If We Build it, Will They Learn?
Assessing Academic Program
Efficacy in Times of Institutional Change
Linda D. Feeney, Ed.D.
Director of Computer Services
Diane Holtzman, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor, Business Studies
Carra Leah Hood, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Writing
Jennifer Barr, Ph.D.
Professor, Business Studies
Presentation slides and web links available at:
http://www.stockton.edu/ifwebuildit
The Richard Stockton College of NJ 101 Vera King Farris Dr Galloway, NJ 08205
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Who are we?
• Richard Stockton College is a public, mediumsized liberal arts college located in southern
New Jersey
• The college has experienced extensive growth
in student enrollment, academic programs,
and infrastructure during the past decade
The Middle States Process
• Mission driven
• Strategic planning and the Four Themes:
– Learning
– Engagement
– Global Perspectives
– Sustainability
Recognizing Crucial Factors for
Reaccreditation
• The infusion of a culture of assessment
• The evaluation of institutional effectiveness
across divisions, schools, departments, and
programs
• The role of strategic planning and the
balanced scorecard approach
• The systematic alignment of planning,
measurement, and resource allocation with
decision-making
Getting Started:
Reflections of a Co-Chair Novice
• Attend a Middle States self-study institute
• Immerse yourself in the process from as many
vantage points as possible
• Understand the pivotal role of the research
questions and the necessity for transparency
• Establish timelines (but maintain a fluid
mindset)
• Inform and motivate team members (bring
food to meetings!)
Research Question – Version 1
How does the college meet its goals for
student learning in various academic
programs and what evidence is
available to demonstrate that the
program offerings have the academic
content, rigor, and coherence
appropriate to the undergraduate and
graduate levels?
Research Question – Version 2
What evidence is available to
demonstrate how the College
evaluates the effectiveness of
assessment of student learning
in various academic programs?
Research Question - Final
How effective is the assessment
of student learning outcomes
in academic programs?
Changes – More Students & Faculty
• More first year, transfer, and graduate students
• More residential students
• Changes in student demographics respond to
the economy, workplace needs, and the
ethnic/national identities living in the region
Student demographic information
Enrollment report 2008-2010
2011 Annual report
• More new faculty, new/enhanced programs
Changes – More Money
• The cost of attending Stockton has increased
Voluntary System of Accountability 2011
• Fundraising and College assets have grown
In 2011, first $1 million gift for scholarships to support low-income students
• Stockton faculty have received more internal
and external funding
Institutional Profile 2009
(contains comparative data about faculty grants)
Grants/Contracts FY10
Changes – More Services
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Increased services for students
More smart classrooms and computer labs
More online courses
Expanding physical plant
Increased community partnerships and offcampus learning centers
Instructional Program Assessment
• Big Task/Little Pieces
– Rubrics
– Spreadsheet
– Interview Summary
• Task assignment - overlap
Rubric
• Began with a qualitative approach –
Incomplete, Satisfactory, Exemplary
• Disparate methodologies prompted a more
global perspective
• Extracted assessment reports from program
self-studies
• Summarized assessment efforts at the
program, school, and institution levels
Breaking Down the Task
Sub-Group Report
• Submitted to co-chairs
• Report Sections
– Procedure
– Evidence
– Summary of Findings
– Suggestions
Task Management
• Blackboard CE8 Course Section
– Document Repository
– Progress Reports
– Report Drafts
Blackboard Repository
Institute for Faculty Development
• Supports effective pedagogy and productive
scholarship for all faculty members
• Director develops resources for teaching,
research, service, and assessment of student
learning
• Evidence newsletter
– communicates the assessment of student learning by
faculty, programs, and schools (8 years’ worth)
– Publishes and interprets the results of the CLA, VSA,
and NSEE data for use in faculty and program
discussions on improvement
Evidence
Evidence
Annual Coordinator Reports
Sample page from Annual
Program Coordinators’
Reports draft template.
Similar to 5-year program
review draft template:
• collects consistent
information
• follows a consistent
organization
• uses predictable categories
• includes relevant data from
Institutional Research
Academic Program Reviews
This draft template
provides for consistent
information, and format,
facilitating internal and
external reporting and
institutional data mining.
Sedona
• A web database application
– allows faculty to maintain their teaching, research, service,
experience, development, credentials, and assessment
records
– used to support accreditation, build rubrics to assess
learning objectives, customize reports , create database
queries, ePortfolios, evaluations, and benchmark faculty
productivity
– can be connected to the institutional database
Sedona
• Currently being used by the School of Business
for AACSB accreditation—will be expanded for
use throughout the college
• Provides consistency in reporting of data and
use of terminology facilitating more reliable
comparisons throughout the college
• Allows for graphical representation of data for
ease of comparison of progress in assessment
in faculty development
Sedona
Looking Ahead
• Encourage ongoing campus conversation
• Further refinement of course, program, and
school goal alignment with institutional goals
• Refinement of templates for course/program
assessment documentation
• Development of an electronic document
repository as a single, institutional resource
Questions?
Linda D. Feeney, Ed.D.
Director of Computer Services
Diane Holtzman, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor, Business Studies
Carra Leah Hood, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Writing
Jennifer Barr, Ph.D.
Professor, Business Studies
Presentation slides and web links available at:
http://www.stockton.edu/ifwebuildit
The Richard Stockton College of NJ 101 Vera King Farris Dr Galloway, NJ 08205

