To:
From:
Date:
Subject:
Department / Program Chairs
UHHilo Congress, Assessment Committee, Sevki Erdogan, Chair
November 27, 2007
Spring Assessment Activities
The major assessment activity for the 2007-2008 academic year will be a campus-wide update of
program goals and their associated assessment activities. The momentum for good assessment
practices has been established at UH Hilo, and this year's activity will provide a coordinated
response to previous WASC recommendations in preparation for the March 2008 WASC visit.
Excerpts of 2003 WASC Report
Accomplishments: "… formation of assessment and general education committees,
establishment of policies for assessment and academic program review, conduct of faculty
assessment workshops, and provision of coaching and consulting services by the
Institutional Research Director."
Directives to be completed: "… efforts to implement assessment initiatives have not yet
reached the level of campus-wide engagement. . . . In all cases, the University must
maintain its momentum so that faculty will understand that the ultimate purpose of
assessment is to improve teaching and learning.
The following activities are planned.
1. On February 4, 5, and 6, Dr. Mary Allen, a nationally recognized expert on student learning
assessment, will be coming to UH Hilo to present a series of workshops for faculty, staff, and
administration. Department and program chairs, and other faculty, are urged to attend one of the
three workshops scheduled for faculty:
 Monday, Feb 4: 1-4 pm
 Tuesday, Feb. 5: 8:30 am -11:30 am
 Tuesday, Feb. 5: 1-4 pm
The workshops are intended to assist programs to be both more reflective and more explicit
about their learning goals and how students can meet them, in order to provide a solid and
rational foundation for curriculum planning and improvement.
2. A stipend of $400 - $600 (depending on number of degrees and certificates in your program)
will be awarded to department / program chairs who participate in the February workshop and
complete the attached deliverables. The workshops will provide significant guidance for these
deliverables.
3. To jump start the process and to leverage the hard work done already done, the Assessment
Committee will assist by populating some of the attached forms with whatever existing data is
available to the committee. Populated forms will be distributed in early. The empty forms are
provided with this memo to give you an idea of the process ahead.
4. To get the most benefit from the workshops, you and your faculty will need to do some
preparation. Please review your program learning goals with your faculty to be sure they are
current, and begin to identify specific kinds of student work or performances that demonstrate
whether your majors are meeting your goals. Also, review and update your program's mission
statement and the program outcomes, last submitted in 2004, at
http://www.uhh.hawaii.edu/uhh/accreditation/DeptGoalsMission.php.
The Faculty Congress Assessment Committee is ready to assist programs in reviewing their
student learning goals and determining how students can demonstrate that they are moving
toward these goals or have achieved them. Email Sevki Erdogan, Assessment Committee Chair,
sevki@hawaii.edu, for assistance.
Attachments:
Deliverable #1: Matrix of Program Outcomes and Courses
Use as preparation before Dr. Allen's workshop
Complete after Dr. Allen's workshop
Deliverable #2: Assessment Plan for Program Outcomes
Use as preparation before Dr. Allen's workshop
Complete after Dr. Allen's workshop
Deliverable #3: WASC Rubrics (self-assessment checklist)
Complete after Dr. Allen's workshop
We are privileged to have Dr. Allen come to our campus.
Just a few of Dr. Mary Allen's qualifications:
 Director, Institute for Teaching and Learning, CA State University Office of the
Chancellor, July 1, 2001 to June 30, 2004.
 Assessment Consultant, Blackboard, Inc., June 2006 to present.
 Invited Participant, WASC Staff Retreat on the Educational Effectiveness Review,
August 9-10, 2005, Alameda, CA.
 WASC Visiting Team Member, Educational Effectiveness Review, Hawaii Pacific
University, March 16-18, 2005.
UH Hilo Assessment Committee
November, 2007
Deliverable #1: Matrix of Program Outcomes and Courses
The workshop by Dr. Mary Allen on Feb 4-5, 2008, will address the development of program outcomes.
Degree or Program Name: ___________________________________________
Outcome 1: * __________________________________________________________________________
Outcome 2: ___________________________________________________________________________
Outcome 3: ___________________________________________________________________________
Outcome 4: ___________________________________________________________________________
Outcome 5: ___________________________________________________________________________
Outcome 6: ___________________________________________________________________________
Outcome 7: ___________________________________________________________________________
* Program Outcomes (as of 2004) can be found at:
http://www.uhh.hawaii.edu/uhh/accreditation/DeptGoalsMission.php
Courses for Majors
Required
100
1xx
3xx
Outcome
1
Outcome
2
Outcome
3
Outcome
4
Outcome
5
Outcome
6
Outcome
7
I
D
M
One From These
2xx
2xx
Two From These
3xx
3xx
4xx
4xx
Multiple charts may be submitted for multiple emphases, concentrations, etc. if it is confusing to combine them.
Add & modify rows as needed.
I = Introduced, D = Developed & Practiced with Feedback, M = Demonstrated at the Mastery
Sample Program Outcomes: UH Hilo English Department – as of 2004 – currently under revision
1. Develop familiarity with the literary tradition of England, the United States, and other English-speaking cultures of
the world.
2. Develop understanding of the sociocultural and biological nature and structure of human language, in particular the
English language.
3. Develop understanding of the social, political, and cultural foundations of literature in English.
4. Develop understanding of the principles and practice of literary criticism and literary theory.
5. Develop the ability to assess diverse viewpoints, to identify the assumptions that underlie discourse, to assess the
reliability of sources, and to analyze and synthesize information from a variety of sources.
6. Develop the ability to write clearly, effectively, and concisely in formats appropriate for the presentation of work to a
variety of audiences and for a variety of purposes, including audiences and purposes common to academic and
career settings.
7. Develop the skills to pursue and appropriately present the results of library research.
8. Develop familiarity with the diversity of literary art and literary standards of excellence.
UH Hilo Assessment Committee
November, 2007
Deliverable #2: Assessment Plan for Program Outcomes
The workshop by Dr. Mary Allen on Feb 4-5, 2008, will address the development of an assessment plan.
Degree or Program Name: _______________________________________________________________________
Program Outcome (same
outcomes as Deliverable #1)
1.
Assessment Plan
Status / Progress /
Results
With what kinds of assessable performances will students demonstrate
that they are meeting or have met this objective?
Status / Progress /
Results
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
SAMPLE
UH Hilo English Dept Program Learning
Goals
1. Develop familiarity with the literary
tradition of England, the United States, and
other English-speaking cultures of the
world.
2. Develop understanding of the
sociocultural and biological nature and
structure of human language, in particular
the English language.
3. Develop understanding of the social,
political, and cultural foundations of
literature in English.
4. Develop understanding of the principles
and practice of literary criticism and literary
theory.
5. Develop the ability to assess diverse
viewpoints, to identify the assumptions that
underlie discourse, to assess the reliability
of sources, and to analyze and synthesize
information from a variety of sources.
6. Develop the ability to write clearly,
effectively, and concisely in formats
appropriate for the presentation of work to
a variety of audiences and for a variety of
purposes, including audiences and
purposes common to academic and career
settings.
7. Develop the skills to pursue and
appropriately present the results of library
research.
8. Develop familiarity with the diversity of
literary art and literary standards of
excellence.
[Note: These are sample descriptions; the UH Hilo English Department will be
meeting to develop their actual descriptions. A senior major might
demonstrate a satisfactory level of mastery of the program objectives by the
following kinds of performances, completed as assignments in various upperdivision courses. The student might retain graded copies of these
performances and present them in a portfolio to the faculty at the end of the
senior year for the purpose of program-level assessment.]
Identify and describe the content and literary and social significance of
representative texts from the medieval through the contemporary period, and
originating in England, the US, and other English-speaking cultures of the
world.
Given a natural text in English, describe its diction and syntax and comment
on what these features suggest about the sociocultural context in which the
text was produced.
Identify and describe the content and literary and social significance of
representative texts from the medieval through the contemporary period, and
originating in England, the US, and other English-speaking cultures of the
world.
Using a particular theoretical approach, develop and present cogent and
coherent analyses of texts representing at least three of the following genres:
poetry, short fiction, film, drama, nonfiction.
Prepare and present a properly documented review of the literature on a
particular literary issue or figure, summarizing and evaluating previous
studies published in print or electronically.
Present a cogent and original argument or analysis, properly documented,
that draws on studies published in print or electronically.
Given a written or verbal text, identify key rhetorical strategies indicating
adaptation to particular audiences and for particular purposes.
Present two versions of a text, each one appropriate to a different audience
and purpose, and present an explanation of the various adaptive devices
used.
Prepare a properly documented review of the literature on a particular literary
issue or figure that summarizes and evaluates previous studies published in
print or electronically.
Present a cogent and original argument or analysis, properly documented,
that draws on studies published in print or electronically.
Using one or more theoretical approaches, develop and present cogent and
coherent analyses of texts representing at least three of the following genres:
poetry, short fiction, film, drama, nonfiction.
Possible
Revisions
Delete “biological”?
Rephrase in terms of
rhetoric?
Rephrase in terms of
rhetoric?
UH Hilo Assessment Committee
November, 2007
Deliverable #3: WASC Rubrics (Self-Assessment Checklist)
Program: __________________________________________________________________________
Check the status of your program's learning outcomes for each WASC criteria below. *
Comprehensive List:
Assessable Outcomes:
Alignment:
`
Assessment Planning:
The Student Experience:
__ Initial
__ Initial
__ Initial
__ Initial
__ Initial
___Emerging
___Emerging
___Emerging
___Emerging
___Emerging
___Developed
___Developed
___Developed
___Developed
___Developed
___Highly Developed
___Highly Developed
___Highly Developed
___Highly Developed
___Highly Developed
*Admittedly the font above is very small. The entire document is available in a larger font from the chair of the
Assessment Committee, Sevki Erdogan. sevki@hawaii.edu.
Alternate rubrics are available if your program uses portfolios or capstone experiences as the primary assessment of
program outcomes. Those rubrics are in the same document.