El Camino College
Student Learning Outcomes and Assessment
End-of-Semester Report – Spring 2008
Semester 4: Identify (Redux)
SUMMARY: According to our original plan, this semester’s theme should have been IDENTIFY.
That is, according to the “three-semester plan,” all faculty should have completed an assessment
cycle last semester and this semester come back to stage one (identify). However, we have found
that faculty are at different stages in the process, and many are still in the midst of their first
assessment cycle. Thus, this semester, in effect, encompassed all three themes—IDENTIFY,
ASSESS, and REFLECT, as faculty moved at different paces in working through the Student
Learning Outcomes Assessment Cycle (SLOAC). Our emphasis this semester, then, was on growing
the SLO assessment program in general and continuing to train faculty.
The advent of the semester saw a huge increase in number of courses with SLOs as a result of the
emphasis on SLOs during the entire Spring 2008 flex day. While the Fall 2007 semester ended
with 171 courses with SLOs, after Spring flex day, this number surged to 323. By the end of the
semester, 398 courses have at least one SLO Proposal, and 63 courses have assessed at least one
SLO (as compared to 31 courses by the end of Fall 2007).
The Assessment of Learning Committee played a large role this semester in setting goals and
establishing benchmarks for the next several years.
Conservative Summary of
Division
# (and %)
of Courses
with at
least one
SLO
Proposal
B&SS
Business*
Fine Arts
HS&A
Humanities
I&T
Math Sci
Nat Sci
Inst. Div.
Totals
Progress: Spring 2008
# (and %) of
Increase (and
Courses with
% Increase)
at least one
over Fall 2007
Increase (and
% Increase)
over Fall 2007
Ratio of
SLO
Proposals
to
Reports
Programs
with at
least one
SLO
SLO Report
(a Complete
Assessment
Cycle)
49 (36%)
50 (47%)
88 (37%)
83 (43%)
50 (31%)
38 (11%)
10 (25%)
28 (32%)
+41 (~+500%)
+0 (+0%)
+71 (~+425%)
+31 (~+75%)
+36 (~+250%)
+26 (~+225%)
+5 (~+100%)
+19 (~+200%)
9 (7%)
2 (2%)
10 (4%)
17 (9%)
7 (5%)
8 (2%)
10 (18%)
6 (7%)
+8 (~+800%)
+2 (~+200%)
+6 (~+150%)
+11 (~+1100%)
+7 (~+700%)
+7 (~+700%)
+6 (~+150%)
+5 (~+500%)
5.25 : 1
27.00 : 1
8.75 : 1
5.00 : 1
7.25 : 1
4.75 : 1
1:1
4.75 : 1
2
2
1
3
1
2
2
4
396 (30%)
+237 (+132%)
69 (5%)
+52 (~+450%)
5.75 : 1
17
Programs
* Business numbers may change once we receive information from this division.
The information above and in the report below is based on the files that have been submitted to
the SLO co-coordinators, which may lag a bit behind what has happened in each division.
1
REPORT
I. Division Progress: This section reports the progress made in each academic division as well as
in counseling and student services.
A. Behavioral and Social Sciences Division: Chris Gold – ALC Representative
Department
American Studies
Anthropology
Child Development
Economics
Education
Ethnic Studies
History
Human Development
Philosophy
Political Science
Psychology
Sociology
Women’s Studies
Total
Number of
Courses
3
12
30
4
5
1
24
6
8
7
13
8
1
134
Number of
Courses with
SLOs
0
3 (1)
6
3
0
0
24
2
4
1
2
4
0
49
Number of
Course Level
SLOACs
0
0
4
0
0
0
3
0
2
0
0
0
0
9
Number
of Program
SLOs
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
This semester, BSS faculty made significant progress in writing course-level and programlevel SLOs. Approximately 160 course level SLOs have been written for 77 courses in
Behavioral and Social Sciences. 11 program level SLOs have been written for 5
departments. There is, however, a significant gap between the number of SLOs written and
the number of SLOs reported to the campus-wide Assessment of Learning Committee.
Faculty are working together to write SLOs, but only about half of the course level and
program level SLOs have been reported to the campus coordinators. According to this
division’s three-year assessment plan, put in place in Fall 2007, nearly every department has
been conducting an assessment in at least one core course this Spring semester.
Particular successes in the area of assessment have been reported in areas of political
science and psychology. In political science, all the full time faculty teaching Political
Science 1 worked together to write an SLO statement and create a rubric. In Spring 2008,
they all conducted assessment in their sections of the course. In addition, Political Science
is assessing in 2 other courses. Eduardo Munoz has been an excellent leader and facilitator
for the assessment process. In psychology, Julio Farias has taken the initiative to explore
the uses of “Clicker” technology in conducting assessment and creating assessment reports.
Several Instructors on the committee are excited about the possibility of using clickers to
conduct assessment.
The Division still faces significant opposition to the process of assessment. It continues to
be difficult to increase the number of instructors willing to engage in assessment. Many
instructors still need to be convinced that their work will be personally useful, in addition to
being valued by and helpful to the college as a whole. Instructors are coming to understand
2
that they need to conduct assessment for accreditation, but they do not perceive
assessment as useful beyond accreditation.
Recommendations: Given the resistance voiced by this division, and probably felt among
other faculty in other divisions, it is important for the coordinators and campus-wide
committee to explore ways to motivate faculty to conduct assessments in their courses.
B. Business: Donna Grogan and Ollie Hadley – ALC Representatives
Departments or
Programs
Business
CIS
Law
Real Estate
Total
Number of
Courses
49
28
16
22
115
Number of
Courses with
SLOs
18
21
2
9
50
Number of
Course Level
SLOACs
0
2
0
0
2
Number
of Program
SLOs
0
0
0
4
4
Information about this division’s progress during the Spring 2008 semester is not yet
available. Once it becomes available, this report will be amended.
C. Fine Arts Division: Harrison Storms—ALC Representative
Departments or
Programs
Art
Dance
Film/Video
Music
Photography
Speech Communication
Theatre
Total
Number of
Courses
60
36
16
75
13
12
33
245
Number of
Courses with
SLOs
29
6
0
35
2
9
7
88
Number of
Course Level
SLOACs
4
6
0
0
0
0
0
10
Number
of Program
SLOs
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
During this semester, substantial progress was made in this division, particularly during
Spring flex day. By the end of the semester, 71 new course-level SLO assessment plans and
one program-level SLO assessment plan had been written. This is three times what had
been accomplished by the end of Fall 2007. To date, ten course-level SLOs (Art 10ab, Art
17 and Art 18ab, and six Dance courses) have been assessed.
More and more faculty in this division are accepting responsibility for SLOs, mainly due to
the appointment of a division-level SLO committee to oversee the process. This committee
has met to discuss goals and the process for achieving them. Each program has produced a
chart to track which courses have SLOs, and which of these have been assessed. The
charts also show which faculty member is responsible for which SLOs and assessments.
3
In addition, substantial progress has been made when common outcomes are found across
several courses. For example, Daniel Berney, faculty member in the Dance program, was
able to identify the chanie turn as a common denominator in assessment for eight dance
technique classes. Identifying these fundamental skills in each area has allowed faculty to
make progress for multiple courses within an area.
Recommendations: This division’s strategy for setting goals and tracking progress can be
used as a strong model for the rest of the campus. This division is definitely on track to
make substantial progress in the Fall 2008 semester in the area of assessment.
D. Health Science and Athletics Division: Kelly Clark—ALC Representative
Departments or
Programs
Contemporary Health
Educational Development
First Aid
Nursing
Physical Education
Radiologic Technology
Respiratory Care
Sign Language
Total
Number of
Courses
4
16
2
31
94
18
11
17
193
Number of
Courses with
SLOs
2
3
1
15
39
4
10
9
83
Number of
Course Level
SLOACs
0
3
0
11
0
3
0
0
17
Number
of Program
SLOs
0
0
0
1
3
0
0
0
1
This division continues to lead the campus in its faculty’s engagement in the assessment
process.
In the nursing program, all courses, except those taught exclusively by part-time faculty,
have an SLO. In addition, this is one of the only programs on campus not only to have a
program-level SLO in place, but also to have assessed it and reflected on the results.
Almost all nursing courses with an SLO in place have also gone through the process of
assessment and reflection. This program continues to make outstanding progress.
In the radiologic technology program, faculty have also engaged fully in the assessment
process. More significantly, the results of these assessments have been used to inform
program improvements. For example, the faculty found that the senior students were not
performing as well as expected in the exit registry exam prep course (RTEC 328). Thus,
the faculty restructured the schedule to allow more study time. Last year the exam scores
were again assessed and a significant improvement was noted. In addition, it was found that
the students were struggling to meet the lab skills requirements each semester throughout
the program. Thus, the one semester course was split into two courses, and significant
improvements in the students’ lab skill competencies have been found as a result of this
change. It should be noted that the faculty in this program are motivated to participate in
assessment in order to maintain their reputation as “the best RadTech program around.”
This program also continues to make outstanding progress.
In the special resources area, faculty are in the process of writing SLO’s for the remaining
courses in Educational Development and Sign Language. At this point SLO’s for 9 courses
4
have been completed and only 3 courses are outstanding. In addition, substantial progress
has been made in the area of assessment: faculty who assessed during the Fall semester
have worked at compiling the data and reflecting on the results; also, faculty, including
part-time faculty, have collected data this semester for analysis next term. Two workshops
were provided for sign language faculty to review concept and process of Student Learning
Outcomes and development of a rubric for assessment across the language level courses.
The SRC management team worked to develop 3 program level SLO’s for the SRC. While
reporting and reflecting on assessment results has been slow, this division has achieved
wide-spread buy-in among its faculty, and has strong leadership at many levels within the
program.
Physical Education made great strides in creating SLO proposals, and found it particularly
useful to pair SLOs for men’s and women’s teams. Plans are in place for assessing all 39 new
SLO proposals in Fall 2008.
In the Athletics area at the Compton Center, a student learning outcome on critical thinking
was done for the athletic department. The desired outcome was to demonstrate the ability
to think and execute directions from the coaching staff during competition, at a high skill
level. The method of delivery was team orientation meetings, team and individual practices
and athletic contests. The assessment process is currently under way in the form of a
performance evaluation, for both individual and team, which will be compared with the
individual statistics and then team statistics.
Recommendations: Our recommendation is that they continue to make progress; this
division is a model for the rest of the campus.
E. Humanities Division: Rebecca Bergeman and Darrell Thompson—ALC Representatives
Departments or
Programs
Academic Strategies
Chinese
Communications
English
ESL
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Journalism
Library Information Science
Spanish
Tutor Training
Total
Number of
Courses
Number of
Courses
with SLOs
15
5
2
53
22
13
9
5
9
13
5
14
1
166
2
1
0
33
8
1
1
1
1
0
1
1
0
50
Number of
Course
Level
SLOACs
0
0
0
5
2
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
7
Number
of Program
SLOs
0
1
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
0
1
0
1*
*Foreign Languages have developed a common program level SLO
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This division has experienced an increase in faculty buy-in and has made SLOs and
assessments a top priority. SLOs are a consistent agenda item at department meetings, and
spring and fall flex days proved to be very productive.
Substantial progress was made in the English department during this semester. SLO
assessment reports have been completed for English B, A, 1A, 1B and 1C, for assessments
which took place in Fall 2007 and continued into the Spring 2008 semester. These
assessment sessions were widely attended by faculty in the English department, even
though they were technically optional. This substantial progress was possible because of
the leadership of Susan Corbin, who was given release time during the semester to
coordinate the assessment efforts in these courses. In addition, assessment of these
courses represents a huge step forward in the campus’ assessment efforts because of the
fact that many of them are mandatory for all students; thus, these assessments have a
large student impact.
This semester, ESL assessed its SLO for ESL 53B (Intermediate Writing and Grammar),
thus completing its first assessments for all of its writing classes. ESL 53A was assessed in
Fall 2007, and its two other writing courses, English Ax and English 1Ax were assessed in
conjunction with the equivalent courses in the English program (English A and English 1A).
One important outgrowth of these assessments was the decision that each full-time faculty
member would be appointed “course leader” of one course in the program and oversee the
assessment of course outcomes, as well as be in charge of curriculum and choosing
textbooks.
The foreign language department has also made substantial progress in the area of SLOs
with the finalization of its program-level SLO and assessment instrument for its level one
courses in all languages to be assessed in Fall 2008. The assessment instrument is a
particularly clever one, in which the outcomes for the level one courses are assessed in the
level two courses. The coordinators look forward to seeing the results of this assessment.
Recommendations: The progress made in assessment in the English department points to a
lesson for the campus in general: in order to make substantial progress in assessment of
SLOs, appointment of faculty leadership with release time at the division level is necessary.
This division also needs to address the lack of substantial progress in its smaller programs.
F. Industry / Technology Division: Ray Lewis—ALC Representative
Departments or
Programs
Administration of Justice
Air Condition & Refrigeration
Architecture
Automotive Collision R/P
Automotive Technology
Computer Aided D/D
Construction Technology
Cosmetology
Number of
Courses
Number of
Courses
with SLOs
39
14
16
18
25
16
19
14
5
1
0
0
0
1
3
3
Number of
Course
Level
SLOACs
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
Number
of Program
SLOs
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
6
ECHT
Engineering Technology
Fashion
Fire and Emergency Tech
Machine Tool Technology
Manufacturing Technology
Nutrition and Foods
Quality Assurance
Welding
Total
23
5
28
75
18
7
5
8
12
342
4
1
2
2
4
0
0
0
12
38
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
8
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Spring flex day represented a huge step forward in this division, with Compton faculty
participating in writing SLOs for the Fashion and Auto Tech programs. SLOs and
assessments have been a consistent agenda item at the division council meetings, with
program representatives being asked to provide monthly updates on SLOs and assessments.
In order to bring aboard adjunct faculty, which represent a substantial part of the division,
it has been proposed that a series of Saturday workshops be planned for the purpose of
training adjunct faculty in SLOs and assessments. The administration of justice program
continues to be a model for this division. To date, this program has completed its first
assessments for all of its courses. Ray Lewis continues to be a strong leader in this division
and as a result of his efforts, many faculty members have bought in to the process.
Recommendations: This division still faces the problem of having many small programs and
even more courses taught only by part-time faculty. The proposed Saturday workshops are
a step in the right direction in including more adjunct faculty in the process, which is of
particular importance in this division.
G. Learning Resources Unit: Claudia Striepe—ALC Representative
The Learning Resource Unit made great strides this semester in working together to create
5 SLO’s that, when combined, contribute to a general program- level SLO which aims to
demonstrate that “Students demonstrate knowledge of LRU (Learning Resources Unit)
services.” Before spring flex day, teams corresponding to the different areas were formed
and charged with the responsibility for creating SLOs and assessment methods as well as
conducting the assessments and analyzing the results. Staff from both the Compton Center
and the El Camino College main campus are included on the teams. The Compton faculty
were involved as far as possible, and are kept apprised of every team’s progress when not
present, so that they can re-create the SLO’s on their campus.The five areas in this unit
are: Distance Education, One-on-One (Public) Services, Periodicals, Basic Skills, and
Collection Development/Marketing.
To date, the teams have decided on methods of assessment, and are working to formalize
these methods according to deadlines each team has established for itself. The campus
Institutional Researcher Irene Graf has been included and given valuable input in the
creation of these assessment methods.
In the Spring 2008 semester, the Bibliographic Instruction assessment, conducted for the
first time in Spring 2007, was refined and repeated this semester.
7
The overall weakness in this area is the paucity of staffing. This makes it difficult for staff
to set aside times for meetings to create, discuss, and assess SLOs. Additional staffing
would mean a much more nuanced approach to SLOs as staff would have the time to meet
and plan properly, and have the staff to conduct assessment and come to thoughtful
conclusions. Right now these activities take place when staff can “spare a moment”. This also
leads to some resentment of the process.
Recommendations: The Learning Resources Unit continues to be enthusiastic in response to
the SLO and assessment mandate. It should be encouraged to make progress while keeping
in mind the serious deficiency in personnel.
H. Mathematical Sciences Division: Judy Kasabian—ALC Representative
Departments or
Programs
Computer Science
Basic Skills
Developmental
Mathematics
Mathematics for
Teachers
Transfer-Level
Mathematics
Calculus Sequence
Engineering
Total
Number of
Courses
15
2
5
Number of
Courses with
SLOs
0
2
2
Number of
Course Level
SLOACs
0
2
2
Number
of Program
SLOs
3
0
0
4
2
2
4
4
2
2
0
7
2
39
2
0
10
2
0
10
0
0
7
The Mathematical Sciences Division had not made too much progress on SLOs and
Assessments during the fall semester, largely due to their plan to create new courses in
anticipation of the upcoming changes in A.A. and A.S. degree requirements, which go into
effect Fall 2009.
At its final division meeting last fall, faculty agreed that this spring, starting with Flex Day,
would see a return to SLOs and Assessments. And although not too many new SLO proposals
were created, every singe SLO that has been created in this division has completed an
assessment cycle. Four of the courses for which SLO proposals have been created have
completed a second round of assessments.
This division, as well as the mathematics faculty at the CEC, are to commended for working
together to create and assess SLOs, particularly at the Basic Skills and Pre-Collegiate
levels.
Recommendations: The real challenge for this division remains developing SLOs and
Assessments that align with College Core Competencies. For now, this division should be
encouraged to continue what it has been doing and start thinking about “division-level”
outcomes. We also strongly suggest that the Computer Science Program make progress on
SLOs and Assessments a priority for the Fall 2008 semester.
8
I. Natural Sciences Division: Nancy Freeman—ALC Representative
Number of
Number of
Number of
Number
Departments or
Courses
Courses with Course Level
of Program
Programs
SLOs
SLOACs
SLOs
Anatomy / Physiology /
4
3
0
1
Microbiology
Astronomy
6
2
2
1
Biology
16
6
1
1
Chemistry
8
8
4
1
Environmental
12
3
0
1
Horticulture
Geography
10
1
0
1
Geology
12
1
0
1
History of Science
1
0
0
1
Oceanography
2
1
0
1
Physical Science
3
0
0
1
Physics
12
3
0
1
Total
88
28
6
1
* The Natural Sciences Division has one “Division” level SLO on recognizing the
Scientific Method. This is a program level SLO for the Majors Programs, the PreAllied Health Program and the General Ed Program. Each Course in the division will
create a course level SLO for this general SLO and plan an assessment.
The Division has made great progress in writing course level SLOs during the spring 2008
semester. Currently, the division has 25 SLO proposals submitted to the SLO office.
However, some of these SLO proposals cover more than one course (28 different courses)
and some courses have more than one SLO proposal (for instance, Geology 1 and
Oceanography 10 have 3 different proposals).
The SLO Assessment fairs have been most helpful to this division. In the fall and spring
semester, a number of Natural Science Faculty members attended a fair and took
advantage of the expertise available at the fair to help the with their own proposal. At the
spring fair, the Life Science Division decided to hold their department meeting at the
Assessment Fair, rather than have a regular department meeting. There are about two to
three faculty members in each discipline that are actively supportive of the assessment
process. The spring flex day was highly effective at getting faculty members to write a
formal SLO proposal and submit it to the SLO Office.
Several members of the pre-Allied Health program have indicated they performed
assessments for the anatomy, microbiology and physiology course level SLOs. These results
have not yet been submitted to the division or the SLO committee. Two faculty members in
Astronomy have also completed assessments in their assessments. Greater success has
occurred with the chemistry department. Three faculty members have completed and
submitted their assessments for four chemistry classes.
The overall weakness in the SLO/assessment process continues to be lack of incentive for
faculty to complete an SLO proposal and assessment. For faculty that are doubtful of the
9
value of the SLO process, there is no incentive for them to participate. It would be helpful
to provide a stipend or some other incentive to one faculty member in each department to
help coordinate the process, involving not only full time faculty, but part time faculty as
well. This would help the division get assessments for all sections of a course, rather than
one or two sections.
Recommendations: Despite strong leadership in this division at the dean level and at the
program level, this division continues to have little to show for its efforts. Again, this
division shows the need for faculty coordinators to coordinate the assessment process.
J. Student Services and Community Advancement: Claudia Lee—ALC Representative
In student services, progress has continued to be made. Linda Gallucci, SLO coordinator in
Student Services for the last semester, temporarily took a position as Acting Dean of
Community Advancement. Claudia Lee took her place as SLO coordinator in the Student
Services Area.
In Enrollment Services, the following SLO-related activities have been reported. Financial
Aid made strides to address lack of progress by students receiving disqualification letters.
Outreach and School Relations continues to collect student surveys in order to assess its
effectiveness in providing students information on ECC programs and services. First Year
Experience has very successfully ensured that all students participating in its program
draft and follow an educational plan. The Assessment and Testing Office is well underway
in assessing its SLO with one batch of data already in the process of being analyzed and a
comparative set in the process of being compiled.
In EOPS, an SLO has been drafted and an assessment tool agreed upon. The assessment is
planned for Fall 2008. Counseling has currently collected data on its SLO and is awaiting
analysis by Institutional Research. Admissions and Records has reported no SLO-related
activity this semester.
Recommendations: We recommend that student service programs continue to make
progress by continuing to assess their SLOs. This area should be commended for its
thoughtfulness in creating meaningful assessments, as well as their culture of collaboration
and helpfulness. This positive attitude is a model to the rest of the campus.
Accomplishments of the Assessment of Learning Committee (ALC):
The ALC had a very productive semester. Its work from last semester was completed, with
the Assessment Principles approved and ratified by the Academic Senate. These
Assessment Principles serve as the foundation for the construction of the SLO and
assessment process.
The ALC also put on its second Assessment of Student Learning Week from April 21-25,
modeled on last semester’s Assessment of Student Learning Week. SLO fairs took place on
Tues., April 22 at the Compton Center, and Wed., April 23 and Thurs., April 24 at the El
Camino College main campus. The format of the fairs was very much the same as the fall
semester, but many more assessment cycles had been completed to serve as models to the
rest of the campus. The committee chose several models from many different areas of
campus to put on display as posters at the fairs. The fairs also featured space for faculty
10
to meet with other faculty in their area to make progress in drafting SLOs and
assessments, or reflecting on assessment results. Help was available from the SLO
coordinators, who attended all fairs, as well as the ALC members, who helped to staff the
fairs at various times. The week ended with a “mini-conference,” which featured panels and
presentations from ECC staff, faculty, and administrators. All events were modestly
attended. The committee still wishes to grow this event and will discuss ways to increase
attendance in the next academic year.
The biggest accomplishment of the ALC was drafting a set of goals and benchmarks to be
met in the coming years. These goals and benchmarks were included in the Accreditation
Self-Study Report and are as follows:
Area A:
Student Learning Outcomes and Assessment Framework Creation
and Organizational Integration
Current Status:
Infrastructure Under Development (Stage 2)
Benchmarks:
A1. Course SLOs and completed assessment cycles on record for
every course offered regularly
A2. Program and degree SLOs and complete assessment cycles on
record for all programs and degrees
A3. Memorandum of Understandings established regarding adjunct
faculty participation in SLO Assessments
A4. Plan for the integration of SLOs into planning and budget
processes underway in spring 2009 and completed over the next year
A5. Plan for the integration of SLOs into program review and
curriculum review underway in spring 2009 and completed over the
next two years
Area B:
Dialogue about Student Learning Outcomes and Assessments
Current Status:
Infrastructure Close to Completion (Between Stages 2 & 3)
Benchmarks:
B1. As evidenced in faculty self-evaluation reports, a large
majority reflect engagement in SLOs and assessments
Area C:
Administration Commitment and Support
Current Status:
Infrastructure Under Development (Stage 2)
Benchmarks:
C1. Institutionalize adjunct faculty participation in SLOs and
assessments
C2. Permanently assign responsibility for SLOs and assessments,
program review and curriculum review in each of the academic
affairs and student affairs areas.
Completion Date:
Fall 2009
Fall 2010
Spring 2009
Spring 2010
Spring 2011
Completion Date:
Spring 2011
Completion Date:
Spring 2009
Spring 2010
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Area D:
Alignment of Teaching and Counseling Practices with
Student Learning Outcomes and Assessments
Current Status:
Infrastructure Under Development (Stage 2)
Benchmarks:
D1. All course syllabi list course SLOs and appropriate program
SLOs. Rubrics for high-stakes assignments are also included in
course information.
D2. Linked courses and student services routinely develop and
assess common SLOs using multiple assessments
D3. Course and program SLOs routinely used by counselors to
assist students in academic planning
Completion Date:
Spring 2009
Spring 2010
Spring 2011
Area E:
Artifacts and Evidence
Current Status:
Building Awareness, with some Infrastructure Under Development (Stage 1)
Benchmarks:
Completion Date:
E1. Online database for SLO and assessment reports created and
Fall 2009
used to generate reports and public webpages
E2. Program SLOs listed in college catalog and on website for all
Fall 2010
programs and degrees
E3. College, division, departmental and program meeting minutes
Fall 2010
and notes routinely reflect that decisions are made based on results
of SLOs and assessments
E4. Job descriptions changed to require participation in SLOs and
Fall 2010
assessments
Outreach and Education:
The semester started out with a flex day devoted entirely to the development of student
learning outcomes and assessments. At the beginning of the day, Jenny Simon and Linda
Gallucci made a presentation to the faculty, entitled “SLOs: Where We Are and Where
We’re Going.” In it, the two co-coordinators charted the progress that had been made to
date, described goals for building the process, and then took the faculty through the “nuts
and bolts” of filling out the report form. This presentation was touted as one of the most
successful training efforts to date, and the results were evident in the huge surge of SLO
and Assessment proposals drafted on that day (from 178 courses with SLOs previous to
flex day to 323 courses with SLOs after that day.)
Later in the semester, the second biggest training effort during this semester was the
Assessment of Student Learning Week from April 21-26 (described above in
“Accomplishments of the Assessment of Learning Committee”).
On a statewide level, Jenny Simon was invited by Janet Fulks (SLO Chair, Statewide
Academic Senate) and Barbara Illowsky (Basic Skills Initiative Chair) to participate as a
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trainer in the Basic Skills Initiative regional meetings, taking place throughout the state in
May and June. At these trainings, Jenny presented ECC’s model for building our SLO and
assessment process, using the assessments done in ESL as a specific example. This
presentation met with wide acclaim.
Overall, El Camino College’s SLO and assessment process has been recognized by statewide
leaders as well as officers of the accrediting commission as an effective model for the rest
of the state in its focus on the complete cycles from the outset rather than on initially
drafting SLO statements. Both Lars Kjeseth and Jenny Simon have been invited to speak at
other colleges (Santa Monica College and Berkeley City College, respectively) to share this
model and their experiences in completing assessment cycles.
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