Assessment Activities – Spring 2010
Justine M. Shaw, Assessment Coordinator
In February of 2010, Justine Shaw was nominated to the position of College of the Redwoods’
Assessment Coordinator. Although the College had had assessment committees in the past, no such
position had previously existed and no assessment-related committee currently existed.
One of the foci of the position was to ensure that training and advice were available to
individuals with questions and concerns about assessment. In order to improve her own knowledge of
assessment, Shaw attended the New Mexico Higher Education Assessment and Retention Conference in
Albuquerque on February 25 and 26, 2010. Although it would have been preferable to attend a
California-based conference, no such conferences were to take place during the spring semester and it
was more critical for the assessment coordinator to receive training prior to conducting workshops for
the district.
Following the conference, Shaw conducted six assessment workshops district-wide, with two
workshops at the Mendocino campus on April 1, two workshops at the Del Norte campus on April 22
and 23, and two workshops on the Eureka campus on April 8 and 30. Using Skype, Peter Blakemore,
chair of the Curriculum Committee, was able to provide advice about CLO (course learning outcomes)/
SLO (student learning outcomes) revisions at the first Del Norte workshop; based upon this, Shaw was
able to provide similar information at the remaining workshops. The workshops were attended by both
faculty and staff. Focusing upon the basic philosophy and concepts, the goals of the workshops included
ensuring that attendees could conduct basic course-level assessment. The fundamentals of programlevel assessment were also covered in the workshops, which included Power Point presentations,
demonstrations of how to access resources, and examples related to CLO/ SLO updates. One of the
most valuable parts of the workshops was to initiate district-wide dialog on important assessmentrelated concerns including how associate faculty might be included in assessment work, how to mitigate
concerns about reporting assessment data on program reviews, where assessment artifacts should be
stored, and how “programs” might be defined.
Throughout the semester, the assessment coordinator also provided individual responses to
assessment questions via e-mail, phone, and in person. Having a centralized position responsible for
such inquiries is critical to helping our institution reach the proficiency level of assessment by Fall 2012,
as it allows individuals to rapidly receive answers to questions that might otherwise impede assessment
activities. Though in-person meetings and e-mail, Shaw also communicated regularly with the VicePresident of Instruction, the Vice-President of Student Services, the Senate Co-Presidents, and
Institutional Research in order to facilitate the flow of information between various areas.
Another activity undertaken during the spring of 2010 was the formation of an Assessment
Committee. Although its entire membership has yet to be finalized, the majority of the positions have
been filled. The Committee will include seven faculty members, with one from Del Norte, one from
Mendocino, and four from the Eureka campus. The four Eureka campus faculty include two faculty from
occupational areas and two from academic/ transfer areas. Seven staff members have been selected to
provide balance to the Committee. Additionally, there is a representative from Institutional Research.
The Committee had its first meeting on Friday, April 30. While many members were not able to attend,
the Committee was able to begin important discussions related to a three-year assessment plan for the
district. Shaw provided an initial draft of the plan, which is currently being reviewed by Committee
members. At its first meeting of the fall 2010 semester, tentatively planned for September 10, Shaw will
present an updated draft of the plan that will take into account feedback provided in the interim. At its
first meeting, Committee members also agreed to take on the creation of a MyCR page to facilitate
discussions and document sharing; research assessment-related information present on various web
pages and plan for a more centralized and public assessment web page in the future; consider the goals
and responsibilities of the Committee; and discuss how the committee would interface with other
related committees, such as the Program Review Committee and the Curriculum Committee, without
duplicating work. Although it was generally agreed that the Assessment Committee’s role in the
institution would be to provide advice, identify needs to facilitate training and assessment activities, and
provide plans and goals to help to instill regular and ongoing assessment as a part of our district-wide
culture, the Committee recognizes that having a more concrete mission and goals needs to be a top
priority for the start of the Fall 2010 semester.
Finally, Shaw, with advice from the Assessment Committee and the VP of Instruction, has been
working to plan assessment-focused convocation activities for the fall. While several assessment
experts have been contacted, no plans have been finalized to date. If it is not possible to bring in an
outside consultant, for logistical or budgetary reasons, it may be possible for the Coordinator to still
facilitate workshops. The focus of convocation activities would be program-level assessment,
specifically upon the AA liberal arts degrees. A work session at the end of the spring 2009 semester did
result in outcomes being written for each AA area of emphasis. It is hoped that, following a review of
the outcomes, faculty teaching courses in each area can meet in workshops to engage in mapping out
which courses cover which outcomes, formulate a planning cycle during which all outcomes will be
assessed, and determine specific assessment strategies and responsibilities. A similar process needs to
take place in the spring of 2011 so that General Education outcomes may be assessed. The Senate has
recently formed an ad hoc GE committee which will play a consultative role in GE program review and
assessment.