Outcomes Assessment Review Committee

The Outcomes Assessment Review Committee (OARC) is a subcommittee of the Faculty Senate -- with broad cross-component membership.

Its primary charge is to oversee, analyze and evaluate all campus Student Learning Outcomes and Administrative Unit Outcomes assessment activities. OARC is also charged with discussing matters pertaining to institutional effectiveness and making recommendations to improve college processes.

OARC issues an annual report that reviews the assessment results in Instruction, Student Services, the Library and Administration, looking for common themes and broad trends. The report makes recommendations for improving student learning and campus SLO and AUO processes, is posted on the SLO website (see below), and is shared with college-wide governing bodies: the Governing Board, the College Planning Council, the Faculty Senate, the Student Senate, and the two employee unions.

When needed, the committee is empowered to initiate a college-wide dialogue process to analyze and solve broad issues about student learning that have been revealed by SLO assessment results across the campus.

OARC Annual Reports

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

OARC Meetings and Minutes

2014-2015 Meetings

2013-2014 Meetings

2012-2013 Meetings

2011-2012 Meetings

2010-2011 Meetings

2009-2010 Meetings

2008-2009 Meetings

2007-2008 Meetings

More Details on the Committee

Here's how the Outcomes Assessment Review Committee performs its three main tasks:

Task #1: Analyze Assessment Reports

1. The committee reads the assessment portions of each Program Plan written in a individual year and analyzes them. It is not the group that approves the plan with its accompanying assessment data; approvals arise from within individual campus sectors (such as Instruction or Student Services). Rather, OARC is charged with examining assessment results to see what they reveals overall about student learning and success occuring across the college.
2. The committee writes an annual report that:
   • Summarizes its analysis of the assessment data.
   • Commends exemplary work.
   • Articulates emerging college-wide issues about student learning and the college assessment process.
   • Makes recommendations to improve campus assessment work.
   • Reports on progress toward implementing its recommendations.
3. The report is presented to the Faculty Senate and the Governing Board and sent to the Student Senate, the College Planning Council and the faculty and classified unions as well as being posted on the SLO website.

Task #2: Discuss Institutional Effectiveness Issues

1. A portion of each OARC meeting is devoted to examining the college's institutional effectiveness, scrutinizing on-going and developing processes from a campus-wide perspective.
2. The committee makes recommendations for improvements.
3. When necessary, the committee also undertakes tasks to further those recommendations, for example, offering flex workshops, gathering data through surveys, or creating a college-wide templates for program plans and assessment reporting.

Task #3: Facilitate Campus Dialogue Process

1. When they arise, the committee evaluates dialogue topics that emerge from assessment data or from groups wishing to suggest a topic using set criteria.
2. As needed, the committee will organize a six-step dialogue process:

Step One: As the Outcomes Assessment Review Committee reads assessment reports from across the campus, it searches for issues that could benefit from a campus-wide dialogue. Also, individuals and groups (for example, the College Planning Council, Instructional Council, Administrative Council, the Faculty or Student Senates or the faculty and classified unions) can come to the committee to suggest issues that require a campus-wide dialogue.

Step Two: The Outcomes Assessment Review Committee uses the following criteria to evaluate issues to discuss:

• How does the issue relate to the four college competencies?
• How does it affect student learning?
• Is there any evidence in assessment data to support it being a problem?
• How will discussing it improve student learning?

Step Three: The Outcomes Assessment Review Committee organizes 3-4 Think Tanks on the issue. The Think Tanks:

• Are composed of 8-10 people with representatives from the five areas across campus (Student Services, Administraton, Transfer and CTE Instruction and the Library).
• Receive background materials prepared by the Outcomes Assessment Review Committee on the issue (defined in Step Two), including evidence.
• Discuss the issue in depth
• Brainstorm possible solutions to it.
• Prepare a written report on the discussion that goes back to the Outcomes Assessment Review Committee.

Step Four: The Outcomes Assessment Review Committee compiles the reports from the 3-4 Think Tanks into a written report with the proposed solutions that is made available to the college and posted on the Assessment Web site.

Step Five: The Outcomes Assessment Review Committee organizes two Town Hall meetings on the issue. These two meetings are held at different times so that as many campus members can participate. They are facilitated. What’s said is recorded.

Step Six: The Outcomes Assessment Review Committee summarizes and writes a report about the Town Hall Meeting. The report is posted on the Assessment web site and is also sent to: the Governing Board, the College Planning Council, Instructional Council, Faculty Senate, the Student Senate, and the faculty and classified unions.

Membership

This 13 member committee is composed of representatives from the following:

1. Outcomes Assessment Coordinator (Chair)
2. One representative from the Student Senate
3. Three Faculty members from the Faculty Senate (one from CTE, one from transfer, one representing the Senate)
4. One representative from the classified Union.
5. One representative from the Faculty Union.
6. One Manager.
7. One Representative from Administration.
8. One Representative from Student Services.
9. The Accreditation Liaison Officer
10. One Represenative from Planning and Research.
11. One Representative from the Library.

At least one representative from Administrative Services will be included in positions #6 or #7 above.

Membership is by appointment by the groups represented. The Faculty Senate will appoint the Instruction representatives. Membership in the committee is driven by a need to achieve a balance between all members of the campus community – students, classified staff, instructors and administrators.