Historical View of Assessment at PS

Assessment at Professional Studies

Historically, assessment at Southwestern College Professional Studies has consisted of the following:

Learner Assessments

  • Flashlight Survey (began in 2001 with start of online classes)
  • Exit Surveys of graduates (began in 1997)
  • Course Evaluations (every course, every session began in 1997)
  • National Survey of Student Engagement – NSSE (first administered in 2003 – administered every other year)
  • Graduate Programs Survey (first time in 2007)
  • Referral Survey (first time in 2007)
  • Evaluation of capstone projects (began in 1994 – several iterations with current protocol established in 2007)
  • Priorities Survey in Online Learning – PSOL (to be initiated in 2011)

Faculty Assessments

Employer Assessments

  • Employer Survey (to be initiated in 2011)

In addition to the above, the following activities have been implemented to support our overall assessment plan:

  • Major Reviews (began in 1994 and conducted every 1 – 3 years)
  • Advisory Councils (began in 2000)
  • Utilization of the Quality Matters Rubric (began in 2010)
  • Benchmarking with Industry Standards (began in 2000)

In 1997, under the guidance of the Director of Assessment for the residential campus, Professional Studies began work on the development of a departmental assessment plan. The plan centered on the use of projects in the classes for each major that would be evaluated by a group of faculty trained for the purpose. Faculty development sessions for training were held in the use of the Six Trait Writing Rubric, projects were collected by major, and projects assessed on a semiannual basis. The plan also included the use of an Exit Survey administered to graduates and course evaluations for each course for each session. The information collected from these efforts formed the basis of faculty development, major reviews and curricular changes and additions. As enrollment increased, the plan was expanded with the use of information from industry Advisory Councils, administration of the NSSE to learners and the FSSE to faculty. Reviews of each major are now conducted on a rotating basis for both graduate and undergraduate majors. Professional Studies became a charter member of the national assessment initiative, Transparency by Design, whose results were posted in August of 2009. Data for Transparency by Design is updated each semester. Additional assessment initiatives have been launched more recently to include an employer survey and PSOL.

The current assessment process used since 2007 is an outgrowth of the original process of project evaluation, and relies on completion of a capstone project for both undergraduate and graduate learners which is then evaluated by outside evaluators. Learners are provided with a template and are expected to incorporate artifacts from their studies with Professional Studies which demonstrate their mastery of the institutional outcomes and program level learning outcomes. Results are posted to the College Choices for Adults website and to the institutional website for Professional Studies and are used to drive major reviews and faculty development.

Assessment processes continue to remain at the core of academic activities for Professional Studies, driving and refining decision making with regard to curriculum and processes.