To:     Concordia College Faculty

From:   Assessment Committee [Nick Ellig, Mark Jensen, Joan Kopperud, Morris
Lanning, Susan Larson, Chuck Paulson, Andrew Ronnevik, Kay Schneider, James
Springer, Michael Wohlfeil]

RE:     Assessment Survey

Recently the Assessment Committee asked members of the faculty to complete a
brief survey regarding assessment on the Concordia College campus.  We were
pleased that so many of you took time to respond to this survey; 99
completed surveys were returned.  We thought it would be appropriate to
provide a brief summary of the results.  (If a full copy of the results is
desired, please send e-mail to wohlfeil@cord.edu; a copy will be sent either
via campus mail or as an email attachment.)

Definition of Assessment

The first section asked respondents to rank various definitions of
assessment on a scale from one (least important) to five (most important).
The definitions were ranked as follows, with the percentages referring to
percentage of faculty giving a definition a ranking of four or five:
1.      Ascertaining whether my courses achieve their objectives. (87.7%)
2.      Determining whether the major achieves departmental objectives.
        (83.7%)
3.      Determining how well individual students meet learning goals.
        (81.1%)
4.      Evaluating teaching effectiveness. (64.3%)
5.      Measuring student satisfaction with my course. (27.8%)
6.      Measuring student satisfaction with me as a teacher. (25.5%)

We noted that many faculty members define assessment in ways similar to the
committee's working definition of assessment.  "Assessment is measurement of
student learning as an outcome of a program (such as a major) or the College
as a whole."  This describes the mission of the Assessment Committee, the
assessment work of Kay Schneider and Chuck Paulson, and the content of the
Assessment Workshops.  This does not include evaluation of students for
grades or evaluation of specific professors for any purpose.  Instead it is
done to provide faculty with feedback on how well academic programs achieve
their student learning outcomes.

Concerns about Assessment

The second section of the survey provided an opportunity to list any
concerns that faculty might have about assessment at Concordia College.  A
total of 61 faculty members included a comment in this section, mentioning a
wide variety of issues.  Of the 61 individuals who commented, 21 identified
time as a concern.  Included in these responses were those who expressed a
lack of time to devote to assessment (but implied that assessment was a
worthy activity) and those who wrote that assessment is an inefficient use
of limited time that could be better spent on teaching and research.

A handful of faculty wondered how the assessment data would be used by
administration.  Another small group of faculty asked if we are focusing too
much on satisfaction of courses/programs in our assessment tools.

How can we support assessment at Concordia College?

The third section of the survey asked faculty members to indicate which
activities might be helpful in supporting assessment.  The top selections,
which were also reflected in many of the comments, are listed below.

1.      Information on what other Concordia College departments are doing.

In response to this request, we are planning a "Celebration of Assessment"
for later this semester so that departments can share and showcase their
assessment activities.  This event is still in the planning stages, but we
will provide additional information about this celebration in the near
future.

In addition, we are going to schedule informal discussion sessions so
faculty can discuss topics of interest to them.  Also, information about how
departments have used assessment results will also be included in future
editions of the assessment newsletter.

During second semester, the assessment committee members will host a
discussion session on "Assessment for people who don't have time to do
assessment."  This session is scheduled for February 2 at 4:00 in Birkeland
Lounge.

2.      Information about what other institutions are doing.

In response to this request, Kay Schneider will include additional
information in the assessment newsletter and on the assessment web site about
how other colleges are developing and using assessment.  The assessment web
page also includes links to other college's assessment information.  In addition,
the college has a few books which describe assessment activities at other institutions.
Call Kay Schneider (4723) if you would like more information.

3.      Opportunities to discuss assessment with colleagues.

We are planning some informal discussion sessions so faculty can discuss
topics of interest to them.  Faculty are invited to attend a discussion
session on using portfolios for assessing student learning on February 16 at
4:00 in Birkeland Lounge.  Please come and share your insights and
questions.
The assessment committee is considering other opportunities for faculty
members to share information about assessment.  Proposed dates and times
will be announced in the near future.

4.      Grants to support assessment activities.

The Assessment Committee is planning another round of mini-grants to assist
departments with their assessment efforts.  Grant applications have been
sent to department chairs and are available here.  The purpose of the
assessment mini-grants is to encourage departments and programs to conduct
meaningful assessment efforts. Grant funds can be used for program
assessment (measuring student achievement of learning goals) but not for
assessment of individual courses.

All programs/departments are eligible for grant funds.  We would especially
like to encourage departments that are not currently conducting assessment
activities to apply for funding.  Grant funds must be expended by April 30,
2000.  In April we will announce the submission process for additional grant
funds that will be available for the next fiscal year.