WNCC 2010 Self-Study Report - Western Nebraska Community ...

It’s clear that the institution benefits from the CCSSE survey, not only because it yields solid and
trustworthy data to use for planks in future planning but because the consideration of the results
provides an opportunity for faculty members to consider and discuss teaching and learning,
especially from the perspective of student engagement and authentic learning.
Assessment Websites
WNCC’s goals for student learning are apparent on the previously mentioned website found under
the heading “Assessment of Student Learning” in the A-Z index. The site houses documents
displaying academic and non-academic student outcomes, program outcomes, classroom
assessment, Division Chair assessment-related reports, program reviews, and institutional reviews.
The assessment website is a “work in progress.” An original site created by the Executive Director
of Information Technology still houses assessment data and features a “plan of action” for
instructors where the competencies, the measures, the expected results, the learning results, the
analysis, and the implications for instruction can all be charted.
This year, the WebCT/Blackboard site has been more fully developed to contain more information
and to allow academic divisions and program areas to store data. Complementing the new site is
eLumen, where rubrics and data can be stored. An assessment link appears on the WNCC home
page under the A-Z index, guiding the viewer to a page with information about learning assessment
goals and the Student Learning and Assessment Committee structure and membership. Contact
information for the Coordinator is provided, along with a link to the Assessment Handbook.
Core Component 3b: The organization values and supports effective teaching.
Western Nebraska Community College’s Role and Mission statement states that the College shall
be “primarily devoted to quality instruction.” Valuing and supporting effective teaching are
components of quality instruction endorsed by WNCC.
Valuing and Supporting Effective Teaching
WNCC values effective teaching as evidenced by results from an internal survey, job descriptions,
and the negotiated agreement. Effective teaching is further supported through professional
development opportunities for faculty members, supervisory evaluations performed by Division
Chairs, the required submission of course outlines to the Chair and the Dean of Educational
Services, master syllabi being required for each course, prescribed texts, and the use of common
course competencies in courses for which multiple sections are offered.
In addition, direct measures like the common math final are used to cross-check student
competencies, also allowing instructors to compare individual student or class learning results
against the aggregate totals. Other activities like shared rubrics for science labs, business and IT
classes, and capstone courses and capstone projects are also employed. Holistic blind readings of
specific essays are used for composition classes, and the math instructors have developed
common projects administered at pre-determined times during the semester for each of the algebra
sequence courses. Common rubrics are used to evaluate the projects.
Western Nebraska Community College Page 105