Assessment and its Role in Accreditation

1. Assessment and its Role in Accreditation Deborah Whitfield Frances Bailie Adel Abunawass FECS 2007

2. Overview • Assessment Process • Accreditation • Assessment at Slippery Rock University • Assessment at Iona College • Assessment at the University of West Georgia • Conclusions

3. Assessment Process • Goals • Objectives for each goal • Assessment Tools • Timetable • Process • Responsibility • Assess the Assessment

4. Accreditation • Why? • Distinction • Administrative pressure • ABET and the CAC • Assessment for Accreditation • First of the seven criteria • Select own objectives to be assessed

5. Accreditation • New ABET assessment criteria • Effective 2009-2010 cycle • Communication abilities • Ethical and professional abilities • Critical Thinking Abilities • Technical abilities • Continuing Professionally

6. Assessment at Slippery Rock UniversityDeborah WhitfieldProfessor of Computer Sciencedeborah.whitfield@sru.edu • 8,000 students • ABET accredited • 3 BS degrees: CS, IS, IT • Began assessment in 1995

7. Assessment Framework • Three goals, each with five objectives • Critical Thinking and Problem Solving • Communication and Interpersonal Skills • Ethical and Professional Responsibilities • Stakeholders • Students, Faculty, Advisory Board (employers) • Assessment Methods • Student surveys • Course embedded • Internship appraisal

8. Assessment Process and Timetable • Student surveys – Soph, Jr, Sr • Blackboard, 1st day of classes • Course embedded • Programming assignments, written papers, presentations • Internship appraisals • Report to stakeholders • Incorporate recommendations into final report • Modify internship survey for more accurate tracking • Increase credit hours in CS1 • Change languages to Alice, Java • Identify courses to assess ethics • Repeat the cycle

9. Observations • Time needed • Graduate assistant • Reduced load • Short-cuts • Automate surveys • Templates for rubrics shared by faculty • Advantages to assessment • More open discussion of course content • Students know objectives of assignments • Increase of credits ok’d by administration • Accreditation visit easier

10. Assessment at Iona College Fran BailieAssociate Professor of Computer ScienceFBailie@iona.edu • Small suburban college • ABET accredited BS in CS • No institutional support • Faculty driven

11. Assessment Plan • Stakeholders: Students, Faculty, Alumni, Employers, Advisory Board • Structure of Responsibilities • Course coordinators • Assessment Committee • Full Department • Determine Goals and Objectives (Department and Coordinators) • College & department mission statements • Program goals & objectives • Course objectives

12. Assessment Plan (con’t) • Identify Data Sources and Develop Instruments (Assessment Committee) • Students (course evaluations, exit surveys & interviews) • Faculty (course assessments) • Alumni (surveys) • Employers (surveys and internship evaluations) • Advisory Board (meetings and surveys) • Perform Assessment • Administer instruments, analyze results (Committee) • Identify and track problems (Committee & Department) • Suggest & implement solutions (Department) • Next round – determine effectiveness of solution (Department)

13. Assessment Reflections • Problems • Do results indicate an actual problem? • Assessments must be repeated • Requires patience and perseverance • Faculty cooperation uneven • Positive Outcomes • Identifies weaknesses • Heightens faculty awareness of objectives • Fosters proactive approach to improvement • Solves problems before they become crises

14. University of West Georgia Assessment Adel AbunawassProfessorChair, Department of Computer Science adel@westga.edu • Over 10,000 students • CAC/ABET accredited • BS and MS degrees (BS is CAC/ABET accredited) • Four Graduate Certificates in Computing • A Proposed BA in CS with Threads in Software Development, Cyber Forensics & Security, & Digital Media.

15. COMPASS • History • We borrowed learning outcomes from the CC2001 (1999-2000) • We built our own database for data collection • Accredited by ABET in 2002 • We adopted a CMS (Moodle) for our courses • We evolved the CC2001 learning outcomes • We integrated/recreated our database with Moodle • We also integrated our instruments with Moodle • We have another ABET visit this coming Fall

16. COMPASS • Four components: • Process Loop • Input • Analysis • Implementation • Timeline • Assessment Input • Assessment Output • http://www.cs.westga.edu/Assessment/HomePage

17. Our Experience • A culture shift in the Department • Not a replacement for informal assessment • Faculty plan course work based on students’ needs & program’s goals • Students are aware of program, curriculum, course, & assignment expectations • Better planning • Requests for resources easier to justify • Made University/State reviews easier to complete • Yes, there is some pain, but it is a good sort of pain :-)

18. Conclusion • Keep It Simple • Get Faculty, Staff, Students, etc. involved • Design your assessment to meet your needs • Data collection is seductive • Use results: • to improve your programs & processes; • to plan; • to support requests for resources; • etc.