IU South Bend ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE -Annual Report

Presented to the Academic Senate September, 2007

Previous Reports to Academic Senate

IU South Bend ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE 2006/07

A. The IU South Bend Assessment Committee, in existence since 1995, is responsible for promoting, supporting and monitoring departmental assessment programs. The primary activity of the Assessment Committee is the Third Year Assessment Review. These are conducted each spring on a rotating calendar so that each academic program's assessment processes and data are evaluated every third year. The Assessment Committee also requests annual updates from each department, provides grants on a competitive basis, and maintains a website and resource center. The Assessment Committee is currently a joint committee of the Academic Senate and Academic Affairs. Five members are appointed by the Academic Senate and four members by the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. From the membership, the Committee selects a Chair who is appointed by the Vice-Chancellor.

B.
1. Fourteen academic programs presented Third Year Reviews in the spring of 2007.  In each category, the Committee assigned a rubric score based on the following definitions: 1 - Undeveloped, 2 - Developing, 3- Established, and 4- Exemplary. The following categories were evaluated with the resulting average scores: Educational Goals – 3.1, Assessment Techniques - 2.9; Data - 2.2; Analysis - 2.4; Response - 2.4; Constituency Participation - 2.8; and Record Keeping - 2.4. Total scores ranged from 10 to 26.5, with a median score of 18.
A summary table of rubric scores is attached, and available on the assessment committee website.

2. The Assessment Committee distributed $5,500 for four assessment grants during 2006/07.
- Communication Arts will be conducting an alumni survey of communication graduates.
- Sociology will be analyzing pre and post quizzes from the Principles of Sociology course.
-  Criminal Justice will analyze and revise stakeholder surveys for the program
-  The School of Education will be expanding on a previous grant enhancing stakeholder assessment.

3. In order to reflect the changes in assessment philosophy and practice that have evolved in the last decade, the Committee completely revised the plan which directs its activities.   This new document outlines the current structure and activities, and provides a foundation for the Committee’s work in the years to come. 

5.  The assessment committee assisted the General Education taskforce in the complicated task of formulating an assessment system for the decentralized general education courses.  This plan is based on the fundamental literacies identified by campus strategic planning.

6. The Assessment Committee hosted a web seminar, "Getting Started on Student Learning Assessment," on January 17. It was led by Linda Suskie, one of the leaders in the field. Eight people attended.

The Committee also hosted a capstone workshop September 8. The twelve participants learned from the knowledgeable and dynamic leaders, and interacted with each other on philosophical and practical aspects of the academic capstone experience.
7.  In the past year, the assessment committee has provided historical and current information on assessment activities on campus to several of the sub-groups working on the self- study document.  These information requests proved the value of the paper and on-line documentation and records maintained by the assessment committee.
Assessment Evaluation Rubric Results 2006/07

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