Assessment of Student Learning

Assessment at the Program or Discipline Level

How well does this program prepare students for work or transfer? How do we know?

While some students enroll in one or a few courses to satisfy their goals, many students pursue programs of study designed to provide employable skills or to facilitate transfer to a university. Each type of program has unique expectations of student achievement in terms of knowledge, skills, and abilities, and each program measures them in highly articulated fashion. Where appropriate, such strategies as capstone courses, portfolios, summative performance measures, and external validation measures such as licensure exams and transfer experiences, may all play a role. In addition, across all types of programs, faculty are sensitive to issues of student persistence and retention, rates of successful completion of courses within the program, and the extent to which students in later courses are integrating content and concepts across courses within the program. In some cases, measures of student achievement at the program or discipline level are based on direct demonstration of achievement in specific courses focused on capstone or integrative skills. In other cases, measures are more difficult to craft, and assignments are designed to elicit evidence of successful attainment. In many occupational programs, faculty confer with each other as a result of their supervision of students in performance environments. In transfer-oriented or pre-baccalaureate programs, faculty within the core discipline(s) identify integrative abilities expected of students who have successfully completed a significant course sequence, and create means to assess those outcomes. At the program or discipline level, assessment is focused on the core competencies integral to the program, and the abilities of students at program completion, whether their goals are employment, transfer, or both.

Assessment outcomes at the program or discipline level are reported as part of the program/discipline review process, which occurs on a five-year basis. Generally, the review of these data stimulates discussion among program or discipline faculty, which often leads to plans for improvement of student learning. Additionally, the reporting of these data at Academic Council often stimulates further discussion and may lead to innovative action plans, the outcomes of which are similarly focused on improvement of student learning and performance.

Program/DisciplineOutcomes	Pathway
3D Design & Animation	Business & Computer Technology/Liberal Arts
Accounting	Business & Computer Technology
Accounting - Certificate	Business & Computer Technology
Advanced Manufacturing	Skilled Trades & Agriculture
Agriculture Technology	Skilled Trades & Agriculture
Allied Health General Studies	Health Sciences
Associate in Arts	Liberal Arts
Associate in Applied Sciences	Liberal Arts
Associate in General Studies	Liberal Arts
Associate in Science	Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
Automotive Service Technology	Skilled Trades & Agriculture
Aviation Flight Technology	Skilled Trades & Agriculture
Biology	Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
Business Administration	Business & Computer Technology
Business Administration - Certificate	Business & Computer Technology
Cardiac Sonograpy	Health Sciences
Chemistry	Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
Cloud Networking (CLNE)	Business & Computer Technology
Computer Programming Specialist	Business & Computer Technology
Computer Service Technician - Certificate	Business & Computer Technology
Computer Support Specialist	Business & Computer Technology
Corrections	Human Services
Corrections - Certificate	Human Services
Culinary Arts & Hospitality Management - B.S.	Business & Computer Technology
Culinary Arts & Hospitality Management	Business & Computer Technology
Culinary Arts & Hospitality Management - Certificate	Business & Computer Technology
Cyber Security	Business & Computer Technology
Dental Hygiene (transfer)	Health Sciences
Digital Photography - Certificate	Health Sciences
Economics	Human Services
eCommerce Consultant - Certificate	Human Services
Electrician	Skilled Trades & Agriculture
Electronic Technology/ELT	Skilled Trades & Agriculture
Electronic Technology/Microcomputer Support	Skilled Trades & Agriculture
Emergency Medical Technology	Health Sciences
Energy Systems Management (BS)	Skilled Trades & Agriculture
Energy Systems Technology	Skilled Trades & Agriculture
Entrepreneurship	Business & Computer Technology
Entrepreneurship - Certificate	Business & Computer Technology
Environmental Science	Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
Environmental Science - Certificate	Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
Executive Assistant	Business & Computer Technology
First Year Seminar	Liberal Arts
Foundation Studies - Reading ENG 080-085	Liberal Arts
Fundamentals of Engineering - Certificate	Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
General Sonography	Health Sciences
Geology & Geography	Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
Graphic Design	Business & Computer Technology/Liberal Arts
Graphic Design - Certificate	Business & Computer Technology/Liberal Arts
Health Administration/Insurance Specialist	Health Sciences
Health and Physical Fitness	Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
Industrial Systems - Certificate	Skilled Trades & Agriculture
Law Enforcement	Human Services
Law Enforcement - Certificate	Human Services
Literature & Humanities	Liberal Arts
Management - Certificate	Business & Computer Technology
Manufacturing Design - Certificate	Skilled Trades & Agriculture
Marketing - Certificate	Business & Computer Technology
Mathematics & Engineering	Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
Medical Assistant	Health Sciences/Business & Computer Technology
Medical Sciences (tansfer)	Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
Microsoft Office Specialist - Certificate	Business & Computer Technology
Music (transfer)	Liberal Arts
Networking Specialist	Business & Computer Technology
Networking Specialist - Certificate	Business & Computer Technology
Nursing	Health Sciences
Nursing (LPN to ADN)	Health Sciences
Occupational Studies	Skilled Trades & Agriculture
Physics	Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
Political Science	Human Services
Practical Nursing - Certificate	Health Sciences
Practical Nursing - Certificate	Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
Pre-Veterinary (transfer)	Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
Psychology (Transfer)	Human Services
Radiography	Health Sciences
Respiratory Care	Health Sciences
Sociology	Human Services
Sports Management	Business & Computer Technology
Studio Art	Liberal Arts
Therapy (transfer)	Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
Vascular Sonography	Health Sciences
Vascular Sonography	Health Sciences
Welding - Certificate	Skilled Trades & Agriculture

---

Program and Discipline Review

Program and discipline reviews assess how well the program or discipline prepares the student for work or for transfer. This process occurs on a five-year basis.

• Program and Discipline Review Schedule
• Program Review Template
• Discipline Review Template
• Program Curriculum Matrix Template and Instructions

GENERAL EDUCATION OUTCOMES (GEO) AND INSTITUTIONAL LEARNING OUTCOMES (ILO)

Assessment of General Education at the Degree Level

Each college or university defines general education in a way consistent with their mission and student population. At Jackson College, our definition is reflected in both our published philosophy of general education, and in our assessment strategies.

General Education Philosophy

A message to students from JC faculty:

General education facilitates the development of an informed and educated person who recognizes and respects the diversity of communities, thinks critically and is proficient at fundamental skills. General education engages students in active learning by providing opportunities to observe, analyze and evaluate, and to apply these skills critically to problems. General education fosters the development of responsible, ethical human beings dedicated to improving their own lives and the lives of others through work, family life, social and political action, cultural awareness and service to others.

Because JC’s vision includes a variety of educational, cultural and economic goals, the general education requirements involve both traditional intellectual pursuits and practical skill development. As the general education requirements are designed to ensure breadth and depth of knowledge, they are met through carefully designed programs of study. Programs of study help students meet these goals by addressing each of the skill areas identified in the General Education Outcomes. These are skills which the JC Board of Trustees has determined students should develop or enhance while enrolled in the college.

General Education Outcomes

1. Write clearly, concisely and intelligibly
2. Recognize the importance of equity and inclusion in a diverse society
3. Demonstrate computational skills and mathematical reasoning
4. Demonstrate scientific reasoning
5. Understand human behavior and social systems, and the principles which govern them

6. Identify artistic, linguistic, and theoretical perspectives across the human experience

In addition to the GEOs listed above, the college is committed to helping students develop three Institutional Learning Outcomes. These skills are embedded in each program of study, and are shaped by the program focus and the pathway within which the program is hosted.

Institutional Learning Outcomes

1. Think critically and act responsibly
2. Work productively with others, recognizing individual contributions to group success
3. Exhibit technological literacy

Assessment of General Education Outcomes and Institutional Learning Outcomes

At graduation, to what extent have students achieved the transcendent abilities defined by the college? How do we know?

Students are certified eligible for graduation only on the professional judgment of the faculty. Only faculty members can recommend a student for the award of college credit, and for an associate degree or certificate of program completion. As a faculty, we have collectively identified ten major outcomes we expect students to achieve prior to the awarding of the associate degree. Not coincidentally, we refer to these competencies or abilities as General Education Outcomes (GEOs) and Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs). While each graduating student will achieve each outcome, each will, depending on program of study, achieve these outcomes in various ways, just as Rome can be reached via various roads. Similarly, virtually all faculty members in all courses contribute some effort to the development of these outcomes.

Just as the pathways to the achievement of the GEOs and ECs vary, so too do the strategies faculty members employ to develop these abilities in their students, and the methods faculty use to assess student achievement of these outcomes. To make the assessment of student achievement at the degree level both possible and meaningful, faculty employ various strategies to assess these outcomes. To facilitate this effort, guidance is at hand. Working cooperatively with the General Education Committee, the Assessment Committee drafted templates of rubrics for the specification of learning outcomes and their assessment, for each GEO at both the core competence and contextual competence levels. While the specifications of student competencies (leftmost two columns in each rubric) are fixed or consistent, the strategies for assessment and success criteria are adapted for each general education course and for each program or pathway. General Education courses are designed to develop these outcomes at the level of core competence, while the level of contextual competence is developed by the student’s entire program of study. For each general education course, responsible (lead) faculty members edit the rubric to identify the strategies which the course will use to achieve the GEO outcomes. Assessment at the level of core competence is conducted whenever the course is offered, and the results are reported to the assessment committee by the lead faculty member for the course, at least annually. In this effort, lead faculty have a special role in aggregating data across sections of a course. The assessment committee provides forms for individual faculty, both full-time and adjunct, to easily report their individual course section data to the lead faculty member, who then forwards the aggregated data electronically to the committee.

Assessment of GEOs at the level of contextual competence, as well as ILOs at the level of contextual competence, is conducted on a cyclical basis, with one GEO and one ILO selected for each year. Students in or approaching their final enrollment period prior to graduation will be selected to participate in an activity developed by the faculty most qualified in that specific GEO or ILO, in concert with the assessment committee, and adapted to the specific pathway or program. Assessment data and exemplars of student performance will be submitted to the assessment committee for analysis.

In some years, JC has also employed the CAAP test as a means of tracking student progress in a number of nationally-normed skill areas as they pursue the associate degree. In addition, the college has used other indirect measures of student engagement and progress. We collectively use this information to improve recruitment, retention, and program design. As a college, we share aggregated data with our Board of Trustees, who have included this requirement in one of their annual “Ends” reports, congruent with their policy governance model. In all cases, the data are used to improve student learning and experience at the college and beyond.

---

General Education Outcomes (GEO)

Because the vision of Jackson College includes a variety of educational, cultural and economic goals, the general education requirements involve both traditional intellectual pursuits and practical skill development. As the general education requirements are designed to ensure breadth and depth of knowledge, they are met through carefully designed programs of study. Programs of study help students meet these goals by addressing each of the skill areas identified in the General Education Outcomes. These are skills which the Jackson College Board of Trustees has determined students should develop or enhance while enrolled in the college.

List of Courses by GEO

GEO	Description	Core Competence	Contextual Competence
1	Write clearly, concisely and intelligibly	GEO 1 Core Rubric	GEO 1 Contextual Rubric
2	Recognize the importance of equity and inclusion in a diverse society	GEO 2 Core Rubric	GEO 2 Contextual Rubric
3	Demonstrate computational skills and mathematical reasoning	GEO 3 Core Rubric	GEO 3 Contextual Rubric
4	Demonstrate scientific reasoning	GEO 4 Core Rubric	GEO 4 Contextual Rubric
5	Understand human behavior and social systems and the principles which govern them	GEO 5 Core Rubric	GEO 5 Contextual Rubric
6	Identify artistic, linguistic, and theoretical perspectives across the human experience	GEO 6 Core Rubric	GEO 6 Contextual Rubric

---

Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILO)

In addition to the GEOs, the college is committed to helping students develop three Institutional Learning Outcomes. These skills are embedded in each program of study, and are shaped by the program focus and the pathway within which the program is hosted.

ILO	Description	Contextual Competence
1	Think critically and act responsibly	ILO 1 Rubric
2	Work productively with others, recognizing individual contributions to group success	ILO 2 Rubric
3	Exhibit technological literacy	ILO 3 Rubric

---

GEO Criteria Success Rates

• GEO 1
• GEO 2
• GEO 3
• GEO 4
• GEO 5
• GEO 6
• GEO 7

Resources Related to the Assessment of Student Learning

• The Criteria for Accreditation – 2013
• The Criteria for Accreditation Booklet – effective September 2020
• Revised Criteria – effective September 1, 2020