Student Services Mission Statement Organization - Centralia College

Standard Three 15A work group met in 1998 and 1999 to select specific questions to includeor delete in order to streamline the test administration. Since many of thequestions are time- and labor-intensive to answer and proctor, theyshould seek truly useful information. It was decided not to requirestudents to answer some questions because of time factors and becausethe data gathered was not being actively used. However, the reduceddata collection lessens the potential for student outreach, and the datacollected from the "Help Requested" item is not systematically used.In addition, the data gained by the ASSET biographic questions appearunder-utilized. The ASSET software has the capacity to sort the data byanswers to specific questions, and create lists and addresses of studentsfor outreach mailings concerning the specific need(s). For instance, thecounseling center has recently requested such a list from the LearningResource Center based on the "Help Requested" item, so they could maila workshop invitation to students wanting help with career decisions.Although many student needs are identified in the ASSET database, theinformation must be accessed to be useful. In general, instructors andadvisors are unaware of the data, how to access it, and how to use it .Many advisors and instructors do not effectively use the studentinformation system. In addition, although retention research is providedto the College by ACT each year, college decision-makers do not appearto have access to the data. The groups who might be interested in thistraining include the Testing Department (ASSET) testers, the AdvisingSteering Committee, the Retention Committee, and a variety ofadministrators responsible for enrollment management.The first systematic collection of research data on ASSET cutoff scoreswas compiled in spring, 1999, and during 1999-2000 these data wereanalyzed for placement accuracy. At the time of this self-study, thesedata were still being reviewed by the respective departments.Adult Basic Education TestingAdult Basic Education (TABE) tests are given to measure a student'sability and to benefit those students with low ASSET scores who wish toaccess financial aid without earning a high school diploma or GED.