NEW ENGLAND COLLEGE:  SAMPLE ASSESSMENT-OUTCOMES PROGRAM MATRICES

In the fall of 2008 the current Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA) charged the Associate Dean of Learning Services to co-ordinate efforts across the college regarding the Assessment of Student Learning, and to work with constituents across the college in re-developing the outcomes-assessment work that was originally initiated in 2002/3.  As a result of this charge NEC has now selected and declared our basic approach to the assessment of student learning to be based on outcomes-assessments. As well, and in response to that decision, the Associate Dean of Learning Services in consultation with the VPAA Council has modified and adapted the original 2002/3 outcomes-assessment documents to better fit the new Mission and Values of the college. As well, the Associate Dean of Learning Services has worked with Chairs, Deans, Program Directors and Faculty to ensure that all academic programs (Graduate Program, Undergraduate Majors, Non-Major Minors, General Education, Writing, Honors, Library, etc.) began work on a new outcomes-assessment matrix during the fall semester of 2008. The new outcomes-assessment matrix asks faculty within each academic program to complete the following steps: 

1) become familiar and identify NEC’s new Mission and Values,
2) determine and identify the academic program’s learning outcomes (the learning outcomes a student who completes the program should be able to demonstrate),
3) integrate and align the program’s learning outcomes with the college’s Values,
4) integrate the college’s Values within all courses (required and elective) in the program, and document the skill levels in meeting the outcomes (elementary skill level, intermediate skill level, and advanced skill level),
5) integrate the program learning outcomes with courses in the program and determine the emphasis in terms of skill levels in meeting the outcomes,
6) complete a shortened version of the NEASC E1a form,
7)list the assessment tools used in evaluating how well students meet specific learning objectives, and then identify which courses  use the specific assessment tools, or if they are whole program assessments, and lastly
8) identify the assessment benchmarks for specific assessment measures and identify possible curricular changes based upon the results.

In looking over the results of our outcomes-assessment matrixes we also see that some of the initial issues we experiences when first initiating the outcomes-assessment work back in 2002/3 have also been resolved. We now seem to have more consistency in terms of programs being able to clearly identify how their outcomes help to fulfill our new Mission and institutional Values. As well, within our programs specific skills now appear to be more appropriately aligned with specific and corresponding course levels, and within graduate programs learning outcomes appear to be clearly built upon the outcomes of the undergraduate programs they are building off.  And just as it appears that most programs have a good balance of direct and indirect evidence as well as quantitative and qualitative measures to demonstrate student learning, it’s also clear that even in such early stages of analyzing our outcomes-assessment matrixes that trends do reveal themselves. (Excerpted from the Fifth-Year Interim Report: Appendix 8: 2008-2009 Report on the Assessment of Learning at NEC, Prepared by Mark Watman, Associate Dean of Learning Services.)

To see sample outcomes-assessment matrices, see the following documents:

New England College Mission Statement, Mission Description and Values, and Vision Statement

Sample Assessment-Outcome Program Matrices-  Department of Art and Art History

Sample Assessment-Outcome Program Matrices-  Department of Theatre