Assessment of Student Learning

Assessment of a program’s student learning outcomes is an ongoing process for examining and improving student learning. While students are graded in individual courses each term, each student is enrolled in a degree, with a carefully designed curriculum that represents something larger than the simple aggregation of individual classes. Assessment of program learning outcomes is NOT an evaluation of individual instructors, individual students, or individual courses. Instead, this process helps faculty examine how students develop knowledge and skills and transfer them to new contexts over multiple semesters, and to determine whether students as a whole successfully learn what the program intends to teach them. 

First and foremost, assessment is a tool for faculty to use in order to answer questions about student learning. It is also a requirement of U.S. accreditors like HLC that all academic programs have student learning outcomes, assess student achievement of these outcomes, and use the information gathered to improve student learning. While NICC faculty engage in many forms of assessment already, it is necessary for the College to document assessment practices, as well as how programs make use of assessment findings for improvement, in order to meet HLC’s expectations.

Development of our comprehensive assessment plan helps ensure that assessment of student learning is useful to the program, manageable for faculty, and documented for accreditation purposes. When assessment is not planned, it may be conducted at the last minute, using whatever information is easiest to gather, in order to satisfy administrative demands. This type of assessment is rarely useful to faculty. 

Further details about Assessment at NICC and the C.L.A.S.S. (Celebrating Learning and Student Success) Team’s efforts can be located on the Assessment Hub.

Common Learning Outcomes Assessment

The College has established four Common Learning Outcomes (CLOs). Every program has its own Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs), and each course includes specific Educational Learning Outcomes (ELOs). Additionally, every program must incorporate and assess co-curricular and work-based learning components.

Program curriculum maps illustrate the connections between PLOs, CLOs, and ELOs, showing how courses progress through graduated levels of cognitive development (based on Bloom’s taxonomy) and how work-based criteria are integrated into the educational plan.

The primary CLO for each course is noted on the Course Guide. The Course Matrix spreadsheet specifies which CLO is addressed by each unit of instruction in the Course Guide. Completed program curriculum maps are stored on the Teaching & Learning Department’s Google Drive. The program curriculum maps outline all required courses and indicate how the CLOs are achieved within a program, ensuring that students demonstrate competency in all four CLOs during their studies.

Faculty Responsibilities

Faculty job descriptions emphasize the responsibility of all faculty members to actively engage in the assessment of student learning. These responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Adhering to assessment activity timelines and deadlines.

• Integrating assessment activities into instructional content to effectively measure student learning.

• For full-time faculty, an additional expectation is to facilitate collaboration among all faculty members (including full-time, adjunct, and concurrent instructors) teaching within the program or discipline. This collaboration ensures that course content and assessments are rigorous and consistently aligned with the course guide.

This commitment to assessment is vital for maintaining academic standards and supporting continuous improvement in teaching and learning.

These are the following faculty requirements for Assessment at NICC:

1. Common Learning Outcome Assessment Reporting

At the institutional level, student learning is assessed using both direct and indirect measures. Four common learning outcomes (CLOs) have been identified by the faculty and staff CLO committees as follows:

1. Communicate Effectively

2. Critical Thinking

3. Lifelong Learning

4. Diversity

CLO Assessment Reporting Steps:

1. Development and Distribution: The Department of Instructional Innovation and Design (DIID) team will make CLO Rubrics available in the Rubrics Tool within the Brightspace Learning Management System for each course.

2. Instructor Selection and Attachment: Course instructors will attach the pre-defined CLO Rubric to the grade item that best reflects student learning of the Common Learning Outcome. This should be a mandatory assessment (such as an exam, project, or portfolio) that aligns with the criteria outlined in the CLO Rubric.

3. Grading and Completing Rubrics: When grading the CLO assessments each term, faculty members are required to complete the CLO Rubric for every student enrolled in the course, including those who did not complete the assessment(s).

4. Yearly Review and Analysis: During the designated review year, the CLO committees will analyze institution-wide data collected from the rubrics over previous years. They will then provide a summary of overall CLO achievement to all stakeholders. Faculty and program administrators are also encouraged to review their rubric data annually to identify opportunities for course improvements.

This process is crucial for ensuring that the College’s learning outcomes are being effectively assessed and that continuous improvements are made to enhance student learning and success.

Rotation schedule for CLO Team review of data:

• Spring 2025 - Critical Thinking

• Fall 2025 - Communicate Effectively

• Spring 2026 - Lifelong Learning

• Fall 2026 - Diversity

• Spring  2027 - Critical Thinking

• Fall 2027 - Communicate Effectively

• Spring 2028 - Lifelong Learning

• Fall 2028 - Diversity

2. Program/Discipline Assessment Action Plans

Each year, the College holds a Faculty Professional Development Day in October. During this event, program and discipline faculty come together to review and discuss their assessment data. This collaborative discussion is a critical part of the ongoing effort to enhance educational quality. Faculty members use this opportunity to analyze the outcomes of their assessments, identify areas for improvement, and document specific action items in their Assessment Plan.

This process of continuous improvement is essential for maintaining high academic standards and ensuring that the curriculum remains relevant and effective. By regularly reviewing assessment data, faculty can make informed decisions about changes or enhancements to their teaching methods, course content, and learning activities. This ongoing refinement helps to ensure that students are achieving the intended learning outcomes and are well-prepared for their future endeavors.

The documentation of these action items in the Assessment Plan is also crucial. It provides a clear record of the steps taken to address any identified gaps or challenges, facilitating accountability and tracking progress over time. This commitment to continuous improvement not only supports the professional growth of faculty but also contributes to the overall success of the College’s educational programs.  

3. Co-Curricular Assessment - Program-Level Assessment   

Co-curricular activities encompass learning activities, programs, and experiences that align with and reinforce the institution's mission and values that are supplemental to the formal academic curriculum. These activities include student-faculty research, service learning, participation in professional clubs and organizations, involvement in academic honor societies, and developing career readiness skills. NICC’s academic programs assess at least one co-curricular activity and identify their co-curricular activities on their respective  Program Curriculum Map.

Assessment Steps:

1. Program co-curricular activities will be listed on Program Curriculum Maps.

2. Evidence of co-curricular assessment will be submitted by faculty to the CLASS team.