No Pat Ending: Report Brief on Outcomes Assessment

"There is no pat ending to this research brief. The issue appears to remain contentious among sociology chairs."

The research brief (What's Happening in Your Department with Assessment) is the American Sociological Association's report on survey of academic sociology departments (U.S. higher ed) on their assessment activities. Specifically, student outcomes assessment was addressed. The assessment activity is high; the attitude toward the activity is... mixed.

With a sampling frame of 915 programs/departments, and a response rate of 60%, the online survey produced data that allowed comparison with previous years. The report, at 22 pages, gives a lively accounting of survey results.

© 2009 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. Email contact: bold[AT]marybold.com. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (www.marybold.com, www.boldproductions.com, College Intern Blog) is not under any circumstances to be regarded as legal or professional advice. Bold is the co-author of Reflections: Preparing for your Practicum or Internship, geared to college interns in the child, education, and family fields. She is a consultant and speaker on assessment, distance learning, and technology.

iRubric: Search and Copy, too

Without joining the Rcampus web site, you can search for rubrics and view them on-screen. For the time that it takes to enter basic web form data, you can join Rcampus and gain access to the rubrics to copy, edit, print, and otherwise put the rubrics to full use.

The iRubrics web page also invites users to scan the Public Gallery. More features are available with the user membership registration. The "open tools" are free.

© 2009 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. Email contact: bold[AT]marybold.com. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (www.marybold.com, www.boldproductions.com, College Intern Blog) is not under any circumstances to be regarded as legal or professional advice. Bold is the co-author of Reflections: Preparing for your Practicum or Internship, geared to college interns in the child, education, and family fields. She is a consultant and speaker on assessment, distance learning, and technology.

Transparency by Design: New Web Site

College Choices for Adults is the just-launched web site of the Transparency by Design project of WCET*.

The College Choices web site presents profile data for programs at member institutions including Western Governors, Capella, Kaplan, and APUS. Typical data: student demographics, NSSE results, alumni survey results.

Capella University's profile also includes data on student learning outcomes. A pair of clear examples:

MS in Human Services displays capstone course rubric results of largely Proficient and Distinguished ratings on eight outcomes, an expected result as graduate students typically strive to be.... proficient and distinguished.

BS in Information Technology displays capstone course results with greater variety among the ratings.

*WCET: Western Cooperative for Educational Technology was created in 1989 by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). The founding 15 western states have since been joined by members from most U.S. states. The goal of integrating DL and educational technology remains the same and includes conferences and special projects.

© 2009 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. Email contact: bold[AT]marybold.com. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (www.marybold.com, www.boldproductions.com, College Intern Blog) is not under any circumstances to be regarded as legal or professional advice. Bold is the co-author of Reflections: Preparing for your Practicum or Internship, geared to college interns in the child, education, and family fields. She is a consultant and speaker on assessment, distance learning, and technology.