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Assessment Matters: 3/29/17

What assessment liaisons say about assessment on campus
In fall 2016, all assessment liaisons from academic programs, college programs, and administrative units were surveyed about assessment efforts on campus. Reports have been shared with appropriate ELT members, deans, and assessment liaisons themselves. If you are interested in receiving a summary report of RPA’s Survey of Assessment Liaisons, please contact RPA directly.

As part of RPA’s Comprehensive Program Assessment (CPA), we have reviewed assessment liaisons’ responses to the survey, and will be using the data to inform future action. We will be reaching out to individuals who expressed specific assessment needs, as well as offering two workshops to address common needs identified by the survey. The two workshops we are planning will focus on the following: (a) selecting and developing appropriate assessment tools (including direct and indirect measures), and (b) developing rubrics from scratch. Watch out for more details as we will offer both of these sessions during the annual PIE conference.

Focus group interviews
Results from the assessment liaison survey revealed that some liaisons were unaware of the various assessment resources offered by RPA.  For instance, RPA conducts focus group interviews upon request, especially for programs undergoing CPA. Typically, focus interviews allow programs to probe their various constituencies for deeper insights on issues raised by online survey results. RPA staff work with units to identify target groups, develop interview questions, conduct in-person individual/group interviews, and present the findings in the form of a summary report.

In-house program specific surveys
RPA also works with units to develop surveys tailored to specific assessment needs, whether course-based or program-focused. Some people were not aware of this service either. Examples of in-house surveys include pre-post course surveys of students’ attitudes and beliefs on particular topics; program-specific surveys, such as for the Honors program and an annual residential life survey; and surveys of alumnae regarding specific academic programs, to name only a few. RPA works with units to develop appropriate survey questions to ensure that data gathered meets program needs, and provides detailed reports to units.

–Submitted by Dianne Raubenheimer, Director of Research, Planning and Assessment

Melyssa Allen

News Director
316 Johnson Hall
(919) 760-8087
Fax: (919) 760-8330

allenme@meredith.edu