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Table of Contents [Hide/Show]       Accountability       Accreditation       Affective       Assessment       Assessment of Student Learning       Benchmark       Cohort       Competency       Core Element(s)       Course Assessment       Criterion-referenced       Direct Measurements       Effectiveness (results of operations)       Enhancement       Evaluation       Human Subjects Office       Indirect Measurements       Institutional Assessment       Institutional Review Board       Learning Outcomes       Longitudinal Studies       Departmental Plan       Program Assessment (Program Review)       Program Objectives       Rubrics       Stakeholder       Summative Assessment       Validity       Variable

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Accountability

The demand by a community (public officials, employers, and taxpayers) for school officials to prove that money invested in education has led to measurable learning.

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Accreditation

A certification awarded by an external, recognized organization, that the institution or program meets certain requirements overall, or in a particular discipline.

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Affective

Outcomes of education involving feelings more than understanding; likes, pleasures ideals, dislikes annoyances, values.

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Assessment

Is any effort to gather, analyze, and interpret evidence which describes institutional, departmental, divisional, or agency effectiveness (Upcraft & Schuh, 1996).

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Assessment of Student Learning

Measures both direct and indirect, used to evaluate student learning in order to change, improve, and enhance student learning and the college experience. In doing so, the College provides accountability measures to serve the internal need of the College and in meeting requirements of external agencies.

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Benchmark

A criterion-referenced objective; "Performance data that are used for comparative purposes. A program can use its own data as a baseline benchmark against which to compare future performance. It can also use data from another program as a benchmark. In the latter case, the other program often is chosen because it is exemplary and its data are used as a target to strive for, rather than as a baseline." (p. xv) Hatry, H., van Houten, T., Plantz, M., & Greenway, M.T. (1996).

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Cohort

A group whose progress is followed by means of measurements at different points in time.

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Competency

Level at which performance is acceptable.

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Core Element(s)

Are the basic everyday functions that are essential components of individual departments. In previous years they have been known as critical processes, continuous objectives and basic operations.

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Course Assessment

Using direct and indirect measures to determine if the student outcomes at the course level have been met and using this data to enhance student learning.

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Criterion-referenced

Criterion-referenced tests determine what test takers can do and what they know, not how they compare to others. Criterion-referenced tests report how well students are doing relative to a pre-determined performance level on a specified set of educational goals or outcomes included in the curriculum.

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Direct Measurements

Standardized or non-standardized objective measures demonstrating competency in specific areas.

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Effectiveness (results of operations)

Effectiveness is how well an approach, a process, or a measure addresses its intended purpose.

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Enhancement

An Enhancement can be the improvement of a core element (process, service or program that is essential to daily operation, formerly called an enhancement), or the creation of a new program (formerly called an innovation). Any improvement made to your operation is considered an enhancement.

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Evaluation

Any effort to use assessment evidence to improve institutional, departmental, divisional or unit effectiveness.

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Human Subjects Office

The Human Subjects Office provides administrative and secretarial support for the IRB, and assists researchers through the application and approval process. The Administrator acts on behalf of the IRB and the University when providing assurance of human subjects approval to sponsoring agencies, or when dealing with regulatory agencies. The Human Subjects Office staff is responsible for regularly monitoring IRB compliance, and updating IRB procedures with current and/or new relevant federal or state regulations.

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Indirect Measurements

Opinion surveys, interviews, and other subjective data combined with enrollment analyses, retention rates, graduation rates, employment data, transfer data, and other measures that provide data that can be analyzed as indicators of student learning.

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Institutional Assessment

Assessment of institutional mission and goal statements including student services, financial stability, business and industry training, adult education, as well as academic programs.

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Institutional Review Board

The IRB is charged with the responsibility of protecting the rights and welfare of human subjects involved in research.(See Human Subjects Office).

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Learning Outcomes

Changes or consequences that occur as a result of enrollment in a particular educational institution and involvement in its courses and programs. What a student is able to know, demonstrate, analyze, and synthesize following course and program instruction.

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Longitudinal Studies

Data collected from the same population at different points in time.

Open-ended: Assessment questions that are designed to permit spontaneous and unguided responses.

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Departmental Plan

This document is created within each individual department. Previous Departmental Plans have been called Annual Strategic Plans, and Yearly Plans. Previously this was a document that required departments to report on Critical Processes, Innovations, Enhancements and Assessments.

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Program Assessment (Program Review)

The program outcomes are based on how each part is interacting with the rest of the parts, not on how each part is doing individually. The knowledge, skills, and abilities that students achieve at the end of their programs are affected by how well courses and other experiences in the curriculum fit together and build on each other throughout the undergraduate years.

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Program Objectives

Reflects student learning outcomes and achievements related to the academic program as a unit rather than an individual course.

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Rubrics

A rubric is a set of categories that define and describe the important components of the work being completed, critiqued, or assessed. Each category contains a gradation of levels of completion or competence with a score assigned to each level and a clear description of what criteria need to be met to attain the score at each level.

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Stakeholder

Anyone who has a vested interest in the outcome of the program/project.

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Summative Assessment

An assessment that is done at the conclusion of a course or some larger instructional period (e.g., at the end of the program). The purpose is to determine success or to what extend the program/project/course met its goals.

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Validity

Refers to the degree to which a study accurately reflects or assesses the specific concept that the researcher is attempting to measure. Validity has three components: relevance (direct measurement), accuracy (how precise are the measurements), and utility (how clear are the implications for improvement).

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Variable

Observable characteristics that vary among individual responses.