Progress Report - May 3, 2007
Recommendation No. 3
Sub-Committee Chair Persons:
Dennis Anderson
Carolyn Hays
Joyce Johnson
951/487-3420, danderson@msjc.edu
951/639-5520, 951/652-6321 carhays@yahoo.com
951/639-5560, jajohnso@msjc.edu
Committee Members and Advisors:
Rich Rowley
Bil Bergin
Marlene Cvetko
Robert Rockwell, SLO Committee Chair, San Jacinto Campus
SLO Sub-Committee Members, Menifee and San Jacinto Campuses
Recommendation 3
“3. The team recommends that the College develop a comprehensive plan for the
development of student learning outcomes at the program and course levels, for using
data about student achievement of those outcomes to assess and improve the quality and
effectiveness of programs and services, and to integrate the results of the process into
decision making and planning at the College (Standards I-A, IB.7; II-A.1.2.3)”
Response to Recommendations
Steps Taken in 2006-2007 Academic Year (As further addendum to eoy report for
05-6)
1. SLO Coordinator – Menifee Campus
a. Fall semester, 2007, the Academic Senate established a second Student
Learning Outcome (SLO) site-coordinator position and SLO subcommittee for Menifee Campus. By mid-semester, Carolyn Hays was
approved as the Menifee site coordinator and sub-committee chair.
b. In collaboration with San Jacinto coordinator, Robert Rockwell, plans
were put in motion designed to accelerate SLO activity college-wide and
initiate stronger leadership and visibility on Menifee campus.
2. SLO workshops.
a. A FLEX workshop was scheduled for January 18, 2006, one of the
required faculty meeting days held on Menifee Campus at the beginning
of spring semester. A Power Point presentation was prepared and
presented at the workshop explaining the purpose and value of completing
Student Learning Outcomes. The process for completing SLO’s was
explained and examples of model SLO’s completed by faculty thus far
were reviewed. Time was allotted for faculty to work together in groups
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by discipline to identify their course(s) and learning objectives for review.
A dozen or so groups participated in active discussions and were
successful in planning and designing their assessment activities for
completing SLO’s. In the Nursing department alone, twelve courses were
identified, assessment plans completed, and preliminary reports were
submitted to the SLO coordinators by the end of the workshop.
b. A second FLEX workshop was held at San Jacinto Campus, April 18,
2007, and Menifee Campus, April 19, 2007. Workshop was Titled, “Bring
What You Have and Let’s Work on it”
3. Academic Senate and FLEX Committee
a. SLO site coordinators met with the Academic Senate and other councils
requesting budget augmentation incentives for year two, and
recommending FLEX credit for faculty participating in SLO development.
i. Academic Senate. The senate endorsed the SLO committee
proposal for second-year incentives for budget augmentation, and
recommended to the vice-president of instruction that $1,000 be
awarded to departments who are first-year participants, and $600
to departments participating for the second year. Final approval by
the vice-president of instruction is pending.
ii. FLEX committee. The committee approved recommendations by
SLO committee chairs for FLEX credit and encouraged
departments and disciplines to use FLEX time for completing their
studies and reports.
4. Curriculum Committee
The Curriculum Committee approved the SJC SLO model and exemplum
manuals at the beginning of 2006-7. IN addition, SLO materials were given a
clearly identifiable web presence via the Curriculum Committee web page. In
spring, the committee began to examine the role of Departmental Learning
Outcomes as a connection between Institutional Learning Outcomes and
courses. Under consideration is connecting courses to DLOs via the regular
curriculum review cycle.
5. Communication and Awareness
a. The SLO newsletter begun in year one was reactivated and other
communication activities initiated to keep faculty informed on upcoming
events, and availability of assistance from site coordinators.
b. Site coordinators accelerated individual contacts with departmental faculty
and provided assistance to SLO developers.
c. The SLO final report form was revised as an electronic input form for ease
of completion by faculty.
d. A web page for SLO’s was included under Curriculum Committee’s web
page on the college website. Completed studies and reports submitted by
MSJC faculty, examples from other colleges, Power Point presentations,
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and forms to use, are among the topics provided for information and
assistance to faculty.
6. Meetings and Presentations
a. SLO site coordinators met regularly with various college groups
i. Site coordinator Hays presented information on SLO and DLO
development to Career Education faculty in advisory committee
and department chair meetings. She arranged with Dr. Robin
Steinback for similar presentations to be made to academic faculty,
Menifee campus. At SJC, the site coordinator for that campus
presented several times to general faculty meetings, and conferred
directly with department chairs in follow-up activities.
ii. Regular follow-up meetings were held with various departments.
At Menifee campus, two visits were made to Nursing Department
at their regular departmental faculty meetings. The following
departmental progress reports are cited:
1. Nursing reports continued progress with SLO development
and finalization for thirteen courses.
2. English and Math departments are continuing their
assessment activities and report that they will be
completing their final reports by the end of fall semester,
2007.
3. Among other departments, direct coordinator assistance has
been provided to Psych and Digital Photography
Department chairs, and they have committed to completing
SLO final reports by the end of spring semester 2007.
4. Coordinator assistance has been provided to two English
instructors who are coordinating the SLO study in their
departments. English plans to complete their SLO study
and report fall semester 2007.
5. Progress reports have also been received by Art, Spanish,
and Multimedia departments.
6. In the business department, a second-year study and final
report has been completed by the accounting discipline.
7. Office technologies discipline, business department, will be
submitting their second-year final report before the end of
spring 2007 semester.
At the San Jacinto Campus, follow-ups with the English, Anatomy
and Physiology, Art, Music, History, and Psychology departments
helped keep those programs on target or verify their progress
toward completion, while the Audio and Auto programs reported
progress or completion.
b. SLO sub-committees
i. Both committees met regularly to review progress, discuss ideas
for encouraging increased participation in SLO activity, and make
recommendations to other college committees and councils.
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ii. The Menifee SLO sub-committee reviewed progress made toward
departmental completion of SLO’s, Departmental Learning
Outcomes (DLO’s) and Institutional Learning Outcomes (IPO’s) in
their March 8, 2007 meeting.
iii. The Menifee sub-committee observed that many of the draft
DLO’s were quite narrow in scope and suggested departments
review and expand their DLO’s to include expectations for student
achievement in terms of student preparation for the workforce,
transfer, and life-long learning.
iv. At the suggestion of the MVC SLO sub-committee, ILOs will be
revisited in the 2007-8 year to determine whether a “major” or
“concentration” statement is needed. This step is necessary
because he ILO statement grew out of a discussion of general
education requirements and expectations for those students who
complete the general education pattern for degree or transfer.
Consequently, course work completed for career education majors,
academic majors, and career education certificate completers are
not addressed.}
v. The SJC sub-group has undertaken the development of a proposal
for multi-year SLO planning, tied to the curriculum review cycle.
In addition, the group has worked diligently to ensure
incorporation of SLOs into program review and planning, although
the planning system is still characterized by disconnects and
cloudy processes and the new program review model, intended for
roll-out Fall 2006, was afflicted by the nearly universal period of
slow-down and disarray that afflicted SLOs in Fall, 2006 and
Spring 2007; sadly, program review has not yet recovered.
7. Accreditation Steering Committee
a. SLO site coordinators served as co-chairs on subcommittees to the college
accreditation steering committee.
b. The San Jacinto Committee undertook a review of the 2005-6 end-of-year
report on SLOs to determine the extent to which its findings were still
accurate. The findings were endorsed.
c. The Menifee SLO sub-committee’s findings and recommendations were
presented to the accreditation steering sub-committee for further review
and discussion as follows:
i. The value to departments and disciplines for completing SLO’s is
becoming clearer over time. Departments are bringing clarity and
consistency in setting student expectations and assessing student
success at the course level.
ii. As the next step, we need to focus more clearly on departmental and
institutional goals in our expectations for and assessment of student
success at Mt. San Jacinto College.
d. The San Jacinto sub-committee developed a proposal for integration of an
on-going, multi-year integration of SLOs, Curriculum development/review
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cycles, and Program Review, which was endorsed by the MVC subcommittee and incorporated in the general goals statements for 2007-08
put before the Chair Academy by VP Deegan.
8. Summary
a. After a slow start, SLO activities, 2006-2007 academic year, have
increased awareness among faculty as to the value of developing SLO’s,
DLO’s and ILO’s.
b. Faculty participation and college-wide activity has accelerated. Faculty
are continuing to review courses and develop student learning outcome
studies. Some departments have participated as first timers this academic
year. Other departments are developing SLO’s for new courses this year
in addition to reviewing and revising those studies completed in previous
years.
c. Reviewing new courses, and using what faculty have learned from
previous years’ to revise existing SLO’s is part of the process that has
occurred.
d. College committees continue to support and promote SLO development
activities continues.
e. The culmination of activities this academic year show significant progress
toward institutionalizing development of student learning outcomes and
using data about student achievement to assess and improve the quality
and effectiveness of programs and services.
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