Title of Effective Practice: - California Postsecondary Education ...

Direct Connection to Policy Area 5 of The Illinois Commitment
The Difference Between “OF” and “FOR”— Making Academic Assessment More Useful
Robert Morris College
What issue or need is addressed by the effective practice? Among Robert Morris College’s beliefs is that student
learning and institutional effectiveness outcomes are uniquely and inextricably related to the extent that one sustains the
other. While the institution has engaged in student learning assessment and institutional effectiveness evaluation for many
years and has evidence of numerous effective initiatives, the College seeks to continuously enhance these processes. The
most recent process enhancement objectives have been to: heighten stakeholder involvement; expand the assessment
information’s utility; and implement recommendations from assessment results in a more demonstrable way into academic
and institutional operations (i.e., higher visibility for “closing the loop”).
Description of the effective practice: Robert Morris College’s process for assessment OF student learning is designed
around program-level objectives for the general education core that is part of each applied associate and baccalaureate
degree and the professional knowledge/skills of the respective major; the principal purposes it serves are curriculum change
and improved pedagogy. Faculty establish student learning objectives and outcome statements, and the Dean from each
division monitors the collection and reporting of each year’s assessment OF student learning results which become the
subject for faculty meeting and curriculum committee discussions and recommendations. This model places emphasis on
direct measures OF student learning at the group level, primarily through random sampling of student work within each
academic division. It also considers indirect measures OF student learning used by RMC, such as the ACT Student
Opinion Survey, NSSE, ACT Alumni Survey, Employer Survey, Program Advisory Committee input, and persistence data.
RMC’s latest process addition, assessment FOR student learning, was consciously developed to respond to the three
enhancement objectives mentioned above while complementing the existing model and increasing assessment capacity.
The Student Competency-Based Credentialing System results in a credential transcript for each student and constitutes
assessment FOR student learning by providing an additional “feedback loop” to individual students and faculty. The
credential transcript is a tool that students can use immediately, throughout their program of study, and after graduation in
their careers for professional and personal development. The competency-based assessment is predicated on ten general
competencies to be achieved by all students; each competency can be developed through a variety of courses or
experiences, and collectively they represent skills generally sought by employers: 1) Collaboration, 2) Oral
Communication, 3) Written Communication, 4) Creative Thinking, 5) Critical Thinking, 6) Cultural Awareness, 7)
Leadership, 8) Managing Information, 9) Quantitative Evaluation, 10) Experiential Learning.
Each competency in the assessment FOR student learning model carries an academic outcome and a corporate definition;
this combination highlights the applied, career-focused nature of the College’s mission relative to the institution’s programs
of study. There are three progressive levels of achievement with delineated rubrics that complete the model: Level 1—
Acquisition; Level 2—Application; Level 3—Integration. Any of five identified assessment strategies can demonstrate
mastery of a competency: Course-based (courses in the curriculum have been matched to the competencies and levels of
achievement based on equivalency with course objectives, thus course grades can be used to distinguish between levels);
Internship (the evaluation form completed by the internship on-site supervisor aligns to the competencies and levels);
Portfolio (this tool is especially useful for those competencies that do not lend themselves well to the other identified
strategies; Testing (scores on post-tests/comprehensive final exams and/or subset scores from these determine the mastery
level and competency); Work Experience (students describe their work experience in a formal paper that is evaluated
relative to the competencies and levels by a faculty committee).
What are the results/measurable outcomes? The combined model, Assessment OF and FOR Student Learning, has
several strategic and organizational benefits and outcomes. RMC implemented the Student Competency-Based
Credentialing System to engage students actively in their learning assessment throughout their program of study; to provide
them a useful, personalized tool for advancing their personal and professional development; and to make available
documentation – the credential transcript – that can supplement the academic transcript. At the same time, the combined
student learning assessment model supports RMC’s “culture of evidence” wherein institutional policy, practice, and
planning are informed by the regular collection, compilation, and analysis of data. Data availability from the direct and
indirect assessment measures about student learning along with additional productivity measures used in the evaluation of
institutional effectiveness produces an information-rich, systematic basis for effecting positive change.
Contact Information
Name: Mablene Krueger
Email: mkrueger@robertmorris.edu
Phone: (312) 935-6645
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