Eastern New Mexico University’s history of Academic Outcomes Assessment began in 1986. From then until 1993, the University participated in Testing Day. Testing Day, as I understand it, was an opportunity to cancel classes for the day so that freshman and junior students could participate in the College Outcomes Measures Program (COMP). When it was decided to switch from the COMP to the CAAP (Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency), Testing Day was discontinued.
Over the last two years of CAAP testing, it has become increasingly difficult to arrange for the administration throughout the semester to assess the rising junior cohort (students with between 55 and 65 credit hours). Those responsible for planning and implementing the CAAP—Counseling and Testing, Planning and Analysis, and the Assessment Resource Office, met in June to address the problem. With cooperation from Dr. Mehaffy, it was determined that Assessment Day should be held once a semester. However, unlike Testing Day, assessment for general education will only be one part of the day's events. Ideally, Assessment Day provides an opportunity for the University to take a break once a semester from usual activities to respond to planning and effectiveness issues. Please see the day's schedule on page 4.
In Academic Year 1994-1995 Academic Affairs responded to the North Central Association requirement that all its member institutions have in place a plan for the assessment of academic outcomes. The Assessment Committee was instrumental in preparing the response to this requirement through the development of our overall plan, and the academic units responded by preparing an Academic Outcomes Assessment Plan for each major at the undergraduate and graduate level. Academic Departments/Schools will be using Assessment Day to either implement or plan for implementation of their plans.
When President Frost formed the Assessment Committee, part of the charge that was given was to assist in the development of outcomes assessment measures for all units at the University. Outcomes Assessment Plans consist of a goal statement which flows from the University's Mission Statement, intended outcomes and objectives, assessment criteria and procedures, and an implementation plan. These plans are an opportunity to demonstrate the important ways that all units at the University support the Mission, and to evaluate how we can improve services to our various constituencies. Business Affairs, Student Affairs, and Community Relations will be using Assessment Day to begin the development of their Plans.
There is indeed some overlap between Assessment Activities, Strategic Planning, and Self-Study. They are however distinct process, but processes that should inform and infuse one another. For example, the development of a goal statement and intended outcomes and objectives will enhance the Self-Study process of articulating purposes and how the unit supports these purposes.
Finally, the programs and activities planned for this Assessment Day should grow and expand in future endeavors. I believe that we will learn more about what works, and how to do it. As always, suggestions and feedback from the campus community are welcomed. For more information, contact Dr. Alec Testa at the Assessment Resource Office, 562-4313, or email testaa@ziavms.enmu.edu.
The Assessment Resource Office (ARO) at Eastern New Mexico University is pleased to announce the availability of its World Wide Web homepage. It is hoped that this will allow the ARO to more effectively meet its purposes of supporting outcomes assessment here at Eastern, disseminating Eastern’s expertise and experience in outcomes assessment, and serve as a resource to the campus community in improving our outcomes assessment efforts. In this brief article, I’d like to share with you in some detail what you will find.
In Academic Year 1994-1995 each department/school at Eastern developed a Academic Outcomes Assessment Plan (AOAP). These can all be found under the first link “ENMU Academic Outcomes Assessment Plans.” While these may be convenient for the faculty here, it has been extremely useful already in sharing our efforts with others. For example, I belong to several listserves that discuss assessment and effectiveness issues. When others have asked for specific examples on conducting outcomes assessment, I have been able to point them to what we do.
The next link leads the “surfer” to back issues of this publication. An important WWW lesson learned here. To maximize their usage, and to minimize downloading time, each DATAWave is being rewritten in html. Therefore, only a handful of back issues are now available. In the future, I hope that more on outcomes assessment and more on how we have improved Eastern through outcomes assessment will be available here. I also hope that more members of the University community will share their assessment experience in the DATAWave, and eventually through the internet.
The next two links address state-wide concerns. At the moment the “State of New Mexico Assessment Information” contains only a list of assessment directors in New Mexico. In the future not only will it contain information in our upcoming Assessment Conference, but, hopefully, information on other state-wide initiatives as well. To date there has been one issue of the N.M.H.E.A.D.Line (New Mexico Higher Education Assessment Directors Line). This newsletter is published once a semester. The fall 1995 issue will be available November 15.
“Cool Assessment Resources” contains the most useful sites available on outcomes assessment. My favorites are the ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation, and the handy “test locator” available at that site, and the Federal Government Internet Educational Resources. The latter offers a wide array of materials, and in particular interest to assessment professionals are links to the homepages of the National Centers of Postsecondary Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (NCTLA), the Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST), and the Center for Research on Educational Accountability and Teacher Evaluation (CREATE).
“Other Educational Resources” offers some of my favorite sites on education on the WWW. These include The Higher Education Research Meta-Index, Internet Resources for Institutional Research, and the U.S. Department of Education homepage.
Please enjoy a “spin” around our new homepage, and I look forward to learning of you comments and suggestions for its improvement.
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 8:00 | CAAP faculty proctors report for training |
| 8:30 | Rising juniors participate in CAAP |
| 9:00 | Student Affairs, Business Affairs, Community Relations, and Planning & Analysis Units meet to:
|
| varies | Some Academic Departments will be conducting their Academic Outcomes Assessment Efforts |
| 10:00 | Academic Departments/Schools meet to:
|
| Noon or 1:00 | Meetings of College Councils to allow chairs/directors to discuss and report their morning departmental/school meetings |
| 1:00 | Departmental managers meet with respective Vice-President or Executive Director to report and share their progress in the development of outcomes assessment plans |
| 2:00 | Mission Review Discussion led by Self-study Committee |
