Preparing for Assessment
Assessment, like most higher education initiatives, requires
leadership, careful planning, and attention to process. Before plunging
into the implementation of the SPIF/ePortfolio or any international
learning assessment approach, it is advisable to consult some general
resources on good practice in assessment, to develop an understanding of
the institutional context for assessment, to form
a team that includes key administrators and faculty leaders who can
implement the process, and to design
a plan that is attentive to important process and communication
issues.
Situating the work in the larger institutional context for
assessment
What is your institution's history with learning outcomes and
assessment? Taking the time to answer these key questions will improve
your assessment efforts.
- Has your institution been involved in an institution-wide effort to
articulate learning outcomes and assess for them? What was this
experience like?
- What methods of assessing student learning has your institution
implemented in the past? Are they still being used?
- How do you currently assess general education goals? Using what
methods?
- Do certain units have considerable experience with assessment?
- Are there any units that are currently engaged in ePortfolio
work?
To what extent is there an institutional culture and
commitment to assessment?
- Is there infrastructure in place to support assessment?
- Is there an institutional office dedicated to assessment with staff
that communicates with other units on campus? Are there
administrator/faculty coordinators?
- Is there technical support available for electronic assessment
methods? For ePortfolios?
- Is there professional development support available for faculty work
on assessment?
- Are there rewards and recognition systems in place that encourage
assessment?
Has your institution recently gone through a regional
accreditation process?
- What did your institution learn about student learning outcomes and
assessment through this process?
- What changes in how your institution conducts learning outcomes
assessment are you implementing as a result of this process?
- How might you build on this experience?
Please direct questions about this page to:
jill_wisniewski@ace.nche.edu
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This page last updated on: 09/03/2008
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