The Core Competencies Assessment Team (CCAT) directly measures STCC students’ skills and abilities as they complete their time at STCC, regardless of the program of study, in the five institution-wide learning outcomes: Critical Thinking, Written and Oral Communication, Quantitative Reasoning, Computer Literacy, and Information Literacy. The methodology used by CCAT was first piloted in the summer of 2013. The group uses the AAU&C’s LEAP (Liberal Education and America’s Promise) VALUE (Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education) Rubrics to assess these learning outcomes.

As part of the assessment process, student work samples are collected from across the College with the hope of getting a representative sample of students at STCC. Faculty are asked as part of the collection process of CCAT which subskills of a particular outcome are required for the assignment they submitted to the committee for assessment. If faculty responded that a particular subskill was required, either implicitly or explicitly, this subskill was assessed by the team. To determine if students’ level of performance on these subskills increased during their time at STCC samples are collected from both students who had earned less than 45 credits and from students who had earned equal to or greater than 45 credit hours. Once this information is collected, all identifying information is redacted from the sample, so that no one on the team will know who submitted the sample or any demographic information associated with the sample.

Before scoring the student samples, the CCAT faculty go through a process to norming of the VALUE rubric being used. Since the rubric is written in a generalized fashion, the faculty want to develop a better understanding of what each level of performance meant. From this norming work, the team develops a functional scoring sheet where all the subskills of an outcomes are operationally defined. This workable scoring sheet will be reviewed and modified during future iterations of institutional assessment to improve its usability for the team and faculty. After finding a consensus on how to operationally define and apply the LEAP VALUE Rubrics, STCC faculty on the CCAT scored each piece of student work using the rubrics. They work in teams of two and are required to come to a consensus on the scoring of each sample before they report the assessment scores. After scoring all samples, the CCAT faculty meet to discuss the scores and to discuss next steps around the institutional learning outcomes

CCSSE provides information on student engagement, a key indicator of learning and, therefore, of the quality of community colleges. The survey, administered to community college students, asks questions that assess institutional practices and student behaviors that are correlated highly with student learning and student retention. The CCSSE survey is a versatile, research-based tool appropriate for multiple uses. It is a

• benchmarking instrument — establishing national norms on educational practice and performance by community and technical colleges.

• diagnostic tool — identifying areas in which a college can enhance students’ educational experiences.

• monitoring device — documenting and improving institutional effectiveness over time.

Source: https://www.ccsse.org/aboutccsse/aboutccsse.cfm

Key Findings Reports