Outcomes Assessment
EICC’S Commitment to Assessment
Eastern Iowa Community Colleges (EICC) is a three-college district composed of Clinton Community College, in Clinton, Iowa; Muscatine Community College, in Muscatine, Iowa; and Scott Community College, in Bettendorf and Davenport, Iowa. The mission of EICC is to deliver high-quality education and training that prepares a skilled workforce, provides affordable access to higher education, and builds and strengthens our communities. Assessment of learning outcomes is integral to accomplishing this mission. Assessment provides information answering the following questions about EICC programs, curriculum, and outcomes:
- What should students know after completion of a course?
- What should EICC graduates know, be able to do, and value?
- Have our graduates learned?
- How do we know they have learned?
- What can we do to improve student learning at EICC?
Institutional-Level Assessment
Institutional-level outcomes (ILOs) identify what we expect students to be able to do after successfully completing institutional level coursework at EICC. EICC is committed to teaching and assessing the following goals and outcomes in the General Education Curriculum:
Students will be able to:
- contribute to team meetings.
- facilitate the contributions of team members.
- individually contribute outside of team meetings.
- foster constructive team climate.
- respond to conflict.
Students will be able to:
- evaluate how their own attitudes, beliefs, and values have been formed in order to recognize their own biases and assumptions.
- demonstrate an understanding of how institutional power structures shape experiences, histories, and cultures of dominant and marginalized groups of people.
- analyze arguments from diverse perspectives in order to meaningfully dialogue across cultural differences.
- apply critical and creative approaches to addressing inequalities or conflicts through organizing, activism, advocacy, education, or communication.
Students will be able to:
- frame the problem or issue to be addressed.
- use information to investigate a point of view or conclusion.
- evaluate implications and consequences.
- demonstrate and awareness of biases and limitations of thinking.
Outcomes to be developed in 2024-2025
Program-Level Assessment
Program learning outcomes (PLOs) identify what we expect students to be able to do after successfully completing a program or transfer major at EICC. PLOs are developed for Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs and for Arts and Science (A&S) Transfer Majors.
Where to find PLOs
PLOs for each program can be found in the EICC Catalog on each program page below the program description.
Course-Level Assessment
Course-level assessment determines what we expect students to be able to do after successfully completing a program or transfer major at EICC. EICC uses Course Development Models (CDMs) for all courses offered at EICC. A CDM provides critical information about the content of a course of instruction. Course-level student learning outcomes (SLOs) are listed in the CDM for each course. Faculty who are course-level content experts create content for CDMs before entering the EPC approval process. Faculty members are expected to teach and assess the SLOs for the course.
Where to find SLOs
SLOs can for each course can be found in the EICC Catalog in each course description.
Co-curricular Assessment
EICC determines what we expect students to be able to do after successfully participating in cocurricular activities at EICC. At EICC, cocurricular learning is defined as learning activities, programs, and experiences that reinforce the institution’s mission and enhance the formal curriculum with the following expected outcomes (CCLOs) that are from the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) Learning and Development outcomes:
| CAS Outcomes | LEAP (AAC&U) |
|---|---|
| Knowledge acquisition, construction, integration, & application | Knowledge of human culture, the physical world, and natural world |
| Cognitive complexity | Intellectual Skills—Critical Thinking (ILO) Practical Skills—Teamwork (ILO) |
| Intrapersonal development, interpersonal competence, humanitarianism, and civic engagement | Personal and Social Responsibility—Intercultural Knowledge and Competence (ILO) |
| Practical Competence | Integrative and applied learning |
Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education. (2023). 2023 CAS standards & guidelines: CAS learning and development outcomes. CAS Learning Outcomes | Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education
EICC chose the following outcomes to emphasize the CAS outcomes due to the correlation to the LEAP standards that correlate to our Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILO’s) and to reflect student development best practices.
Examples of cocurricular activities include student-faculty research experiences, service learning, professional clubs or organizations (e.g., nursing clubs), the Honors Program, honor societies (e.g., Phi Theta Kappa), and career services. Groups of faculty and/or staff affiliated with these experiences, clubs, or organizations will implement and measure CCLOs.
Download full EICC Assessment Plan
Rowing Down the River Through the Culture of Assessment
Goals
- Faculty and staff trained in the basics of outcomes assessment
- Program-level outcomes for all discipline areas, programs, and departments will be developed
- Program-level outcomes will be mapped to institutional level outcomes
- Assessment tools that measure outcomes will be developed
- Full-time faculty, adjuncts, and concurrent instructors work to collect data to improve student learning
- Develop and implement district-wide template used by all faculty to report course-level assessment plan, benchmark, results data, and reflection
- Outcomes now reviewed through course changes and shared across modalities
- Academic departments are creating curriculum maps and review them through assessment day activities and program review processes
- Program learning outcomes are reworked and reviewed during changes to a program through the Curriculog and program review process
- Program learning outcomes are added to the catalog for transparency
- Four assessment days are held each year to provide professional development and time together to celebrate student learning
- Faculty and student services staff are sharing out how to use data from assessment tool to improve student learning in courses, projects, and student experiences
- New hire faculty assessment trainings are included in on-boarding
- Assessment shell in Canvas is available as depository for assessment plans, benchmarks, data results, and reflection for CLOs and to house additional assessment resources
- Assessment office hours are held by the Assessment Officer to provide individual and cohort support
- Glossary of assessment terms is provided in the Canvas shell to clarify and unify the language of assessment
- Assessment webpage is launched
- Program Learning Outcome statements updated in curriculum review processes for approval and then added to the catalog
- Self-study assessment questions completed by faculty cohorts for improvements
- Arts and Science Program Review processes re-focused to implement program improvements based on student learning data
- Update processes for reviewing general education courses and curriculum
- Action plan data and tasks now reviewed each year on progress and findings
- Faculty-led task force is developing ILO rubrics for faculty and staff to use for student learning assessment using the AAC&U Value rubrics as a guide
- Pilot for the Teamwork rubric is launched through Canvas in Summer 2024
- Critical Thinking and DEI rubrics are completed while Problem-Solving rubric is in development
- CAS standards are used as guide for co-curricular assessment of student experiences other than academic
- Co-Curricular assessment day is held in June for student services staff professional development and time together
- Pre- and post-assessment forms are used to obtain feedback, keeping communication open among stakeholders to meet the needs of faculty and student services staff
- Connection of assessment student learning outcomes to the strategic plan is initiated
- Momentum of positive assessment culture is maintained with celebrations and incentives
- Collection of assessment data through a data-driven application program is needed
- Disaggregation of assessment data using a more automatic, and less manual process is needed
- District-wide Co-Curricular Program Review tools are being developed
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