2nd Annual Conference
Spring 2012
Cary, North Carolina

AAC Conference Schedule

• 2010 AAC Agenda
• 2010 Concurrent Session Materials and Descriptions

2010 AAC Session Schedule

GS 1 Sunday, April 11 1:00-2:15 PM	Keynote Address: Assessment Officers as Agents of Change
	Randy Swing, Association for Institutional Research
Assessment and institutional research officers have proven to be effective technicians capable of measuring an array of postsecondary education outcomes. They have not always been as effective in assuring that the academy used those results for improvement. Part of the solution must be re-thinking the role of assessment and IR officers as change agents who engage in the entire process of organizational change - not just in providing data and analysis. Serving as a change agent in higher education requires skills that do not necessarily rely on formal power. Successful change agents must participate in focusing campus attention, building knowledge, framing issues, understanding options, and undertaking solutions.
GS 2 Monday, April 12 9:00-10:15 AM	Monday Morning Plenary Address: Infrastructure for Sustainable Assessment
	Mary J. Allen, California State University - Bakersfield
Assessment is an essential component of learning-centered institutions, but accreditors often find that campus assessment efforts wax and wane with the accreditation cycle. We will explore what it means to be learning-centered and models for developing an infrastructure to support meaningful, manageable, sustainable assessment. Book Drawing: Enter to win a free book of your choice from the Conference bookstore! Tickets will be distributed and drawn before the start of the plenary. Must be present to win.
GS 3 Monday, April 12 12:30-1:45 PM	Monday Afternoon Plenary Address: Show Me the Learning: What Matters in College?
	Terrel Rhodes, Association of American Colleges and Universities
Employers and faculty agree on what students need to know for success; we know what pedagogies and approaches enhance student learning in and out of the classroom; and we have expertise and technology to communicate with each other. Now is the time to establish campus-based, faculty-led learning as the standard for excellence in learning.

All Pre-Conference Workshops run concurrently from 9:00 AM - 12:15 PM on Sunday, April 11, 2010.

Conference registration is required to attend these workshops, and all participants must pre-register. A registration fee of $20 applies to these workshops, which includes continental breakfast and lunch.

PCW 1 Sunday, April 11 9:00 AM-12:15 PM	Beyond Survey Design 101 - Kicking Your Survey Efforts Up Another Notch
	Ted Elling, University of North Carolina - Charlotte, and Carrie Zelna, NC State University
Frustrated with getting only minimal benefits from your existing surveys? Come to this hands-on workshop and learn much more than just basic survey design tips. The presenters will cover topics such as using intelligent demographics to reduce survey real estate and user fatigue, using on-line datasets to enable multiple stakeholder research, integrating surveys with other datasets to explore areas in concert with other available data such as retention and academic performance, determining the true project scope at the front end of the process to maximize stakeholder involvement, employing advanced data analysis techniques that enable the examination of qualitative data in a qualitative fashion, and much, much more. From the concepts presented in the workshop, participants will have the opportunity to flesh out and receive group feedback on new or enhanced survey ideas. While many examples will be from within student affairs areas, the concepts presented are definitely transferable to other university domains. Given the opportunity to begin designing new survey ideas on the spot, this workshop encourages team involvement so feel free to bring a few colleagues with you. Note: you do not need to be an "assessment geek" to enjoy and benefit from this session!
PCW 2 Sunday, April 11 9:00 AM-12:15 PM	Designing Service-Learning with Assessment in Mind
	Patti Clayton, Curricular Engagement
Service-learning is a "high impact pedagogy," with potentially significant outcomes not only for students but also for faculty, educational institutions, community organizations, community members, and the range of partnerships at its heart. Intentional design and a scholarly, improvement-oriented approach are key to producing and assessing both processes and outcomes. In this session we will explore a precise yet flexible conceptualization of service-learning that can guide customized design and assessment of the pedagogy. We will identify the types of outcomes at stake for the full range of constituents and examine research-grounded tools that can support the design of critical reflection and partnerships with assessment in mind.
PCW 3 Sunday, April 11 9:00 AM-12:15 PM	Assessing and Improving Writing and Critical Thinking
	Terri Flateby, T.L. Flateby and Associates
Workshop participants will explore the range of options for evaluating and improving writing and critical thinking skills which have an internal institutional focus and will satisfy accreditation demands. Consistent with any assessment plan, in addition to determining the purpose of assessment (summative, formative, or both), outcome statements first must be specifically defined. Only then can the appropriate measurement tool(s) - whether a test or rubric - be selected or developed. Participants will be guided through activities that effectively respond to internal needs and meet external demands to successfully measure and improve students' writing and critical thinking.
PCW 4 Sunday, April 11 9:00 AM-12:15 PM	Assessment 101: A Beginner's Guide
	Mike Carter, NC State University
This workshop is an introduction to outcomes-based assessment and planning with a focus on assesing academic programs. It is intended primarily for people who are newcomers to outcomes assessment. By the end of the workshop, participants should be able to work with faculty to help them create program outcomes, generate assessment plans, implement assessment plans, and report assessment results.
PCW 5 Sunday, April 11 9:00 AM-12:15 PM	The Use of Rubrics for Assessment, Grading, and Encouraging Student Learning
	Mary J. Allen, California State University - Bakersfield
Rubrics are routinely used to guide the assessment of student learning, but they also can be effective tools for grading and improving learning. Participants in this interactive session will consider ways to develop rubrics; integrate them into assessment plans; and utilize them in the classroom to expedite grading, provide formative feedback, and encourage learning.