What can SACs assess?

SACs (both CTE and LDC) can assess a learning outcome of their choice (for example, a program outcome, course level outcome or GenEd outcome). SACs who have carried out an assessment and would like to take a year to make significant changes to teaching and learning supports, can opt for the Integration Year plan and report. See this short Assessment Survival Guide for an overview of learning assessment and the Learning Assessment FAQ for more detailed information.

Assessment Reporting Templates and Process

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Templates for Assessment Reporting

CTE Templates

• CTE Customized Multi-Year Plan (MYP) - custom templates will be sent to CTE SAC chairs in October
• CTE Customized Summary Data Report (SDR) - this add-on to the customized MYPs will be sent to SAC chairs in January  
  
• CTE Annual Assessment Report Template (also used for Reassessments)--provides details of one of the assessments included in the SDR

Integration Year: In 2021-2022, the LAC developed a pilot project to encourage SACs to take a year between assessment and reassessment to make significant changes to teaching and learning support. SACs will have the opportunity to do an Integration Year in 2022-23 as well - this would be in lieu of an annual assessment project (not in addition to). See additional informational materials below if you are interested in the pilot integration project.

• Overview document: This short introduction to the integration year offers context for the intention of the integration year, as well as some basics around the process.
• Slides with links from an information session held on October 18, 2021.
• Brief video recording of the October 18 session. We only recorded the presentation portion of the session and kept Q&A out of the recording. We will provide some FAQ here soon.
• PILOT Integration Year Report Template

LDC-DE Templates

• LDC-DE Combined Assessment/re- Assessment Plan ( and Report Form (also used for Reassessments) Form: this form will be used regardless of whether your SAC is doing an assessment or reassessment.

Integration Year: In 2021-2022, the LAC developed a pilot project to encourage SACs to take a year between assessment and reassessment to make significant changes to teaching and learning support. SACs will have the opportunity to do an Integration Year in 2022-23 as well - this would be in lieu of an annual assessment project (not in addition to). See additional informational materials below if you are interested in the pilot integration project.

• Overview document: This short introduction to the integration year offers context for the intention of the integration year, as well as some basics around the process.
• Slides with links from an information session held on October 18, 2021.
• Brief video recording of the October 18 session. We only recorded the presentation portion of the session and kept Q&A out of the recording. We will provide some FAQ here soon.
• PILOT Integration Year Report Template

Help, Training Resources, and Informational Tools Developed by LAC

• LDC-DE Assessment Help Document (revised fall 2021)
  

• CTE Assessment Help Document (2021)
• Learning Assessment at PCC online course modules are now live!
  • Go to https://tinyurl.com/pcclearningassessment to connect with all the materials
    
• Assessment Survival Guide:
  • For a condensed version of Module 1 of the Learning Assessment course, take a peek at this Assessment Survival Guide. If you are already somewhat familiar with assessment and just need a few reminders, this might be the best resource.
• Learning Assessment FAQ
  
  • Or try this document, developed by Sara Robertson and LAC Leadership in Fall 2021, for answers to many of your learning assessment questions
• Slides from the 2022 College In-Service presentation
  • Learning Assessment Info Session

Assessment Process & Due Dates

2022-

2023 CTE Expectations

CTE SACs will assess a portion of their degree and certificate* outcomes every year as outlined in their customized Multi-Year Plans (MYP), and will report summary data (on SDR) for all assessments conducted, including focal outcome and outcomes partially- or fully-assessed via TSAs. Each SAC will select one of the outcomes assessed from the SDR and provide a more detailed report of their process and findings on the CTE Annual Assessment Report (form to be linked above). The assessment phase is the initial assessment from which the SAC decides on appropriate responses to the findings, followed by the reassessment phase, which measures the effectiveness of the SAC's response to the initial assessment and, ideally, 'closes the loop.'

CTE assessment coaches can give guidance on filling out the MYP, the SDR, and the LAC focal outcome reporting template.

*The outcomes of all certificates one-year in length or longer, and all degrees, are to be assessed with some regularity. The exception is a department that has no full-year certificates or degrees; in that case, they need to assess the outcomes of their less-than-one-year certificate(s).

Due Dates for CTE 

December 5, 2022, submit to learningassessment@pcc.edu:

• • • Completed 'green' portion of the SAC's Multi-Year Plan

June 23, 2023, submit to learningassessment@pcc.edu:

• • • Completed 'blue' Summary Data portion of SAC's Multi-Year Plan for all outcomes assessed this year
    • Completed CTE Annual Assessment Report and pertinent appendices. These documents will be posted to the public side of Spaces. Please refrain from including the names/IDs of students in, or the faculty teaching, the classes assessed.

2022-

2023 LDC-DE Expectations

LDC-DE SACs conduct and report on one assessment project. SACs are free to assess or reassess outcomes of their choosing. The LAC suggests that the SACs ought to focus on either course-level or program-level outcomes, and, when possible, to focus on highly-enrolled courses.

LDC-DE assessment planning and reporting happens in two phases. For first-time assessments, each SAC will complete the planning portion of the Assessment template in the fall and the end-of-year report (the latter portion of the template) in the spring. When conducting a follow-up assessment (assessing for improvement), SACs will fill out the Reassessment template--with the planning portion still due in the fall and the results portion due in the spring.

SACs are responsible for collecting student artifacts, norming the faculty evaluators, evaluating the artifacts, and, ultimately, analyzing the results of this year's assessment.

Due Dates for LDC-DE

December 5, 2022, submit to learningassessment@pcc.edu:

• • • Planning section of the LAC Assessment/Reassessment template...

June 23, 2023: Assessment findings to be submitted to learningassessment@pcc.edu.

• • • Completed LAC Assessment/Reassessment template (second half of the template submitted in the fall) describing the process and results of this year's assessment and pertinent appendices. These documents will be posted to the public side of Spaces. Please refrain from including the names/IDs of students in, or the faculty teaching, the classes assessed. 
    • If any changes were made to your project, please correct the planning portion of the document before submitting. This may include changes in process and/or completing information that wasn't decided on or available when the planning section of the report was due.

For CTE and LDC SACs doing Integration Year process

• Plan section due by December 5, 2022. This is the first half of the Integration Year Report Template.
• Full report due by June 23, 2023. This is the second half of the Integration Year Report Template.

To submit each phase of the report, please email it to learningassessment@pcc.edu

Summer Peer Review

At the end of each academic year, all completed assessment reports are reviewed by expert faculty peer reviewers, many of which are current members of the Learning Assessment Council. Over the summer the peer reviewers look at the plans, reports, summary data (where appropriate), and other documents submitted by their assigned SACs and critique them using a standard rubric. When the feedback forms have been completed, they are saved as PDFs and made available in September to the respective SACs. This feedback is available to SAC members in a different section of PCC's Spaces. Questions about peer review feedback? Contact Hannah Love, LAC Chair, hannah.love@pcc.edu.

DSAC Rubrics

• PCC Arts & Letters Integrative Learning Rubric, version 2.0
• PCC Science, Computer Science & Math Rubric for Quantitative Reasoning, version 2.5
• PCC Social Science Rubric for Social Analysis and Inquiry, version 2.5
• PCC Cultural Literacy Rubric for Social Justice Outcome, version 3.0

Additional Assessment Resources

Funds for Part-Time Faculty

Each SAC is entitled to up to 10 hours per academic year of paid compensation, at the College's special projects rate, for assessment work carried out by part-time faculty. The funds can be paid to a single person or divided between multiple people working to support their SAC's assessment efforts.

To secure compensation, SAC chairs must contact their SAC's Program Dean with the G number of the faculty member(s) carrying out the work and the number of hours each is to be paid (not to exceed 10 collective hours, of course). 

Assessment Coaching

The PCC Learning Assessment Council (LAC) provides free year-round assessment coaching to all SACs.

LDC-DE Coaches will be available in the fall. If you would like to be connected to an assessment coach or have any questions, please contact:

• Nichole Reding-Hoffart, Academic Support Specialist, 971-722-4555, nichole.reding@pcc.edu
  

CTE Coaches will be assigned in the fall.

General Education and signature assignment coaching is also available through the LAC. If you would like some support in developing your signature assignments, please contact:

• Nichole Reding-Hoffart, Academic Support Specialist, 971-722-4555, nichole.reding@pcc.edu

Professional Development Opportunities 

**LAC Learning Outcome Assessment Class**

Learning Assessment at PCC online course modules: https://tinyurl.com/pcclearningassessment

The first four few modules are now ready for you! These include:

• an Assessment 101 style introductory and fundamentals of assessment course
  
• an introduction to PCC General Education Assessment
• an introduction to transparent assignment design
• a "how to" for developing signature assignments for General Education courses
• a primer on inter-rater reliability and recommendations for norming

The LAC is currently working on several more modules of the Learning Assessment Tutorial. Stay tuned for more great learning opportunities.

SAC Resources Page

This Spaces page is full of links to useful documents, presentations, and videos, many of which relate to assessment. SAC Resources Page

LAC Presentation: Assessment at PCC: These PP slides went along with a presentation by Magda D'Angelis Morris in Fall 2020, connecting the various places in which learning assessment is discussed and implemented throughout PCC.

Upcoming Conferences 

• American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U).
  • Note: PCC is an AAC&U member.
    
• Association for Assessment of Learning in Higher Education's (AALHE) conference.

Library Resources

Other Assessment Resources and Rubrics:

• Assessment Listserve: Subscribe to ASSESS at http://www.coe.uky.edu/lists/helists.php
• The VALUE rubrics developed by the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) are a great resource. Go to the AAC&U web page for detailed information about the rubrics, and click on this link to view the rubrics in a single PDF: VALUE Rubrics [pdf]. Please note, this PDF may not reflect the latest versions of the AAC&U rubrics.
• The Resource page on Institutional Assessment, from the University of Virginia, has great instructions on how to design rubrics for institutional assessment and includes many good examples of rubrics.
• Miami University offers a resource page with many ready-made rubrics, along with instructions and free software for designing your own.
• Comprehensive Collection of all Learning Assessment Resources, compiled by the North Carolina State University Planning and Analysis Department, is a resource list of articles, sites, and forums covering many elements of learning assessment.