Division Council

Present: Nabeel Barakat, Kristi Blackburn, Ivan Clarke, Joy Fisher, Dr. David Humphreys, Jonathon Lee, Lauren McKenzie, Bobby McNeel, Joyce Parker, Luis Rosas, Mark Wood, Brad Young

Absent: Carmen Carrillo, King Carter, Carla Mussa-Muldoon, Dr. Evelyn Portis, Dr. Robert Richards, Stanley Sandell, June Smith, Dr. Ann Tomlinson, Tricia Wickers

The meeting was called to order at 1:35 p.m. in LRC 207.

MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting for November 21, 2007 were approved as presented.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Luis Rosas announced that construction on the new Technology building is still in high gear and may be finished before the Northeast Academic building.

Members of the committee viewed and discussed a PowerPoint presentation entitled, “LA Southwest College: Integrating College-wide Planning Using a Web Based Process.” L.A. Southwest College hired a consultant to help in the design of a web-based program review process.

ACCREDITATION SLO REPORT – UPDATE

Dr. Humphreys introduced a PowerPoint presentation entitled “Outcomes Assessment Plan: Beginning the Dialog” to the committee and prefaced his presentation by stating that what he was putting forth was a continuation of the dialog that has been going on in previous meetings. As he as gone around talking to faculty in different parts of the institution, he has not sensed that there is any sort of coordinated effort to get SLO’s accomplished to the level of which the college needs to have them. His desire was to present something as a discussion piece to begin a conversation and try to move it along so that the college can get to an acceptable level with the assessment of SLO’s.

The following are excerpts of his document:

Assumptions about the Assessment Program at L.A. Harbor College

1. There must be significant faculty involvement in determining the items to be assessed and the form of the evaluation.
2. Any assessment program must be an on-going program and not a single effort to meet outside pressures.
3. The goal of the assessment program will be continuous improvement of educational quality at LAHC.
4. Our approach to assessment does not assume that there must be added layers of standardized instruments; rather, we assume that in some instances a discipline may meet the WASC requirement by strengthening existing forms of assessment (for example, outside licensure, agreement on grading standards, etc.) or by exploring a variety of ancillary assessment measures.

Assessment versus Evaluation:

Evaluation is gate keeping, it is grading, it is determining whether this individual student measured up to the outcomes of the course and how am I going to assign a grade. Assessment, on the other hand, is a more aggregated approach to student success in the course, class or program. It is not looking at individual faculty performance or individual student performance. It is taking a look at whether or not in that course or program students have achieved the results and how do I then improve instruction in order to improve what they have learned.

The results of the student outcomes assessment program should not be used to evaluate individual students or faculty. When care is not taken to distinguish between student outcomes assessment and individual faculty evaluation, there is the potential that the student outcomes assessment process may be compromised as faculty might become more concerned with their own evaluation rather than with program evaluation. There is, however, the responsibility of faculty to participate in the assessment of student learning outcomes at both the course, program, and institutional levels.

WASC Standard II:

The institution offers high quality instructional programs in recognized and emerging fields of study that culminate in identified student outcomes leading to degrees, certificates, employment, or transfer to other higher education institutions or programs consistent with its mission. Instructional programs are systematically assessed in order to assure currency, improve teaching and learning strategies, and achieve stated student learning outcomes. The provisions of this standard are broadly applicable to all instructional activities offered in the name of the institution.

 

A. Instructional Programs

The institution offers high quality instructional programs in recognized and emerging fields of study that culminate in identified student outcomes leading to degrees, certificates, employment, or transfer to other higher education institutions or programs consistent with its mission. Instructional programs are systematically assessed in order to assure currency, improve teaching and learning strategies, and achieve stated student learning outcomes. The provisions of this standard are broadly applicable to all instructional activities offered in the name of the institution.

1. The institution demonstrates that all instructional programs, regardless of location or means of delivery, address and meet the mission of the institution and uphold its integrity.

a. The institution identifies and seeks to meet the varied educational needs of its students through programs consistent with their educational preparation and the diversity, demographics, and economy of its communities. The institution relies upon research and analysis to identify student learning needs and to assess progress toward achieving stated learning outcomes.

b. The institution utilizes delivery systems and modes of instruction compatible with the objectives of the curriculum and appropriate to the current and future needs of its students.

c. The institution identifies student learning outcomes for courses, programs, certificates, and degrees; assesses student achievement of those outcomes; and uses assessment results to make improvements.

2. The institution assures the quality and improvement of all instructional courses and programs offered in the name of the institution, including collegiate, developmental, and pre-collegiate courses and programs, continuing and community education, study abroad, short-term training courses and programs, programs for international students, and contract or other special programs, regardless of type of credit awarded, delivery mode, or location.1. 2

a. The institution uses established procedures to design, identify learning outcomes for, approve, administer, deliver, and evaluate courses and programs. The institution recognizes the central role of its faculty for establishing quality and improving instructional courses and programs.

b. The institution relies on faculty expertise and the assistance of advisory committees when appropriate to identify competency levels and measurable student learning outcomes for courses, certificates, programs including general and vocational education, and degrees. The institution regularly assesses student progress towards achieving those outcomes.

c. High-quality instruction and appropriate breadth, depth, rigor, sequencing, time to completion, and synthesis of learning characterize all programs.

d. The institution uses delivery modes and teaching methodologies that reflect the diverse needs and learning styles of its students.1

e. The institution evaluates all courses and programs through an on-going systematic review of their relevance, appropriateness, achievement of learning outcomes, currency, and future needs and plans.

f. The institution engages in ongoing, systematic evaluation and integrated planning to assure currency and measure achievement of its stated student learning outcomes for courses, certificates, programs including general and vocational education, and degrees. The institution systematically strives to improve those outcomes and makes the results available to appropriate constituencies.

g. If an institution uses departmental course and/or program examinations, it validates their effectiveness in measuring student learning and minimizes test biases.

h. The institution awards credit based on student achievement of the course's stated learning outcomes. Units of credit awarded are consistent with institutional policies that reflect generally accepted norms or equivalencies in higher education.

i. The institution awards degrees and certificates based on student achievement of a program's stated learning outcomes.

3. The institution requires of all academic and vocational degree programs a component of general education based on a carefully considered philosophy that is clearly stated in its catalog. The institution, relying on the expertise of its faculty, determines the appropriateness of each course for inclusion in the general education curriculum by examining the stated learning outcomes for the course.

General education has comprehensive learning outcomes for the students who complete it, including the following:

a. An understanding of the basic content and methodology of the major areas of knowledge: areas include the humanities and fine arts, the natural sciences, and the social sciences.

b. A capability to be a productive individual and life long learner: skills include oral and written communication, information competency, computer literacy, scientific and quantitative reasoning, critic

c. A recognition of what it means to be an ethical human being and effective citizen: qualities include an appreciation of ethical principles; civility and interpersonal skills; respect for cultural diversity; historical and aesthetic sensitivity; and the willingness to assume civic, political, and social responsibilities locally, nationally, and globally.

4. All degree programs include focused study in at least one area of inquiry or in an established interdisciplinary core.

5. Students completing vocational and occupational certificates and degrees demonstrate technical and professional competencies that meet employment and other applicable standards and are prepared for external licensure and certification.

6. The institution assures that students and prospective students receive clear and accurate information about educational courses and programs and transfer policies. The institution describes its degrees and certificates in terms of their purpose, content, course requirements, and expected student learning outcomes. In every class section students receive a course syllabus that specifies learning objectives consistent with those in the institution's officially approved course outline.

a. The institution makes available to its students clearly stated transfer-of-credit policies in order to facilitate the mobility of students without penalty. In accepting transfer credits to

fulfill degree requirements, the institution certifies that the expected learning outcomes for transferred courses are comparable to the learning outcomes of its own courses. Where patterns of student enrollment between institutions are identified, the institution develops articulation agreements as appropriate to its mission.

b. When programs are eliminated or program requirements are significantly changed, the institution makes appropriate arrangements so that enrolled students may complete their education in a timely manner with a minimum of disruption.³

c. The institution represents itself clearly, accurately, and consistently to prospective and current students, the public, and its personnel through its catalogs, statements, and publications, including those presented in electronic formats. It regularly reviews institutional policies, procedures, and publications to assure integrity in all representations about its mission, programs, and services.

7 In order to assure the academic integrity of the teaching-learning process, the institution uses and makes public governing board­-adopted policies on academic freedom and responsibility, student academic honesty, and specific institutional beliefs or worldviews. These policies make clear the institution's commitment to the free pursuit and dissemination of knowledge.

a. Faculty distinguish between personal conviction and professionally accepted views in a discipline. They present data and information fairly and objectively.

b. The institution establishes and publishes clear expectations concerning student academic honesty and the consequences for dishonesty.

c. Institutions that require conformity to specific codes of conduct of staff, faculty, administrators, or students, or that seek to instill specific beliefs or worldviews, give clear prior notice of such policies, including statements in the catalog and/or appropriate faculty or student handbooks.

8. Institutions offering curricula in foreign locations to students other than U.S. nationals operate in conformity with standards and applicable Commission policies.²

 

Institutional Learning Outcomes:

It is easy to see that there are learning outcomes unique to an individual class session, a course, or program. There are, however, learning outcomes at the institutional level. Los Angeles Harbor College is a community college, and as such, reflects the needs and interests of a wide variety of students. Some are attending with the intent to transfer to a four-year institution, some are seeking vocational skills and employability, some are attending for reasons of personal fulfillment. Institutional learning outcomes are those outcomes that we expect regardless of the student’s motivation or length of stay at the institution.

On the first face of it, the institutional learning outcomes will look very much like the general education requirements for all students receiving the associate of arts degree. Harbor College has identified the following general education requirements:

• the ability to think and to communicate clearly and effectively both orally and in writing;
• the ability to use mathematics;
• the ability to understand the modes of inquiry of the major disciplines;
• the ability to be aware of other cultures and times;
• the ability to achieve insights gained through experience in thinking about ethical problems
• the ability to develop the capacity for self-understanding.

There will, no doubt, be overlap between the institutional learning outcomes and the general education requirements. However, the institutional learning outcomes include the knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes that students are expected to develop as a result of their overall experiences with any aspect of the college, including courses, programs, and student services. LA Harbor has identified the following as its Institutional Learning Outcomes:

Effective Communication Skills: to interpret content, compose thoughts, ideas and information, to articulate clearly, to develop critical listening and appropriate responses

Critical Thinking and Problem-solving: to understand inquiry, demonstrate flexible thinking, differentiate facts from opinions and emotions, use evidence and reasoning, analyze and solve numerical concepts

Appreciation of Cultural Diversity, Global Awareness, and Aesthetics: to show tolerance and respect for cultural diversity, understand cultural significance, recognize global interdependence, appreciate how the arts enrich human experience

Personal, Professional and Civic Responsibility: clear sense of self, respect, honesty and integrity, assess one's ability, take responsibility for realistic goal setting and actions, plan for well-being and success, make ethical decisions, demonstrate professional values, implement successful plans, work effectively with others, meet deadlines, adapt to change, participate and contribute to the community

Information Management and Technological Competence: identify and define information and use appropriate information resources to match needs. Evaluate and apply relevant, valid and reliable information. Understand implications and use appropriate technology applications

The College makes certain that these outcomes are addressed in the courses it offers across the curriculum.

Reporting of Assessment Results: Completing the Cycle

The assessment of student learning outcomes is not merely a one-time event; it is an iterative process over time in which small changes make a significant difference. The analysis of these results provides a climate of evidence for the improvement of instruction. The form on the following page provides a consistent means of reporting the results of these assessments across the college.

The Western Association of Schools and Colleges has made it very clear in the wording of Standard Two that assessment does not end with a collection of data or even its analysis. The accrediting agency requires evidence that the data be used for the improvement of student learning. Once the data have been collected, they must be fed back into the institutional processes which support the educational endeavor: the budget process, the faculty hiring process, and equipment prioritization process. It should find a rightful place not only in program review but in the individual unit plans. Please see the model on page following the form.

The college should create a central repository in the Office of Academic Affairs to house the assessment results and analysis for each discipline. This central repository will facilitate reporting to the Western Association Schools and Colleges as required in the accreditation standards.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 2:40 p.m.