College of Arts and Sciences
Rollinda Thomas, Ph.D.
Assessment Coordinator
Why Assessment?
• We can seek to improve anything that we care
about: (sports performance, scientific
experiments, business or financial performance,
production of goods, instructional practice, etc.)
• We identify a baseline, choose targets or goals,
then document actual performance! We can
then learn what we need to improve.
Know Your SLOs
• Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) are knowledge
skills and dispositions that students should be
able to demonstrate
• Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) are a few
major goals that we expect our graduates to reach
• Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) are goals that
are specific to a particular course
• Both PLOs and CLOs are types of Student Learning
Outcomes. Sometimes they may be called PSLOs
and CSLOs.
Program Evaluation Made Easy
• SACS will ask for continuous evaluation of
Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs).
• PLOs are the main things that graduates of
your program are expected to demonstrate.
• The PLOs for your program are listed on the
FSU Course Catalog.
• They should be few and focused.
Program Evaluation Made Easy
• We can select assignments within certain
courses as evidence of program learning
outcomes.
• Required 300 – 400 level courses are a great
resource. They should teach at least one of
the degree program learning outcomes
(PLOs) at a level of mastery. They are also
more likely to reach your majors.
Program Evaluation Made Easy
• When we document program improvement on a
form, we will:
– Identify program learning outcomes (PLOs)
– Select a required course to provide evidence for each
PLO (300-400 level is useful). Some courses may meet
more than one PLO.
– Determine how many students were successful in
meeting the program learning outcomes
– Decide which changes to make for improvement
– You can add course learning outcomes to the list, if you
choose
Let’s Make Documentation Easy!
• We will use the Matrix of SLOs:
Course/Number/Section:
Semester/Academic Year:
Program Learning
Outcome - Must be
aligned with program
outcomes listed in the
catalog; For each learning
outcome, identify year
adopted and/or revised,
source.
Program Learning
Outcome (from Catalog)
Evidence – To
include how you
assessed (specify
assessment
instruments);
Attach rubrics if
applicable
Use of
Results:
Change
to syllabi,
curricula,
rubrics,
etc.
Assignment you
use to measure it
# % of students
completing the course
who have satisfactorily
achieved the outcome
(Met or Exceeded your
expectations)
Target Results:
Actual Results:
No. and % of students
successful on that task
Program Learning
Outcome (from Catalog)
Course Learning Outcome
specific to class (optional)
Assignment you
use to measure it
Assignment you
use to measure it
No. and % of students
successful on that task
No. and % of students
successful on that task
Changes
made?
Changes
made?
Changes
made?
Why Assessment?
• This form, filled out once near the end of the
semester, tells us:
– What skills our students need to improve
– What skills we should focus on in class
– Whether our current approach is working (If not, adjust!
Kaizen!)
• It tells administrators (who gather all forms):
– What general number or percentage of students in our
program are proficient in certain skills
– Provides documentation that candidates for graduation
that have demonstrated proficiency
– Documents continuous improvement efforts
Shortcut!
• These forms do not have to completed for
every class taught – just a few required
courses to represent each PLO.
• All an instructor must do is fill out three
columns (evidence, number of students
proficient, and changes made). If he/she
chooses to add more course learning
outcomes to the PLOs, that’s fine.
Why Assessment?
• SACS and other accrediting bodies want to see
that we use data to make evidence-based
decisions.
• We can use one form to document that we use
data (student performance on specific tasks) to
inform our curriculum and instructional
decisions.
• By using the form each semester, we will build a
continuous stream of evidence that can be used
whenever we are reaffirmed or reviewed for new
accreditations.
Matrix of PLOs
• Asst. Chairs may use a summary document
(Matrix of PLOs) to give evidence of student
learning in an entire program, not just
individual classes.
• Gather the forms about PLOs from Area
Coordinator or participating faculty.
• Use them to summarize student performance
in each Program Learning Outcome.
Matrix of PLOs
• Example: Let’s say that participating faculty in the
Biological Sciences identified the number and
percentage of students who were successful on
PLO 1 in their classes (multiple sections).
• The Assistant Chair would add up the number and
calculate the percentage of students from
participating classes who were successful in PLO 1.
• If we use higher level required courses to provide
evidence, we can learn about student performance
in the program.
How Will This Be Used? Workflow
• Instructors provide forms to the Asst. Chair, Course
Coordinator, or Assessment Coordinator.
• The Asst. Chair summarizes the forms in a Matrix
of PLOs.
• The Chair can attach this to the OPAR as evidence
of student performance in program goals.
Operational Plans
• The Operational Plan and Assessment Report
(OPAR) shares the extent to which our
Departments or Units are achieving their goals.
• Try to ensure that:
– Goals are measurable
– Goals are aligned with mission
– Measures (Advisement surveys, CLA, NSSE, retention
and graduation rates, etc.) are consistently used from
one semester to the next. This makes it possible to
compare outcomes.
– Goals are numbered the same each semester
OPARs on TaskStream
• TaskStream is a data management system for
assessment purposes.
• We can use it to edit the OPARs and upload
documents, rubrics, video, or other files as
evidence.
• Our Graduate Assistant, Mr. Hamzah
Kharabsheh, can help us gain proficiency in
the use of TaskStream.
Thank You and Good Luck!
• Feel free to contact me for help or any
resources I can provide:
– Workshops
– Individual support
– Forms
– TaskStream
• Rollinda Thomas at rthomas@uncfsu.edu or
(910) 303-2763!
Image Credits
• Miyamoto Musashi http://visipix.com/search/search.php?userid=
1616934267&q=%272aAuthors/K/Kuniyoshi%
2017971861%2C%20Utagawa%2C%20Japan%27&s=2
2&l=en&u=2&ub=1&k=1
• Sports Illustrated, Dirk Nowitzki sportsill...d.cnn.com/multimedia
photo_gallery/0903/nba.mvp.candidates/
content.1.html
Image Credits
• Robert Robson Swider, Chevy Camaro robson.m3rlin.org/cars2009-chev...ncept-car/
• The Battle Grounds, Samurai Showdown 3,
Samurai Showdown Animated Gifs http://fenrir.finalfantasyq.com/battleground/s
s3/a.html
• Debbie Benstein’s Marketing Morsels, Pencil
and Paper - marketingmorsels.com/
what-is-a...-business
Image Credits
• Great Golfer Within, Kaizen Kanji Symbol greatgolferwithin.com/12kaizen-to...tter-golf
• Shmula, Kaizen Kanji Symbol 2 www.shmula.com/the-atomi...of-kaizen/
1112/
• Staples, Easy Button - blogs.ajc.com/
jeff-schultz-blog/2010/07/27/
braves-wr...r-to-deal/
• FSU, Lyons Science Annex http://www.uncfsu.edu/graphics/floorpln/lyo
ns_annex.htm
Image Credits
• FSU, Collins Building http://www.uncfsu.edu/graphics/floorpln/colli
ns.htm
• Dragon Artz, Target www.dragonartz.net/200912/24/
arrow-bullseye-vector/
• Truth Lives, Graduation Cap www.truthlives.org/201011/28/
graduatio...ext-level/close-up-...-a-ribbon/
Image Credits
• Blackboard, Logo - movingtob...press.com/
201012/10/blackboard-update-sp3/
• FSU Bronco http://www.uncfsu.edu/spotlights/storyintro.
htm
• FSU Bronco 2 http://www.uncfsu.edu/uts/Test-Forms.htm
• Confused Highway Signs education...paces.com/Assessment
•
Image Credits
• International Dummies Group, Japanese for
Dummies - bookeg.com/
languages/eriko-sato/japanese-...5066.html
• TaskStream Logo https://www.taskstream.com/pub/