OSU Student Affairs Assessment Council
Minutes
August 22, 2012
Attendance: Rebecca Sanderson, Kami Hammerschmith, Rick DeBellis, Gus Bedwell, Tom Watts,
Pat Ketcham, Tina Clawson, Carrie Giese, Melissa Yamamoto, Carolyn Killefer, Doug Severs,
Ozge Akcali, Jeff Kenney
1. Revisions of the Assessment Plan/Report process—update
As promised, Rebecca developed a revised Assessment Report review process trying to
take into account all the feedback/suggestions from previous meetings. The revised
process is contained at the end of the minutes. Overall, several changes were made.
These included:
 Tenor of meeting should be one of give and take and consultation rather than
evaluation.
 Review of only the Assessment Report (if units wanted their plan reviewed or
wanted help with their plan they could request that from the reviewers).
 Units are asked to present their plan to reviewers and comment on what they
want some help on specifically.
 An agenda for the meeting/suggested questions to prompt conversation
provided
 Asking for a commitment from the unit to what they will do in the coming year to
improve their assessment work/report and documenting that.
Since this was only a draft, the group had some suggestions or ideas for things they
would like to include in the process for clarification. These included:
a.
b.
c.
d.
How is feedback provided back to Rebecca and Maureen?
Do we still use the rubric?
Could we have a flow chart to see how it would go?
Should we say something about who should be in attendance at the review? Might
be good to require department heads to be there?
Rebecca indicated that she would make those changes and send it out to the group
prior to our next meeting.
2. Campus Labs log-ins
Campus Labs is changing our login procedure for both baseline (survey tool) and
compliance assist. It is a three phase process. First we will be able to login to baseline
using our onid credentials. Go to the website https://oregonstate.campuslabs.com and then
use your onid credentials to login. You will get to a campus labs screen that will have
baseline access.
The second phase will be to get compliance assist logins the same way and the third phase
will be to join them so that when we login we will see the modules each of us has access to.
All of this will be happening from now until sometime in October. Emails will be sent out as
things change.
3. 2012-13 Schedule approval
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Maureen asked that the Council review the meeting schedule and when the various
educational sessions will be conducted. The Council said that it looked fine and that the
topic areas looked good as well. There was also some interest from new members to have
some more basic educational opportunities around how to write learning outcomes, how to
move from operational outcomes to learning outcomes, and how to sustain the effort. For
example the year starts with good intentions of doing assessment but it always is pushed to
the background once students get here. How do we keep it in the forefront?
4. Tentative Training & Development Meeting topics:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Methodology
Software Updates & Tips for Reviews
Data Analysis
Reporting Results: Describing Data
Decisions Made: Closing the Loop
i. We have 2 more days available for T&D; are there any topics you REALLY
want to see covered? Perhaps a session that is more focused on information
for beginners? If you think of anything, e-mail Maureen
([email protected]).
ii. Do you have any big questions around any of the topics above? If so, it
would be helpful for the trainer to know in advance. If you think of anything,
e-mail Maureen.
Overall the group liked the topic areas. Several of the new members wondered about
maybe having some sessions (not necessarily at Assessment Council times) for them to
address some of the beginning issues like:
 Information for beginners
 Shifting from operational to learning outcomes
 Sustaining the effort/keeping it simple enough to do but also meaningful
 Tools available to us—examples of rubrics, tales of success and ideas from
experienced folks.
5. Update on Analytics
Rebecca updated folks on the analytics conversations and planned discussion in SALT.
She also indicated that she would provide links to some webinars about academic analytics
that council members could watch. This link will be sent out today to all council members.
The next meeting is scheduled for the MU Council Room.
Next Meeting:
September 12, 2012
9:00 am-10:30 am
MU Council Room
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DRAFT
Consultation Process for Assessment Reports in the Division of Student Affairs
Purpose
The purpose of the assessment report consultation process is to assist departments and units in
developing, refining and better reporting the outcomes of their work. We consider this a
conversation meant to help clarify and improve the assessment work in the Division of Student
Affairs.
Rationale for Assessment Report Consultation Process
The review of unit’s assessment plan and report has been altered in order to provide a more
targeted consultation with units and departments as well as to help units and departments make
updates and changes in assessment plans based upon the consultation concerning their
assessment reports.
The new Assessment Report Consultation Process has two goals:
1. To meet individual units at their level of knowledge and skill in order to help them progress,
in reasonable steps, in the area of assessment. Units within the division are at various
stages in their development of a unit culture of inquiry which includes documenting that
journey and its outcomes.
2. To make the best use of time for unit representatives and assessment council consultants.
Some units may need more consultation than others in order to progress.
Consultation Process
1. All units will submit annual assessment reports in Compliance Assist during one of two time
periods:
a.
Units will choose either September 15-20 or January 15-20 to submit reports
b.
Each unit will provide Maureen Cochran with notification of which date the unit is
going to use for their report submission date (September or January). This is
due to Maureen by August 30 so that there is sufficient time to schedule
consultants and so that we know which areas of Compliance Assist to monitor.
c.
Assessment reports submitted at other times may not be reviewed in order to be
respectful of assessment council consultant’s time and other commitments.
Units will however be responsible for continuing to improve their assessment
plans and reports.
2. The reports are the documentation of full-cycle assessment. These reports contain the
mission, goals, outcomes, methodology for assessing each outcome, results (making
meaning), and decisions/recommendations/actions taken based upon the results.
3. For those departments who would like additional help in developing their assessment plan for
the coming year, assessment council members can serve as consultants for plan development.
This is done in order to aid units in acting on suggestions for improvement discussed in the
meeting.
4. Assessment report consultants will read through the reports and note suggestions on the report
rubric as in previous years.
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5. Consultants will agree on the major points to be discussed at the meeting with the unit and they
will set up a time to meet with the unit representatives.
6. Unit’s whose report is being discussed will present their report, significant findings and
decisions made using the results at the time of the review. This should also include any
questions or issues that are of concern upon which the unit would like some feedback or help.
7. Reviewers will document their conversations with units and the steps that the unit agrees to
engage in for the next year.
8. If a unit wants further consultation on how to further develop or refine their plan for the coming
year, the consultants can assist with this as well. The requesting department is responsible for
setting up the consultation follow-up meeting about plan improvement.
Agenda for the Assessment Report Consultation Meeting
1. The Unit whose report is being reviewed will provide an oral report/overview of their
assessment report along with any questions or issues upon which they would like feedback.
The oral presentation will address the following questions:
a. What question or questions was/were your assessment designed to answer? What did
you want to learn from your assessment?
b. To what degree did your results provide you with information to answer the question
you had?
c. What specific findings helped you to make a decision, alter a program or teaching
method, etc.?
d. How did you use the information? What actions were taken? Who will you share this
information with and how?
e. What if anything would you do differently next time?
2. The consultants will provide observations, suggestions and clarification around those issues
that are of primary importance to the unit.
3. Additionally the consultants will offer suggestions which may aid in improving the level of the
understanding or clarity of the report.
4. The meeting concludes with an agreement on what updates/changes or areas to be worked on
in the following assessment year. Consultants document the agreed upon steps or areas for
work in the coming year and post the rubric and meeting notes in Compliance Assist and notify
Maureen Cochran when this is completed.
Responsibility of Consultants
Reviewers will arrange the meeting after they have reviewed the assessment report and will
facilitate the conversation during the review. The purpose of the review is to aid units in
developing and documenting a process and the outcomes of that process. Decisions should be
clearly documented and relate back to the data that was collected and the meaning that the unit
made of that data. The rubric and meeting notes will be posted on Compliance Assist after the
review consultation has occurred.
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The reporting of data is necessary but not sufficient in the assessment process. An evaluation of
the data and its usefulness in helping to answer the question or measure the degree to which an
outcome was met is essential.
Help units to evaluate what they have done via reflection and purposeful thought about how it
could be improved in the next iteration. Praise areas of strength and ponder issues that are a
struggle. Think with the department not for them.
Responsibility of Units/Departments
Units/departments are responsible for engaging in the assessment process and the review of their
work. This includes submitting reports in a timely manner in Compliance Assist so that they can be
reviewed in either September/October or January/February.
The assessment council reviewers will set up a day and time to come to the unit/department to
discuss the assessment report. At that meeting the unit/department head and any other people the
assessment contact invites will be present. The unit/department will be asked to present their
assessment work, addressing the points listed on the previous page under “Agenda for the
Assessment Report Consultation Meeting.”
This is intended to be an intentional conversation about the work of the unit/department and how
the assessment council members can be helpful in answering questions, offering suggestions, etc.
related to the assessment work.
One of the goals of this meeting is to come up with a plan for improvement in the assessment
work. The “plan” must be able to be implemented thus the unit/department and the reviewers
should come to some agreement about what is feasible/realistic. The assessment work is a
process that must consider resources, expertise, etc. knowing that not all units will progress at the
same rate.
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Department/Unit Name:
Date of Consultation:
Names of Consultants:
Department/Unit Representatives in Attendance:
Outline: Agenda for the Assessment Report
Consultation Meeting
I.
Introductions and Purpose of the meeting
a. Personal Introductions
b. Set the tone as a meeting with a purpose but also the conversational nature of
the meeting and the clear offer of help
c. Peer to peer consultation on assessment work
d. Frame the time available (typically 1 hour) and that if additional meetings are
needed, that they can be scheduled at the end of the meeting
II.
Ask the unit what questions they would like to address first or how they thought
their assessment process went this year
a. Note these.
III.
Presentation of Assessment Report by Unit (brief—no more than 20 minutes)
a. Brief presentation of the report addressing the 5 questions
b. Addition of any other questions or concerns of the unit/department
c. Complement them on their work
1. What question or questions was/were your assessment designed to answer?
What did you want to learn from your assessment?
2. To what degree did your results provide you with information to answer the
question you had?
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3. What specific findings helped you to make a decision, alter a program or
teaching method, etc.?
4. How did you use the information? What actions were taken? Who will you share
this information with and how?
5. What if anything would you do differently next time?
IV.
Respond to the units questions/concerns and/or major areas that you believe
would make a difference in their report.
a. This is a give and take conversation that is up to the consultants how they
proceed in helping the unit move forward. Again, think with the unit and not for
them. Suggestions, ideas, etc. are fine but also help them to think about how an
improvement might occur.
V.
Near the end of the meeting aid the unit/department in planning next steps. What
will they do to improve their assessment work in the next iteration?
a. Write this down as we will send it back to them after the review notes are posted
in Compliance Assist and Maureen is notified.
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VI.
Closing Remarks: What happens next??
If you would like further consultation or help in implementing some of the improvements
in your next assessment plan we are willing to help. Please let us know and offer some
times/place, etc. for this meeting. It is probably better to meet sooner rather than later
for this next consultation.
We post copies of our comments and agreed upon next steps on Compliance Assist
under your department/unit name. These are kept on file to refer to throughout the year
and again at next year’s consultation meeting. A summary report is provided to Dr. Larry
Roper, Vice Provost for Student Affairs regarding each department/unit’s status
concerning assessment.
Thank you for taking your time to meet with us and to work on assessment for
continuous improvement in your unit.
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