Assessment of Services

More importantly, the current program reflects our efforts to move from a program-improvement/student satisfaction based assessment to a student learning based initiative. Towards that end, each department within Student Services and Retention is expected to formulate 3-4 outcomes or objectives related to departmental mission and goals. At least two of those outcomes must be "student learning" oriented with a measurable outcome associated with it. Student Services and Retention will conduct audits of its effectiveness by employing standards from the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education as part of its functional unit review. In addition, the Washington State Board’s Community and Technical College Student Achievement Initiative is also a vital consideration in tracking the outcomes of student success.

Each of the department’s assessment plans include six components: mission statement, planning goals, program objectives or student learning outcomes, performance indicators, results, and conclusion.

To ensure Student Services and Retention is "speaking the same language"; staff will rely on the following definitions to shape our work.

• The Departmental Mission must be directly aligned with the College and the Division. This statement should include approximately 3-5 sentences that identify the name of the department, its primary functions, modes of delivery and target audience
• The Planning Goals are broad statements that describe the overarching long-range intentions of an administrative functional unit. Goals are used primarily for general planning, as the starting point for the development and refinement of program objectives or student learning outcomes.
• The Learning Outcomes can be one of two types: program objectives or student learning outcomes. The former are related to program improvement around issues like timeliness, efficiency and participant satisfaction. The latter addresses what a student learns or how a student changes by participating in the program or utilizes the service. Both program objectives and student learning outcomes are measurable statements that provide evidence as to how well the functional areas are reaching their goals.
• Performance Indicators describe the methodology and timeframe for data collection. Measures also should identify the population being surveyed and/or tested.
• Results include a brief narrative of findings, and/or essential tables or graphs. The results should indicate the extent to which the program objective or student learning outcome was met.
• Conclusions The conclusion should summarize briefly the collection and analyses of data. It should also "close the loop" by identifying what decisions and/or program modifications were made on the basis of these analyses.