no later than end of spring term.
- Spring data collection process begins.
For more about degree program assessment, including a full calendar of annual assessment tasks, visit the OAIE webpage: Russellville Campus; Ozark Campus
Administrative Units
Annual Assessment:
- 3rd quarter
- January: Outcomes established
- February-March: Discuss and document progress toward outcome achievement
- March 31: Document all quarter results in Weave; Establish continuing or new outcomes for 4th quarter
CAS Self-Assessment
- CAS Class pilot begins January 31
For more about administrative assessment, visit the OAIE webpage: Academic Support Assessment
The OAIE collected data from Weave to report on quantitative and qualitative aspects of academic assessment taking place across the university in 2020. This infographic summarizes those findings. The full 2020 annual assessment report, that was presented to the VPAA and academic deans, included academic degree programs, general education, academic support (administrative), specialized accreditation, and ADHE program reviews. This reporting takes place on an annual basis every September.
Biennially since 2017, ATU has invited it's first-year and senior students to participate in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) which asks about student experiences in and out of the classroom. Engagement indicators such as Learning with Peers, Experiences with Faculty, and Campus Environment, as well as High Impact Practices, are queried. This data is then analyzed and compared with previous year's surveys and with other participating four year colleges and universities (IPEDS). See the ATU 2021 NSSE Pocket Guide for more details. Be on the lookout for presentations on the 2021 findings during the spring 2022 semester.
The OAIE pilated a new form to assist in reviewing assessment projects and provide feedback on how best to support academic programs in their assessment efforts. The focus for 2020 assessment plans was student learning outcomes and assessment practices, the first two sections of the audit form. The audit will expand to review all sections in 2022. See the whole audit form here.
During fall 2021 as part of an initiative to provide more accurate information on student achievement in general education, members of the Gen Ed Committee served as raters for the general education goal of "Apply the Value of Arts and Humanities" in a pilot assessment. A rubric was used to score sample artifacts from multiple courses aligned to the outcome. Results of the asessment are displayed above. Read more about the study and plans for future general education outcomes review here.
The general education goal for Scientific Reasoning was assessed in Fall 2020 and Spring 2021, with four dimenstions examined. The data shows that while there has been slippage in achievement from the Fall 2020 to Spring 2021 administrations (likely attributed to pandemic related issues) the ability a) to formulate reasonable explanations and b) to evaluate experimental design are lagging across the board. Faculty who teach courses assigned to gather data for this GE goal will meet to discuss possible interventions to improve student achievement. Those interventions will then be measured during the next assessment of the Scientific Reasoning goal scheduled to take place in Fall 2023. See the full report on the general education website.
Several members of the Institutional Effectiveness Assessment Committee, along with a few volunteer units from Ozark and Russellville campuses, are participating in a pilot course in Banner this spring semester. The course, or "CAS Class", is designed to guide participants through the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) self-assessment process. Academic support - administrative units - undergo annual assessment processes similar to academic degree programs, and participate in the self-assessment process every 4-6 years using CAS functional area standards.
If you are interested in participating in the pilot beginning January 3 or have questions about academic support assessment, please contact Amanda Gardner, OAIE Assessment Specialist.
Visit this link for more information about ATU Academic Support Assessment.
