Assessment Activities Report – OSU Libraries
Context
The OSU Libraries’ Strategic Plan states that the Libraries are “integral to the success of OSU, its colleges
and programs, and its students and faculty.” This broad vision reflects our view that the Libraries play a
critical role supporting teaching and learning on campus, both directly and indirectly. One of three goals
articulated in support of this vision speaks directly to our commitment to teaching and learning: OSU
Libraries will be a critical partner with OSU colleges and programs by contributing to the academic
success and life-long learning of OSU students (OSU Libraries Strategic Plan 2004, Goal 2).
The Libraries support academic success and life-long learning both independently and in partnership with
colleges and programs. Because of this dual role, our goal is to take a leadership role in promoting
information literacy as an academic goal of OSU (OLSP 2004, Goal 2, Strategy B). In other words, we
expect to promote student learning not only through our own, direct, teaching of students but also
through our collaborations with faculty and other campus partners
The Libraries’ mission and vision clearly lay out our goals for student learning. All of our departments,
from collections to public services, support student learning at OSU. Instruction librarians teach students
directly through library instruction sessions developed in collaboration with faculty, and in one-on-one
encounters at the Reference desk. In addition, librarians support faculty in the disciplines by creating
teaching materials and developing assignments. We engage in train-the-trainer activities through our
faculty liaison program, and by offering workshops and seminars for faculty and graduate students. OSU
librarians also create tutorials, learning objects and other guides to reach users working independently, at
their point of need. Even when OSU librarians do not meet students face-to-face, their work supports the
teaching and learning done on campus.
The foundation of the Libraries’ instruction program is a long-standing collaboration with WR 121.
Because this course is required for all OSU undergraduates, it represents a high-impact opportunity to
introduce OSU students to the processes of scholarly research. The information literacy component of
the WR 121 curriculum is outcomes-based, and provides us with a foundation we can build on in later
instruction. It also offers the chance to assess students directly. Throughout the curriculum, OSU
students receive research instruction from librarians, from classroom faculty and from online tools and
guides that builds on the outcomes defined for WR 121.
Our assessment activities reflect this diversity.
Deitering/Davidson: Assessment Activities Report
Page 1 of 7
Last updated: 5/31/2016
Have you made progress in articulating learning outcomes in your unit?
In the last two years, OSU Libraries have made substantial progress in articulating outcomes that define
our goals for student learning. These outcomes inform all aspects of the Libraries’ instruction program.
We would like to see these outcomes integrated throughout the OSU curriculum by our campus partners
to ensure that OSU students are academically successful and graduate as life-long learners.
Together with classroom faculty and other campus partners, we collaboratively developed a set of
Undergraduate Information Literacy Competencies that structure Information Literacy instruction
provided by the Libraries and by others across OSU’s campus. We have also made progress mapping
course- and assignment- level learning outcomes to that structure. In addition, the WR 121 curriculum,
which is the foundation of the Libraries’ instruction program, is now entirely outcomes-based.
Process
The Libraries’ process in articulating learning outcomes is highly collaborative. In the summer of 2004,
the Libraries’ Instruction Workgroup reworked the WR 121 curriculum. The new curriculum is based on
learning outcomes that were created in collaboration with writing faculty, and which reflect our shared
goals. The instruction based on these outcomes is also collaborative: we created a set of six linked
research assignments that are currently taught by Writing TA’s and evaluated by librarians using a
common rubric. All WR 121 students now have similar experiences learning research writing.
OSU’s Undergraduate Information Literacy Competencies were also created collaboratively with several
campus partners. In the Fall of 2004, the Libraries’ Reference and Instruction Department began to
systematically analyze the undergraduate curriculum at OSU to see what kind of research instruction
would best support that curriculum. The Libraries at this point also examined current library instruction
activities. The Libraries’ Instruction Work Group (IWG) took this information and created a draft set of
research competencies for OSU undergraduates. This draft was further refined by the entire Reference
and Instruction department.
At this point, the Libraries’ IWG identified a number of individuals and programs on campus with
expertise in assessment, OSU student services, or academic success. IWG discussed the language, scope
and structure of the competencies with each of these individuals and groups, including:

Division of Student Affairs

Office of Academic Programs and Academic Assessment
Deitering/Davidson: Assessment Activities Report
Page 2 of 7
Last updated: 5/31/2016

Center for Writing and Learning

Center for Teaching and Learning

Academic Success Center

English Language Institute

e-Campus

Writing Intensive Curriculum
At the end of this process, IWG also organized and facilitated three focus groups with teaching faculty.
The focus groups drew faculty members from all of OSU’s Colleges. The information and ideas gathered
from all of these conversations was used to re-draft the competencies. The final version of the
competencies was completed and released to the campus in August, 2005.
Progress
The WR 121 curriculum outcomes, and the OSU Undergraduate Information Literacy competencies have
both been articulated and shared with campus partners. At this point, the Libraries’ Instruction Work
Group is in the process of developing measurable course- and assignment-level learning outcomes to be
used in conjunction with the Undergraduate Competencies. These outcomes reflect all of the levels of
cognition described by Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy. In addition, the Libraries’ IWG will map the resulting
suite of outcomes to the OSU undergraduate curriculum. In cooperation with faculty in the disciplines,
OSU subject librarians are in the process of articulating discipline-specific learning outcomes.
Have you made progress gathering evidence of learning?
Most of the work we have done so far has set the stage so that we can begin collecting meaningful
evidence of student learning. We have established a framework and developed tools and methods for
collecting this data. Outside of the WR 121 collaboration, we have not yet begun systematically
measuring learning.
Tools and methods
The competency and outcome maps described above should allow us to organize the evidence we gather
into a meaningful whole. We are in the process of developing a mechanism for aggregating this data.
We have already developed some tools and mechanisms for gathering evidence:
Deitering/Davidson: Assessment Activities Report
Page 3 of 7
Last updated: 5/31/2016

For classroom use (by library instructors and disciplinary faculty): a classroom assessment
tools clearinghouse. All library instructors have been trained in the use of Classroom
Assessment Techniques (CAT’s) and provided with resources for using these tools.

For independent learning: automated quizzes and other assessments attached to the OSU
Libraries Research Tutorial and other online learning objects.
Progress
In WR 121, evidence of student learning has been gathered for four terms using the rubric developed in
conjunction with the learning outcomes and Research Log activities. Every Writing 121 student
completes the research log, which is evaluated by librarian instructors using a common rubric (attached).
The evidence gathered using this tool has not only informs face-to-face instruction sessions in WR 121, it
is also used to evaluate the effectiveness of the information literacy curriculum in WR 121.
Because we impact student learning both directly and indirectly, we gather information about our
programs’ success not only from students but also from faculty and other campus partners. The
collaborative projects described above provided the Libraries with a great deal of information about what
students can and cannot do, and what they need to do to succeed at OSU. We need to continue
developing mechanisms for gathering data about student learning indirectly from faculty and others who
work with OSU students.
Have you gone so far as to implement any decisions based on information you have
gathered?
The information gathered using the WR 121 Research Log rubric has been used to improve WR 121
information literacy curriculum. These assignments and evaluation tools have been revised and improved
in each of the four terms since the rubric was adopted.
Information gathered from faculty and other campus partners also informs our decisions and our
practice. As part of our assessment efforts, we learned from classroom faculty and student services
departments what our students need to succeed at OSU and after they graduate. As a result of these
conversations, the Libraries have made some decisions that demonstrate our commitment to improving
undergraduate learning. For example, the Libraries modified a subject librarian position to create a new
faculty librarian position devoted to Undergraduate Services and assessment of student learning.
Deitering/Davidson: Assessment Activities Report
Page 4 of 7
Last updated: 5/31/2016
In addition, we discovered that classroom faculty need support articulating information literacy outcomes
for student research activities and in designing assignments and assessments. We decided to offer a
series of workshops in partnership with the Center for Teaching and Learning in which we help faculty
use the Undergraduate Information Literacy Competencies to articulate learning outcomes and design
assignments and assessments for particular courses.
List your department goals for assessment of learning for 2006.
1. Continue crafting discipline-specific learning outcomes in cooperation with selected classroom
faculty.
2. Finish mapping general course- and assignment- level outcomes to the OSU undergraduate
curriculum.
3. Create a clearinghouse of outcomes, instructional materials and assessments for each
undergraduate competency, available to both classroom faculty and librarian instructors.
4. Partner with the Center for Teaching and Learning to provide training for classroom faculty on
assessing information literacy in their courses.
5. Revise current student and faculty evaluation forms to include student learning measures.
6. Articulate learning outcomes for the Reference Desk.
7. Continue developing outcomes-based instructional tools, both online and print, to reach users at
their point of need.
Other assessment activities
Information gathered about student learning not tied to specific OSU learning outcomes
Project SAILS:
Project SAILS is an effort by Kent State University to develop a valid instrument for measuring
information literacy among cohorts of students. As such, it may be a valuable tool for taking baseline
data about information competence, or for doing program-level assessment. As one of the first libraries
to partner with Kent State on this project, we have four years of data gathered from incoming OSU
students. In addition, we have data from graduating seniors gathered in 2002 and 2005. This data is
currently being analyzed.
WIC Partnerships:
Deitering/Davidson: Assessment Activities Report
Page 5 of 7
Last updated: 5/31/2016
Because the goals of the WIC program and Libraries’ instruction program are so closely related, WIC
grants have funded additional assessment projects in the Libraries. In the Spring of 2005, the Libraries
and WIC facilitated a series of focus groups with graduating seniors. In these focus groups students
discussed their experiences with research writing at OSU, and whether or not those experiences had
prepared them for the job market. The data from these focus groups is still being analyzed. In 20022003 an OSU instruction librarian analyzed student research practices by examining research papers for
the quality of bibliographies and types of materials used. The results of this study were shared with WIC
faculty and the WIC board.
Service and Satisfaction Measures
LibQUAL+
Usability testing and focus groups for instruction delivery:
Whenever the Libraries develop new online instructional materials, we test their effectiveness using both
usability testing and focus groups. Some of these tests examine whether or not students learned what
they were supposed to from instruction delivered online.
Peer evaluations of teaching:
Instruction librarians at OSU have employed peer evaluations of teaching for many years, for two
reasons. First, as a way for new librarians to learn from experienced mentors and improve their
teaching. Secondly, as an evaluation measure for promotion and tenure purposes.
Satisfaction surveys from faculty and student participants in instruction sessions:
Students and faculty members are encouraged to fill out a survey measuring their satisfaction with library
instruction sessions. These surveys are available online.
Obstacles to additional progress
OSU’s Strategic Plan recognizes the importance of information literacy to student success: “At no time in
our history has the ability to absorb, understand and evaluate information been so important.” (February
2004 Strategic Plan, p. 1) The Undergraduate Information Literacy competencies clearly articulate what
instruction librarians, classroom faculty and others interested in student learning think OSU students need
to learn to meet that goal. The OSU Libraries’ instruction program does many things to support student
learning, but we cannot meet these lofty goals without a campus-wide commitment to information
Deitering/Davidson: Assessment Activities Report
Page 6 of 7
Last updated: 5/31/2016
literacy as an academic goal. The Libraries are taking a leadership role in this process; there are two
ways that lukewarm support from others on campus could become obstacles to further progress.
First, the data we need from students to truly evaluate how well they are learning is usually not in our
hands. The instruction we do with students happens in the early stages of their research process,
whether the instruction happens in library instruction sessions, face to face at the Reference Desk, or via
online modules. This means that librarians are very rarely able to evaluate or assess student research
projects. To effectively evaluate student learning we need to work with faculty in the departments and
colleges so we can see and evaluate student work. OSU librarians have developed effective partnerships
with classroom faculty that have yielded useful data in the past; to do truly effective assessment we need
to be able to gather such data regularly.
Secondly, we know from our discussions with faculty and campus partners that graduating information
literate students is a shared goal for OSU. When specific conversations arise about what should be
included in the curriculum, or about what the institutional goals for assessment should be, competing
interests threaten to overwhelm this goal. To keep this from becoming an obstacle, the Libraries, and
the expertise of subject librarians and instruction librarians, need to be at the table when these
conversations happen. Librarians are in a unique position among the OSU faculty to keep up with the
rapidly changing information landscape and to articulate what OSU students will need to compete in the
Information Age. While there are currently librarians serving on Faculty Senate curriculum committees,
we need to be included in campus-wide assessment activities and curriculum decisions at all levels.
Tight resources, in the Libraries and across campus, may also pose a barrier to success. Currently, each
subject librarian supports multiple departments for instruction, collection development and
reference/consultation. In addition, many have other responsibilities within the Libraries as well. This
means the amount of time librarians can use in assessment of student learning is limited. Similar
demands are being made on classroom faculty, who may resist assigning and assessing student research
projects because of increased class sizes and teaching loads. Developing the partnerships and
collaborations with faculty mentioned above require time commitments on the part of both librarians and
classroom faculty members.
Deitering/Davidson: Assessment Activities Report
Page 7 of 7
Last updated: 5/31/2016