Transfer and Basic Skills
A Little History
Cabrillo College began experimenting with assessing student learning outcomes in transfer, basic skills and occupational courses in 1999 with its summer Learner Outcomes Institute. When the new accreditation standards were approved in 2002, the Cabrillo Faculty Senate (composed of many summer Institute alumnae) took the lead in creating a process to assess student learning in all courses at Cabrillo. The Senate sought to create an assessment process that:
- built on both the informal assessment that most Cabrillo faculty undertook of their own courses and the research and practical experiences of the Summer Institute.
- provided opportunities for faculty to dialogue about the results.
After much research and debate, the Senate, in conjunction with the Vice President of Instruction, the Council on Instructional Planning and the college Curriculum Committee, made four other key decisions that have shaped the assessment of courses at Cabrillo:
- The General Education program is considered as one complete program. Any transfer courses, and the basic skills classes that build the skills that lead to transfer, are part of that program. Unlike some other schools, individual transfer or basis skills departments are not considered separate programs with their own student learning outcomes.
- The student learning outcomes for the GE program are the four college core competencies. The Core Four are the SLOs for our AAT, AA and AS degrees.
- The on-going six-year Program Planning process is used as the vehicle for this assessment process. Approximately twelve transfer, basic skills and CTE programs embark on Program Planning each year. Departments link their plans for improvement and budgetary requests to their assessment results.
- In addition to the Core Four, each individual course at Cabrillo has student learning outcomes. The course outline forms were revised to include a section on the core competencies and student learning outcomes (see the Curriculum Handbook for details).
The Faculty Senate created the assessment methods for Transfer and Basic Skills SLO assessment (see below). This assessment process was implemented gradually from 2004-2008, tied to the Program Planning cycle.
After an initial pilot of the process in 2004, those departments going through program planning in a given year were asked to assess a set number of the core competencies.
Beginning in 2009, all departments were asked to complete the assessment of each of the Core 4 and all of their course SLOs. This cycle, discussed below, is known as the Revolving Wheel of Assessment.
The college has since further defined what it means by an academic program.
Assessment Methods
The Faculty Senate has approved three possible methods to assess the Core Four and the SLOs for individual courses. Extensive details about these methods can be found in the Assessing Instructional SLOs workbook on this web site. Faculty choose the method that they feel best measures the particular course and certificate SLOs or the Core Four in their discipline.
The assessment methods are:
- Pre- and Post-Testing
- Analyzing Test Questions
- Course Embedded Assessment
- Choose one major assignment that measures aspects of one of the Core Four or specific course or certificate SLOs.
- Assess the assignment using a rubric that articulates specific standards and criteria.
- Evaluate the results of the student performance on the assignment, noting what student needs and issues are revealed and how the assignment or teaching activities could be altered to improve student learning.
No matter what assessment method is used, faculty dialogue about the results in a department meeting, sharing their assessment method, analysis of the results and ideas for improvement, including what assistance the department and college could provide to improve student learning and success.
Department Chairs record the results of this dialogue on a departmental Assessment Analysis form. In keeping with the Cabrillo's Assessment Philosophy that assessment is not "a means to evaluate individual faculty or staff," no individual instructor's name or results are recorded on the form. Instead the overall departmental results are summarized and its plans to improve teaching and learning are the main focus.
These plans then form the basis for any funding requests and are attached to the department’s Program Plan and Annual Report. After review and approval by the Council for Instructional Planning, the analysis forms are forwarded to the Outcomes Assessment Review Committee for further evaluation. In addition, the forms are posted on the Instruction Office website as part of the department's Program Plan.
Revolving Wheel of Assessment
The Revolving Wheel spreads course SLO and Core 4 assessment over the six-year program planning cycle. Every course SLO and the Core Four must be assessed at least once during that time.
Department Chairs schedule when this assessment occurs, and this may vary depending on the size of the program. Generally speaking, course SLOs are assessed during the first three years and each of the Core Four in the following four semesters.
During the sixth year, while the Program Plan is being written, no assessment occurs. Instead, departmental faculty look again at the assessment results of the previous five years, using them to help form the basis for improvement plans and recommendations for the next six years.
The SLO section of a department's program plan asks it to describe what assessment has occurred, what the department learned as a result, the improvement plans it made as a result of that assessment and what it plans to do in the future. Funding requests, when applicable, must to tied to SLO assessment results.