Friday, November 15, 2019 
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Pomona College, Claremont, CA

Click here for a draft of the program schedule.

Description
Program-level learning assessment provides an effective set of tools to ensure a coherent and meaningful student learning experience. Assessment 101 is a practical introduction to the basics of student learning assessment for faculty, administrators, and other educators. Participants will learn about meaningful, efficient, and sustainable assessment practices aimed at improving student learning and meeting external compliance requirements. The workshop will offer a broad introduction to the typical assessment cycle with special emphasis on describing what students are expected to learn (outcomes); identifying where and how students learn it (curriculum map); investigating how well students achieve the learning outcomes (measures); and developing appropriate actions based on student learning achievement (improvement). The workshop will blend brief presentations with activities. Topics addressed will be equally applicable to undergraduate and graduate programs and general education.

Workshop Intentions

• Learn about the purposes of program-level learning outcomes assessment
• Become familiar with the typical “assessment cycle”
• Revise and review student learning outcome statements
• Learn strategies to align curriculum, learning outcomes, and evidence
• Differentiate ‘indirect’ evidence from ‘direct’ evidence of learning
• Explore feasible ways to collect and evaluate learning evidence
• Interpret learning outcome assessment results and identify possible actions to improve teaching and learning
• Consider options aimed at moving assessment forward for a program or campus

Intended Audience
This workshop is appropriate for those new to program and institutional-level learning outcomes assessment and for those who want to strengthen their foundational knowledge. The content will be most useful to faculty, department chairs, staff, and administrators who participate in or play a lead role in assessment for their program or campus. The examples will focus primarily on undergraduate and graduate academic programs, but the principles can translate to co-curricular programs.

Workshop Facilitators

Monica Stitt-Bergh

Monica Stitt-Bergh is a specialist in the Assessment Office at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. In her current position, Monica serves as an internal consultant for and offers workshops on learning outcomes assessment, and she plans and conducts institutional assessment projects. She has spent the last ten years working to create a positive view of assessment and increase use of assessment findings. Previously, Monica assisted with the University’s writing-across-the-curriculum program and implementation of a new general education program. Her classroom experience includes teaching courses on writing as well as social science research methods. She is a former president of the Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education and the Hawai‘i-Pacific Evaluation Association. Monica received her BA in English from the University of Michigan and her MA in Composition and Rhetoric and PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of Hawai‘i. She has published and given conference presentations on program learning outcomes assessment in higher education, writing program evaluation, self-assessment, and writing-across-the-curriculum.

Su Swarat

Su Swarat is currently the Associate Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness at the California State University, Fullerton (CSUF), where she provides leadership and oversees operations for institutional and programmatic assessment, quality assurance, institutional research, and analytical and educational research. Prior to this position, Su served as the Director of Assessment and Educational Effectiveness at CSUF, working collaboratively with campus partners to establish an effective and sustainable campus-wide assessment process, and to facilitate a culture of assessment that supports teaching and learning. She also supports several Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) initiatives, and assessment related accreditation requirements. Before CSUF, Su served in similar capacities leading student learning assessment, program evaluation, and SoTL research (particularly in the STEM fields) at the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and Health Science and the Northwestern University. Su received her Ph.D. in Learning Sciences from Northwestern University. She also holds a master’s degree from Purdue University, and a bachelor’s degree from Peking University, both in areas of Biology. A graduate of the WSCUC Assessment Leadership Academy, she actively pursues and regularly contributes to her research interest areas, which include assessment and evaluation, STEM education, student interest and motivation, and faculty development.

Hotel Reservations: We encourage participants to make their hotel reservations as soon as possible. Given the workshop is being held on a campus, WSCUC has not contracted nor secured a group rate with any particular hotel. There are many websites online that help with finding reasonably priced hotels.

Registration
Registration fee includes lunch. Beverages and snacks will be available during breaks. Attendees will be on their own for all other meals.

Registration fees: $350/per team member until 10/31/19.  After the registration deadline, if space is available, the late registration fee will be $395/per team member.

Discount for Combined Registration: The Ready for Life, Ready for Work: Transformative Learning for Personal and Professional Development workshop will be offered on November 14, 2019 at Pomona College. The special rate for a combined registration for The Ready for Life, Ready for Work and Assessment 101 workshops is $595 until the registration deadline on 10/31/2019. After the registration deadline, if space is available, the late registration fee will be $695/per team member.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE:  October 31, 2019

This educational program has been developed by national and regional experts and is offered as a service to WSCUC member institutions and others who wish to learn about good practices applicable to all institutions. It is entirely optional, and our hope is that member institutions will find it helpful. WSCUC staff will be present to answer questions related specifically to accreditation expectations.