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As indicated in the Compliance Report submitted March 11, 2006, Craven has identified a plan for establishing and assessing general education outcomes, and has made steady progress towards full compliance by April 30, 2007, when the college will have completed its first assessment cycle, as indicated by the following:
December 2005 - January 2006:
A full-time faculty member was selected to lead the process. Six credit hours of her load were reassigned for Spring 2006 to identify and articulate general education outcomes through faculty conversations.
All course syllabi were collected and outcomes/objectives reviewed to determine commonalities in core competencies expected. It was determined that the majority of course outcomes listed on syllabi addressed specific, rather than general outcomes, so were of limited use in providing a foundation for outcome development.
February 2006:
For broad-based input, the faculty leader and Chief Academic Officer scheduled four sessions of an hour and a half each in March 2006 (March 7, 8, 13, and 20), and invited all fulltime faculty to participate in a facilitated discussion to identify the overall "general education" competencies Craven students should have upon completion of the general education core.
March 2006
Sixty-nine percent of the fulltime faculty participated in the four sessions. Each session began with an overview of the League for Innovation's Learning Outcomes for the 21st Century (2000), which identifies the eight categories of core skills (communication, computation, community, critical thinking and problem solving, information management, interpersonal, personal, technology). Other colleges' outcomes were briefly shared as examples. Using an affinity process, the faculty leader divided each large group into smaller groups to identify their notion of the core competencies students should achieve through the general education core.
April 2006
The faculty member leading this process summarized results of meetings, identified commonalities, and organized outcomes into categories. Another faculty member verified the categories and groupings as follows: community awareness, communication skills, computational skills, critical thinking, information literacy, lifelong learning, personal and interpersonal skills, technology skills.
Through further invited input, the outcomes were narrowed to this table and again shared with all fulltime faculty:
The following general education objectives provide an opportunity for students to gain competencies and skills that can be applied to real world settings:
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Learning Outcome
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CCC students should be able to
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Community Awareness
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Demonstrate an understanding of societal or global issues that fosters a cultural sensitivity and understanding of diverse people.
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Communication Skills
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Incorporate oral, written, and visual communication through reading, writing, speaking, and listening to a variety of audiences.
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Computational Skills
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Understand and apply mathematical concepts and reason; analyze and use numerical data.
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Critical Thinking
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Problem solve by analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information and apply to different situations.
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Personal Skills and
Interpersonal Skills
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Demonstrate an ability to process actions and decisions by utilizing a personal ethical framework through personal responsibility and accountability.
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Technology Skills
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Use computers, current program specific applications, and other technologies.
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May 2006
Dr. Peter Felten of Elon University's Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning was contracted to provide a workshop on Assessing Student Learning. Of the 34 fulltime faculty members teaching in the general education core, 31 attended, along with faculty/staff from other areas of the college. Dr. Felten provided an overview of student learning, specifically addressing the list of outcomes Craven's faculty had articulated, along with sample direct and indirect measures.
Summer 2006
Craven created a half-time position of Assessment Coordinator reporting directly to the Chief Academic Officer to support the development and assessment of general education and program outcomes. A full-time faculty member was selected to serve in this role.
All Chairs, Program Directors, Deans received a copy of Assessment, Clear and Simple: A Practical Guide for Institutions, Departments, and General Education, by Barbara E. Walvoord (2004). Their roles related to outcomes and assessment are explained in July and August meetings.
August 2006
General education outcomes will be refined and finalized at a fulltime faculty session facilitated by the Chief Academic Officer. Faculty from the Arts & Sciences teaching areas will complete final revision of the general education outcomes and begin the process of identifying where and how these outcomes are significantly assessed in individual courses through the General Education Assessment Audit, Part One.
September-October 2006
Faculty will complete the General Education Outcomes and Assessment Audit Part One through meeting(s) facilitated by the Assessment Coordinator, Dean, or Chief Academic Officer. The Assessment Audit Part, One is due to Chief Academic Officer by Friday, October 13.
October 2006
Progress is reported to the Institutional Effectiveness Committee, and recommendation is made for which outcome is to be assessed beginning Spring 2007. The college will focus on one general education outcome per year within all programs. It is anticipated that this rotation will take five to six years before the college has assessed all outcomes, depending on the number of outcomes finally identified for Craven Community College.
November 2006
Faculty will complete the General Education Outcomes and Assessment Audit, Part 2, which will focus on selecting which direct measure(s) will be used to assess the outcome in Spring 2007. This audit form is due November 17 to the Chief Academic Officer.
December 2006
The assessment plan for spring 2007 and subsequent general education outcomes to be assessed institutionwide is finalized by Office of Institutional Effectiveness.
January 2007
General Education outcomes are published on the college's Web site and on syllabi. These outcomes will be included in the Craven Community College General Catalog and in other relevant publications.
Spring 2007
The first general education outcome is assessed directly and indirectly. Results are shared with the Institutional Effectiveness Committee and all faculty, program directors, department chairs, and deans. Areas for improvement inform college and department goals and drive budget allocations for resources (for example, professional development, equipment, supplies, support) next fiscal year, 2007-2008.
General education and program outcomes will also be incorporated into the college's 2007-09 strategic plan and critical action steps. Budget will be assigned to those outcomes for professional development and other necessary resources to ensure that student learning is improving based on plan-do-check-act cycle.
Services Review Progress
Services review reports for the past three years were included in the college's Compliance Report and are also a part of this report. In spring, service area leaders completed a template (or in some cases provided a summary report) indicating areas for improvement and further study based on the fall 2005 services review. A group of such leaders developed a list of questions for further study, and a task force of the IEC will develop the fall 2006 services review based on brainstorming and input from the service areas of the college. Mission statements for each service area and the recent Council for the Advancement of Standards self-appraisal completed by the Student Services area will serve as guides for determining outcomes to be assessed in the review.
Some examples of improvements in educational support services based on data gathered from program review include the college's addition of a full-time employee to assist with distance education support (from 2004, 2006 DE Services Review), and continual upgrades to the types of food service on the CCC campus. In 2002, the college converted its canteen-like snack bar to vending machines. Student dissatisfaction scores in 2003 exceeded 36 percent when asked about the quality of food provided by those machines. While nearly a quarter of students are still dissatisfied with the quality of food, the college has augmented campuswide vending service on the New Bern campus with a small additional snack bar area in the bookstore, now operated by Follett, which provides sandwiches, salads, and biscuits from local restaurants. Student dissatisfaction in the fall 2005 Services Review had dropped to 23 percent.
Craven Community College's business office and facilities department have taken a proactive stance in determining the quality of their services. Both of those service areas developed surveys for individual customers (vendors for business office and college employees for the facilities department) to discern service quality problems as part of their 2003-05 enhancement goals. The business office is now responding to student concerns, having received CCC Foundation mini-grant funding to offer additional signage and information posters explaining the registration process, directing students, and providing general information.
The college's Godwin Memorial Library also adjusted its questions on the 2005 Services Review in response to earlier responses that did not provide in-depth analysis of services actually provided. As indicated by the library director's response in 2006, the library will again adjust its questions to determine if students who do not find materials have actually attempted to use the library.
While not identified in services review questioning, the purchasing agent of the college realized through his reporting that the college had a problem with inventory control. He developed an enhancement goal in 2003 to reduce the college's losses from inventory, which were then cited in a 2005 letter about the college's spring 2004 inventory report. In 2005, thanks to increased assistance from the technical support area on campus, Craven's inventory losses were reduced. The Technology Services Division (IT technical support area on campus) has developed a database to keep track of moved computers.
Program Review Progress
The college is on target for its program review plan as presented with the Compliance Report.
- Faculty are in the process of fine-tuning the general education outcomes, as described above, and those faculty members teaching general education courses will review them and begin developing direct measures for assessment at the college's opening day meeting August 17, 2006.
- Two program review task forces (a dean/department chair level meeting and a subcommittee of the IEC) have developed "non-outcomes" measures that were shared with program leaders Aug. 3 along with a schedule for program review.
- Sample program outcomes from other colleges were compiled, and were shared with Instructional Deans, Chairs, and Directors on August 3, 2006. The Assessment Coordinator (1/2 time reassignment for Faculty Compliance Officer; see job description) and Chief Academic Officer reviewed the instructional leadership's responsibility towards articulating the outcomes and identifying assessment tools.
- Current advisory committee membership has been compiled and transferred to the Institutional Effectiveness office. IE is updating lists for Presidential appointment in early September and invitation to November College-wide meeting, where the program review process will be outlined. Advisory committee members will be introduced to their role in the process and will be presented with information about the re-instituted college standards, including program outcomes.
- Opening Day for the College (August 17, 2006) will include a session for all fulltime faculty to focus on Learning Outcomes and Assessment. Specifically, the Chief Academic Officer will provide an overview of Learning Outcomes and Assessment, and then the Assessment Coordinator will meet with program faculty to provide a step-by-step process for identifying program outcomes from these sources: external program accreditation requirements, syllabi, other college's program outcomes, brochures, etc.
- Beginning August 24, 2006, each program's faculty and Chair/Director will meet with the Assessment Coordinator at least twice to develop/revise program outcomes and means for direct assessment, with drafts due to Instructional Deans by October 6, 2006, and to the Chief Academic Officer by Friday, October 13, 2006.
- Approved program outcomes and assessment tools will be shared with the Institutional Effectiveness Committee October 24, 2006.
- At the College wide Advisory Committee meeting in early November, each program's advisory committee will review and provide input to the outcomes and assessment proposed for the program for which they serve. Input will be considered and revisions completed by Friday, November 17, 2006.
- Program outcomes will be published on the Craven Community College Web site and on course syllabi in January 2007 and will be included in the 2007-08 General Catalog.
- A full program review will be conducted in spring semester 2007 for the first cohort. Results will be shared with the Institutional Effectiveness Committee and each program area (instructors, chairs and dean) no later than April 30, 2007, for all programs evaluated. Information gained during this review will drive goal development and budget allocations.
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