Lisa Heelan, MSN, FNP-BC, ANP-BC
Spring 2012
“Were all instructors to realize that the quality of mental process, not
the production of correct answers, is the measure of educative growth,
something hardly less than a revolution in teaching would be worked.”
― John Dewey
Democracy and Education, 1916
OUTCOMES IN HIGHER EDUCATION OVERVIEW
o College remains a near universal aspiration
for parents of children under the age of 17
(Pew Report, 2011)
o The cost of tuition has tripled at private and
public higher education institutions since
1980 (Pew Report, 2011)
o For profit universities feel that colleges in
the US offer less value for the money spent
than they did 10 years ago (Pew Report,
2011)
o 57% of Americans say the higher education
system in the United States fails to provide
good value for the money students and their
families spend (Pew Report, 2011)
Is College Worth It? - Page 2 | Pew Social &
Demographic Trends
Voluntary System of Accountability
o Proposed by the American Association of State Colleges and
Universities and The Association of Public and Land Grant
Universities in 2007
o Allows institutions to present standardized information about
their students and learning outcomes
o Critical thinking and written communication selected as core
learning outcomes
o CAAP | CAAP and the Voluntary System of Accountability
(VSA) | ACT
Liu, 2011
Current Challenges in Outcomes Assessment
1. Relating scores on standardized tests with other indicators of
success following a college education
2. Determining how much an institution is accountable for the change
in student test scores
3. The 3 tests differ in item format
4. Cross-sectional designs versus longitudinal studies
5. Motivated students versus unmotivated students
6. Comparing apples to oranges and determining value
Liu, 2011
R
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M
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N
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A
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1. More research is needed to assess if there is a correlation between
high scores on standardized tests, and one’s successful contribution to
society’s greater good?
2. Implement a motivation scale to identify low motivation students, and
see if there is a correlation between low motivation and the dropout
rate.
REFERENCES
Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP). (2011). CAAP and the
Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA). Retrieved from
http://www.act.org/caap/vsa.html
Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education. The Macmillan Company. Retrieved from
www.ilt.columbia.edu/publications/dewey.html
Liu, O.L. (2011). Outcomes assessment in higher education: Challenges and future
research in the context of voluntary system of accountability. Educational
Measurement: Issues and Practice, 30(3), 2-9.
Pew Research Center. (2011). Is college worth it? Retrieved from
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1993/survey-is-college-degree-worth-cost-debt-collegepresidents-higher-education-system