December 06, 2007

In November 2007, the Division of Instructional Innovation and Assessment (DIIA) hosted two interactive workshops for faculty and staff focused on enhancing student learning outcomes. Topics for the workshops were selected through a faculty poll. Workshop I—Developing and Applying Tools: Exam Questions and Rubrics—covered tools that instructors can use to design sound and powerful grading methods, including mapping assignments to outcomes, writing valid critical thinking exam questions, and developing appropriate rubrics. In Workshop II—Using Assessment Results to Drive Improvement—DIIA shared ideas and techniques that can help faculty and staff derive insight from assessment results to address unit structures, functions, and processes critical to program improvement. Relevant workshop materials are included in this link. Should you have any questions about the content, or about inviting DIIA to do a workshop for your unit, please contact Linda Dickens at linda.dickens@austin.utexas.edu.

October 23, 2006

We are pleased to announce the release of the Online Assessment Tracking System (OATS), the web-based system we will use to manage our outcomes-based assessment plans for academic programs and administrative units in support of our preparations for reaccreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools’ Commission on Colleges. OATS is designed to house our outcome-based assessment plans as well as support updating of materials, getting help with questions and feedback, and tracking the success of each program’s efforts via an easy to use web-based system.

Authorized users have been given access to OATS, and these users include vice presidents, deans, academic associate deans, department chairs, and various individuals within the undergraduate and graduate programs and directors within some of the administrative units on campus.

June 8, 2006

The University’s Online Assessment Tracking System (OATS) is nearing the point when it can be made available to the campus and used to help manage the assessment plans being developed by academic and administrative units as part of SACS’ Institutional Effectiveness standard. This software was obtained from Georgia Tech and will allow us to demonstrate compliance with SACS requirements that all programs demonstrate assessment of educational objectives/student learning outcomes (i.e., what we want students to know, be able to do, or to value by the time they graduate) and usage of assessment findings for continuing program improvements. Likewise, administrative units will be able to demonstrate that they are accomplishing their missions by achieving goals and objectives related to their mission and continuously improving their operations and services along the way.

Using this online system, each academic program and administrative unit will be able to enter information about their programs and operations and track progress toward improvements over time. The initial entry of information will take place just as soon as the software is released which is expected to be later this summer. With feedback from the Provost’s Office, these assessment plans will be fine tuned and through implementation will be able to document assessments and changes in programs that show the process is working. By the 2007 Spring Break it is expected that most academic and administrative programs on campus will have populated OATS with enough material to show that we as a University are in compliance with the Institutional Effectiveness standard.

Until OATS is available, academic and administrative units are expected to be developing and documenting their assessment programs using materials covered in the spring workshops by DIIA’s Dr. Mi-Suk Shim and in the Formats documents distributed from the Provost’s Office by email and noted in the May 15 news item. Information from the Formats documents can be copied and pasted directly into OATS.

May 15, 2006

Academic and administrative units were asked to submit what had been accomplished, regardless of progress made to this point, in the way of Mission, Goals, Objectives, and Assessment Plans using the “Format and Guidelines for Academic Unit Assessment Plans”(pdf) and “Format and Guidelines for Administrative Unit Assessment Plans”(pdf), respectively, to organize and submit materials. An electronic version of the material preferably in MS Word and with the name of the unit in the file name were to be sent to Neal Armstrong (neal_armstrong@mail.utexas.edu) or his assistant, Cindy Cruz (cruz_cc@mail.utexas.edu), by the end of May.

By Spring Break of 2007, it is expected that each unit will have their Goals, Objectives, and Plans fully developed and that many units will have been able to “close the loop” at least one time, i.e., assess how well Outcomes and Objectives are being achieved, identify areas in which improvement is needed and the nature of changes needed, implement those changes, and determine the effects of those changes. At that time, whatever materials you have developed will be incorporated into what we submit to SACS in our Compliance Certification Report later that year.

April 6, 2006

Now available! The interactive Assessment Planning Flow Chart^© by Gloria Rogers

The Assessment Planning Flow Chart is from an interactive CD-ROM created by Gloria Rogers to assist faculty and administrators in assessing student learning at the program and/or institutional level. Each box on the interactive flow chart has links that clearly describe each step of the planning process. Additional references and downloads are also provided. In addition, the Flow Chart includes printable materials designed to provide guidance throughout the assessment planning and implementation process. A special section on "Assessment Helps" provides valuable references on topics related to the assessment of student learning at the program level.

In addition to the assessment planning flow chart itself, other features on the CD-ROM content include:

• Conceptual models
• Forms and process downloads
• 12 assessment tools with applications
• Examples of measurable learning outcomes
• Assessment references with links
• Glossary of terms

The contents of this CD-ROM are available to the University, and this material can be viewed with Mac or PC using Internet Explorer 6 and Netscape 7 or higher.

Access the Assessment Planning Flow Chart and its associated material.

April 4, 2006

The second workshop of the “Developing Assessment Plans” series was held and again Dr. Mi-Suk Shim, Outcomes Assessment Specialist, led the workshop. Changes were made to the presentation and materials used in the March 30 workshop, and the updated materials used in this workshop may be found on the Resources page in the Accreditation Workshops section. The last two workshops are scheduled for April 4 19 (9-11 AM), and 25 (9-11 AM), and both will be held in the Liberal Arts Dean's Conference Room (Dorothy L. Gebauer Bldg - GEB 3.312).

March 30, 2006

“Developing Assessment Plans” was the topic of a workshop led by Dr. Mi-Suk Shim, Outcomes Assessment Specialist. The purpose of this workshop was to provide faculty the tools they will need to assess whether the outcomes for their academic programs are being achieved. Her presentation and associated materials may be found on the Resources page in the Accreditation Workshops section. Other workshops are scheduled for April 4 (9-11 AM), 19 (9-11 AM), and 25 (9-11 AM). The April 4 workshop is to be held in NOA 5.318A&B while the others will be held in the Liberal Arts Dean's Conference Room (Dorothy L. Gebauer Bldg - GEB 3.312).

March 9, 2006

With Provost Ekland-Olson's release of the faculty credentialing policy to the academic deans, faculty credentialing has begun. Faculty credentialing is basically documenting that faculty are qualified to teach the courses they are assigned to teach. This policy is documented in his March 6, 2006 memorandum and on the SACS web page under the Process section. This policy is implemented in two stages. The first stage is obtaining either a degree certification or a transcript of the highest degree obtained for all current faculty and a transcript for all future faculty hires. The second stage is showing that the faculty are qualified to teach the courses they are assigned to teach based on their credentials in their field of study and/or expertise and the field of study of the courses they teach.

Details of this process are given in the Provost’s memorandum or in the Faculty Credentialing web page in the Process section.

March 8, 2006

The University of Texas at Austin SACS-COC website goes “live.” It is an evolving website, and new material will be added frequently in the coming weeks. Questions about the website or about accreditation matters should be referred to Dr. Neal E. Armstrong, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and SACS Accreditation Liaison, 232-3305 orneal_armstrong@mail.utexas.edu.

For those preparing program outcomes and assessment plans, please see the RESOURCES section for the handouts and templates distributed during the Writing Outcomes and Developing Assessment Plans workshops held this spring. Also, please note that we are acquiring an online tracking system from another institution that will allow each program to enter its mission, program educational objectives, program outcomes, assessment plan, and actions taken to improve its programs and to track the results of those improvements.

Also, for those preparing responses to the SACS-COC criteria, another online program is being acquired from that same institution that will allow us to enter those responses and to receive feedback from the Provost’s Office as needed.