Assessment Plan
"Data and information gathered from Assessment of Student Learning activities will be used by faculty, staff, and administrators to focus assessment efforts on improving student learning, supporting faculty needs to do so through professional development opportunities, and making necessary organizational enhancements based on the results." - Goals for Assessment at Aims Community College
AAA Assessment Committee
Beginning Fall 2014, a AAA assessment committee was formed to meet monthly to further program efforts towards gathering data and information about AAA 090 and recommending enhancements/changes to instruction, curriculum and instructor professional development based on the results.
Members (2015)
- Francie Rottini, AAA Faculty (Chair of the Committee)
- Rachel Veretto, Assistant Director, Center for First Year Experience
- Robert Garcia, CAMP Program - Ft. Lupton Campus
- Megan Friesen, English Assistant Professor
Spring 2016 Meetings: Friday, 2/12 from 1:30 to 3pm, Friday, 3/4 1:30-3pm, Friday, 4/1 12-1:30pm & Monday, 5/16 12-1:30pm
Current or Planned Activities
Direct Indicators of Student Learning (evidence of learning)
- Pre/Post Assessment - Students complete an assessment on campuslabs regarding their skills and knowledge before and after taking AAA 090. Questions are organized around themes connected to AAA unit learning objectives including self-management, reading textbooks, class note-taking, studying and memory, preparing for and taking tests and general items related to persistence and career exploration.
- ePortfolio - Student reflections and culminating presentation could used to assess student learning. (Pilots Summer 2015, Fall 2015 and Spring 2016)
- Note-taking Assessment Project - Students will take Cornell notes on a video of a college level lecture after receiving instruction in their AAA courses. Instructors will submit a copy of the notes to a non-instructor staff in our department who will remove any names. A random selection from each class will be assessed with a common rubric and scored. (Spring 2016)
Indirect Indicators of Student Learning (suggests learning)
- Focus Groups - Groups of current AAA students are asked a series of questions about their experience by a person who is not an instructor. Response transcripts are analyzed for themes. Sample of questions from the Fall 2014 focus group include "What are the top three things you learned from AAA?" "In what ways do you see yourself as different after taking AAA?" and "How has your knowledge of student success changed because of AAA?"
- Program Data - Tracks students who complete AAA 090. Course Performance: 1.) Student completion/success (students that passed AAA with a C or higher) 2.) Student GPA in AAA Persistence and Retention: 1.) Student retention to the next semester/year (fall to spring or fall to fall) 2.) Degree completion (based on a 200% completion window) Note: For persistence and retention data, students that have completed AAA are compared to students that did not. Data on themed AAA sections is being collected to evaluate the effectiveness of specialized sections as compared to general sections.
- AAA Instructor Self Assessment - Provide AAA instructors the opportunity to reflect on their teaching for continual improvement and offer AAA leadership insight to support their needs through professional development. Possible questions might provide informal assessment of student learning through instructor observations (Questions drafted; Pilot Tentatively Planned for Fall 2015)
Evaluation
- A short survey is completed by students on the information literacy sessions. Results are used by facilitators to make adjustments and improve. Spring 2016 Results are available here AAA-Information-Literacy-Sessions-Evaluation-SP16_All.pdf