Self-Study Report - Olympic College

One of the reporting tools the College has
used to communicate the results of the
Institutional Effectiveness process is the fivecolumn
model, which articulates the mission of
the program or department, outcomes,
assessment measures, assessment results, and
use of results. As reported in the April 2006
Fifth-Year Interim Report, while the five-column
model works well for educational assessment at
the program-level, it has not been as useful at
the course-level. Responding to feedback from
faculty about the limitations of the five-column
model for assessing instructional areas, in 2006,
faculty were given the option of conducting
course or program-level assessment activities
and completing a narrative report rather than
the five-column model. This new reporting
format requires the same data and analysis
required by the five-column model; however, it
provides more flexibility for assessment
projects and more creativity for reporting
responses.
Giving faculty members the option of
course or program-level assessment improved
the relevancy and usefulness of this assessment
process. Faculty may now choose to complete
course assessments individually, or they may
opt to join others in their program/discipline to
set and implement assessment measures for
the group. Some faculty members have chosen
to engage in cross-disciplinary assessments of
student learning.
Figure 2.16 summarizes the number of
instructional course and program special
assessment projects completed by faculty
members since 2001. As can be seen from
these data, the number of these special faculty
projects has increased since reporting options
were increased in 2006. It is important to note
that this program of assessment projects is only
one element of the overall assessment
program.
Figure�2.16.��Course�and�Program�Assessment�
Projects�Completed�
Year�
Number�of�Course�and�Program�
Assessment�Projects
2001�02 19
2002�03 19
2003�04 22
2004�05 24
2005�06 23
2006�07 57
2007�08 55
Sixty-eight faculty signed up to
2008�09� complete projects; half of these
address a Core Ability.
Analysis. Over the past twelve years
Olympic College has maintained focus on
assessment and increased resources to support
the assessment of teaching and learning,
resulting in the emergence of a culture of
assessment. Faculty members and instructional
administrators have refined and promoted
assessment processes in a variety of modalities,
and a concerted effort has been made to
continuously improve and institutionalize the
system of assessment. Due to this intentional
effort, Olympic College’s processes for assessing
its educational programs encompass all of its
offerings, are conducted on a regular basis, and
are integrated into the College’s overall
planning and evaluation system.
Course�Review�
Olympic College’s internal instructional
policy requires course reviews be conducted on
all courses every five years. Figure 2.17 on next
page summarizes the course review status and
the status of outcomes as of June 2009.
As of June 2009, ninety-four percent of the
2,051 courses were considered to be current in
terms of meeting Olympic College’s
requirement for ongoing review. Instruction
worked to refine processes and procedures,
resulting in significantly improved compliance
with College standards in the 2008-09 academic
year. While 100 percent compliance was not
{Standard�Two} Educational Program and Its Effectiveness 2-27