Preparing for Assessment
External Stakeholders
There may also be external
stakeholders who can provide concrete assistance to the work of a team.
The external stakeholders may include:
| • |
Local and corporate
employers |
| • |
Community members |
| • |
Non-governmental
organizations |
| • |
Local government |
| • |
Alumni faculty |
| • |
Alumni students |
Representatives from local
government, NGOs or corporate employers may be particularly helpful in
the early stages of establishing desired learning outcomes. They might
be invited to participate in a task force and help to clarify in
concrete terms the international knowledge, skills and attitudes desired
from graduates.
Forming a Team
Assessment of learning can be characterized as an ongoing cycle that
involves multiple steps, including:
- Establishing learning outcomes
- Providing learning opportunities
- Implementing assessment methods
- Using the results
For each of these steps, faculty engagement is critical, but there
are other internal and external stakeholders who can contribute
invaluable information to the process. It is important to keep in mind
that this team need not be static, but that rather the team structure
should allow for the team to evolve, expand, or regroup as needed
through the various stages of the process.
When forming a team for international learning outcomes and
assessment, it is helpful to think in terms of building a learning
community. This learning community will likely begin with a core of
internationally oriented faculty and administrators who are engaged and
committed to advancing student learning. Units likely to engage in this
work include:
- Modern language departments
- International and global studies programs
- International certificate programs in diverse departments
- International program and exchange offices
- Student affairs offices (for example, advising offices and student
activities centers)
Teams benefit from the participation of faculty and administrators
who are clear about institutional processes, for example, faculty on
curriculum or general education committees and administrators from the
chief academic officer's or dean's offices. Those who have had prior
experience with implementing assessment, such as directors of assessment
or institutional planning, help to complete the team. It is best to not
assume that these faculty and staff members already know each other
well, but rather to allow time for team building and development of
appreciation for each others areas of international expertise and their
collective knowledge of assessment.
Building Capacity
Work on assessment has evolved over the years with the development of
principles of good practice and assessment methods to support
institutions in their efforts to assess general education and more
specific disciplinary programs. While these methods may not explicitly
address international learning, they present models that might be
adapted.
Principles of good practice and competencies critical for effective
implementation of assessment are addressed at conferences or institutes
that administrators and faculty members engaged in international
learning can attend to develop their knowledge and expertise on
assessment. Those involved in international learning can benefit from
such venues to learn how to build upon and integrate their work on
assessing international learning with other institution-wide assessment
initiatives. In addition, regional accreditors often sponsor annual
conferences that emphasize assessment. Contact your regional accreditors
for more information.
Please direct questions about this page to:
international@ace.nche.edu
This page last updated on: 09/03/2008
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