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Examples of Assessment by Institution |
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Colby College: In preparation for its 2007 reaccreditation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), Colby embarked on a faculty-led process of evaluating the transitions of its students into and out of college. In addition to an exhaustive study of the available quantitative data, an important part of this process included qualitative analyses of periodic interviews with a sub-set of students in a longitudinal fashion as they progress through their four years here. This annual process of multiple faculty-directed interviews was initiated at Colby, in a coordinated fashion with six other liberal arts institutions, under the auspices of the New England Consortium on Assessment and Student Learning (NECASL) in 2006. These interviews with the Class of 2010 will continue through the year following graduation.
In response to the NEASC recommendations that emerged from Colby’s reaccreditation, the faculty established three curricular planning working groups charged with broad-based evaluation, assessment, and proposed enhancements in the areas of student engagement, communication skills, and curricular oversight. The college also created the new position of Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs to oversee and coordinate the efforts of the working groups and provide leadership in implementing their recommendations.
In addition to assessing student learning outcomes in this fashion, guidelines for the regular periodic external reviews of academic department at Colby have been revised to require clearly articulated learning goals and methods of assessment by the departments in their courses and in the self-studies they provide to the referees. |
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Colby College |
