Learning Outcomes Assessment
Overview
Welcome
This is the web site for Learning Outcomes Assessment created by the Committee at Riverside Community College District.
News & Announcements
Contact Us
Kristina Kauffman,
Associate Vice Chancellor, Institutional Effectiveness
District Offices
Sheryl Tschetter,
District Assessment Coordinator
Norco Campus
Dominique Moise-Swanson,
Outcomes Assessment Specialist
Moreno Valley Campus
Assessment Overview
Definition
Many definitions of assessment exist. The Committee has chosen to provide the following definition of assessment due to its focus on improving student learning:
"Assessment is the systematic collection, review, and use of information about educational programs undertaken for the purpose of improving learning and development.1"
Assessment, thus, has come to mean something very different from grades and placement. If grading is primarily evaluative, a method of classifying students, assessment is primarily ameliorative, a method of understanding and improving teaching and learning.
For a list of assessment related terms and definitions refer to the Glossary,
Purpose
Accrediting bodies including the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) are placing a great deal of emphasis on student learning outcomes. New accreditation standards for community colleges make assessment a critical and mandatory component of institutional self-study.
The District Assessment Committee (DAC) works to support outcomes assessment as a vital method for improving teaching and learning. By supporting the collaborative efforts of practitioners to improve teaching and learning, a secondary effect of our work is to ensure we meet standards set by accrediting bodies such as the Accrediting Commission of Junior and Community Colleges. To accomplish our goals, the District Assessment Committee (DAC) interacts in outcomes assessments at all levels of the institution with its primary function at the district level. DAC provides support to faculty, administrators, and staff work working collaboratively to develop assessment outcomes, engage in assessment activities, and develop reports indicating how results of assessments are used to improve student learning. We also work to ensure that outcomes assessment is embedded in all major processes of the institution, particularly planning and resource allocation.
Models
Cabrillo College SLO Assessment Plan
League for Innovation in the Community College
Johnson County Community College
1 Palomba, C.A. & Banta, T.W. Assessment Essentials: Planning, Implementing, and Improving Assessment in Higher Education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1999, p. 4