Overview of Assessment

Institutional and Outcomes Assessment

Institutional Assessment

The Office of Institutional Research and Analysis (OIRA) and the Institutional Effectiveness Council (IEC) oversee the institutional effectiveness efforts of the College. Multiple methods are used by MVCC to assess institutional effectiveness in meeting its Mission and Goals. The OIRA collects and reports on quantitative data concerning students, faculty, and staff, including information dealing with demographics, student success measures (graduation, retention, attrition rates), and full- or part-time status. Course and program data are provided as part of the program assessment processes, and upon request. The OIRA works with individual units to administer and develop surveys, and to summarize and analyze data for these efforts. The OIRA maintains this Institutional Effectiveness website.

An Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment (IE&A) Plan is developed annually by the IEC to articulate the assessment processes at the College. The structure of the plan provides a detailed outline to guide assessment work, while allowing flexibility to adjust for annual priorities. At the beginning of each academic year, the Objectives and supporting Work Steps of the IE&A Plan are reviewed/revised in relation to progress in the previous year, to new initiatives, and external requirements. The plan is presented to the IEC at its first fall meeting for review and approval by the membership.

Overview of Outcomes

There are three types of outcomes: Outcomes, Student Outcomes, and Student Learning Outcomes. Outcomes deal with the results or consequences of an activity. Student outcomes deal with the results of student involvement in activities. Student Learning Outcomes are statements that specify what students will know, be able to do, or be able to demonstrate when they have completed the activity. Student learning outcomes include words from the levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

As an example of the three types of outcomes for a (made up) goal:

Goal	Intended Outcome	Assessment Method & Criteria for Success
To provide fire safety training to students	1. Outcome: The department will host student training sessions discussing fire safety. 2. Student Outcome: Students will attend the fire safety training. 3. Student Learning Outcome: Students will demonstrate knowledge necessary for safely evacuating in case of fire.	1. At least three training sessions on fire safety will be offered each academic year. 2. At least 50 students will attend each fire safety training session. 3. 90% of the students who attended the fire safety session will be able to list the five steps for safely evacuating in case of fire.

Goal

Intended Outcome

Assessment Method & Criteria for Success

To provide fire safety training to students

1. Outcome: The department will host student training sessions discussing fire safety.

2. Student Outcome: Students will attend the fire safety training.

3. Student Learning Outcome: Students will demonstrate knowledge necessary for safely evacuating in case of fire.

1. At least three training sessions on fire safety will be offered each academic year.

2. At least 50 students will attend each fire safety training session.

3. 90% of the students who attended the fire safety session will be able to list the five steps for safely evacuating in case of fire.

Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes describe the types of knowledge, attitudes, and skills that a student will know and be able to demonstrate as a result of learning experiences within a course or program at the college. They should be measurable, attainable within an appropriate time frame, and understandable to students, educators, employers, and the community.

Measurable learning outcomes at the institutional, program (General Education and Major), and course levels help to:

Identify the important issues of the learning experience
Document expectations in previous, current, and future courses
Keep educators focused on the types of opportunities necessary for students to be successful in meeting the stated outcomes
Describe what the learner has to demonstrate to be successful without prescribing the various strategies to achieving the learning
Provide a basis for curriculum planning and development which minimizes gaps and duplication
Link required outcomes with assessment processes

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) expects an accredited institution to have identified learning outcomes at the institutional, program and course levels.

Institutional Learning Outcomes

Initially developed through a college-and community-wide process in the early 1990s, the College-wide Competencies serve as the institutional-level learning outcomes for MVCC. These competencies focus on the core skills and abilities that MVCC graduates need to succeed in today’s society and the work world. The General Education Committee has reviewed and revised the competencies and included a fifth one dealing with information literacy and to include supporting outcomes for each of the five competencies. These competencies and outcomes have been approved by the College Senate and the Board of Trustees. The MVCC College-wide Competencies are displayed in the College Catalog and are expected to be met by all MVCC graduates, at a level appropriate to their degree or certificate program.

General Education Learning Outcomes

The State University of New York (SUNY) has implemented a policy designed to enhance and coordinate general education on all SUNY campuses. The SUNY General Education Framework became effective fall 2023, for new first-time students entering AA-, AS-, and baccalaureate-degree programs; and effective fall of 2024, for new first-time students entering AAS- and AOS-degree programs. The SUNY GE framework includes categories of knowledge, skills, and competencies enabling students to develop diverse perspectives and global understanding that extend beyond discipline-specific knowledge and skills.

SUNY has designated student learning outcomes for each of the Knowledge and Skill areas and competencies, as well as guidelines for the review and approval of courses in each area. The SUNY General Education process can be found on SUNY's General Education Framework page.

MVCC’s General Education Program and Course Listing is displayed in the College Catalog.

General Education Aims:

General Education at MVCC consists of liberal arts and sciences courses and has a primary focus on the continuing intellectual development of the students. The principal aim is to present students with courses designed to enable them to demonstrate that they:

A. Can communicate effectively.

Students will:

Produce coherent texts with common college-level written forms;
Demonstrate the ability to revise and improve such texts;
Research a topic, develop an argument, and organize supporting details;
Develop proficiency in oral discourse;
Evaluate an oral presentation according to established criteria.

B. Can use mathematical processes to acquire and convey knowledge.

Students will:

Interpret and draw inferences from mathematical models such as formulas, graphs, tables, and schematics;
Represent mathematical information symbolically, visually, numerically, and verbally;
Employ quantitative methods such as arithmetic, algebra, geometry, or statistics to solve problems;
Estimate and check mathematical results for reasonableness;
Recognize the limits of mathematical or statistical methods.

C. Have a basic knowledge and understanding of the natural world.

Students will:

Demonstrate understanding of the methods scientists use to explore the natural world, including observation, hypothesis development, measurement and data collection, experimentation, evaluation of evidence, and employment of mathematical analysis;
Apply scientific data, concepts, and models in one of the natural sciences.

D. Have a basic knowledge of society, including an understanding of individuals, cultures, and the relationships between them.

Students will:

Demonstrate understanding of the methods social scientists use to explore social phenomena, including observation, hypothesis development, measurement and data collection, experimentation, evaluation of evidence, and employment of mathematical and interpretive analysis;
Demonstrate knowledge of major concepts, models, and issues of at least one discipline in the social sciences.

E. Understand human nature and the human condition as expressed in the humanities.

Students will:

Demonstrate comprehension of how social, cultural, aesthetic, and intellectual issues are relevant to society.

Major Program Learning Outcomes

Program learning outcomes describe what graduates in a particular academic program should be able to know or do as a result of the learning experiences offered within that curriculum. In May 2004, academic departments at the College began the process of designating program goals and supporting outcomes, some of which are learning outcomes. The program learning outcomes necessarily overlap and support the institutional learning outcomes but may require the student to demonstrate higher levels of particular outcomes or demonstrate performance of an outcome in context to the particular degree or certificate.

MVCC understands the importance for program learning outcomes to be determined by the faculty who regularly teach within the program discipline area, in consideration with the expectations of employers, transfer institutions and appropriate accrediting/professional bodies. Courses and activities within the curriculum provide opportunities for students to achieve these outcomes by the completion of the program.

Course Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes at the course level focus on the knowledge, skills, abilities, and values that a student should be able to demonstrate as a result of completing a course. Course learning outcomes are typically determined by the course instructor, or by a team of instructors who teach the same course. In general, learning outcomes do not identify the particular teaching strategy or approach that will allow the students to attain the learning outcomes. Just as the program learning outcomes support the institutional level learning outcomes, course learning outcomes necessarily support learning outcomes at the program level.

Assessment of Learning Outcomes

General Education

MVCC has developed a General Education Assessment Plan supporting faculty-created activities and rubrics to be used for assessment of the learning outcomes for the SUNY Knowledge and Skill Areas and Competencies. Assessments are spread over a four-year cycle. The MVCC General Education committee examines the combined and disaggregated data to consider if there is a need for improvements to the program, courses, support, and the assessment process itself.

The Major

MVCC recognizes that many faculty are already teaching and assessing the core skills and abilities described in the College-wide Competencies and General Education Learning Outcomes and intends to continue to build on the expertise of the faculty for this purpose. To ensure the linkage between these levels of learning outcomes, Program Outcomes Assessment Report (POAR) templates have been developed for each of the academic programs.

These templates designate the program goals and supporting measurable outcomes which link to the College’s Mission and/or College-wide Competencies. Departments select priority goals for assessment each year and identify assessment measures and criteria for success for the supporting outcomes. In addition, action plans for change and improvement as a result of the assessment activities are documented on the templates.

The Program Outcomes Assessment Report templates provide a basis for systematically displaying the assessment of student attainment of the College-wide Competencies and the program learning outcomes within the curricula.

In compliance with the SUNY Assessment Initiative for the Major, each academic program undergoes a comprehensive Academic Program Review (APR) every five years. MVCC has developed an Academic Program Review Tool in accordance with the guidelines set by the MSCHE Standards and the SUNY University Faculty Senate Guide for the Evaluation of Undergraduate Academic Programs. Faculty may bring in External Reviewers, as appropriate, to provide feedback by examining the report and by visiting the program facilities.

For the APR process, there is a focus on examining collected assessment results and the reports from any External Reviewers. Findings from the APR process are summarized in the Strengths and Weaknesses portion of the report, along with suggestions and a timeline for addressing the challenges identified. Planning and budgeting allocations for the next year then incorporate the resources to address the suggestions, as feasible by the budgeting constraints.

The College utilizes Watermark, a software platform for institutional data analysis, for all assessment efforts at the College. Institution-, program-, and course-level mission statements and outcomes, curriculum maps, General Education course assessments, Program Outcomes Assessment Reports, and Academic Program Reviews (APRs) will all be housed within the Watermark’s Planning & Self-Study system.

For more information on assessment at MVCC, contact Bradley Dixon, Coordinator of Assessment & Academic Programming at bdixon@mvcc.edu.