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Western Michigan University Assessment Handbook: "Celebrating Student Learning", Office Of Institutional Effectiveness

Assessment Publications & Presentations

Western Michigan University (WMU) is committed to the success of our students. That success is predicated on the idea that students graduate from the university having added to the knowledge they had entering WMU. Assessing student learning is crucial to ensuring and documenting that students get the added value they should expect from the institution.

This Assessment Handbook is designed to help units carry out their assessment activities. It contains information, (from both internal and external sources), on how to write good assessment outcomes, answers to frequently asked assessment questions, resources available on campus, and some sample assessment tools, among …

Student Needs Assessment Tool, Kourtney Bakalyar, Katie Easley

Assessment Grants

The purpose for the Student Needs Assessment Tool is to develop a tool for quickly assessing the unique needs of individual students within the WMU community and connecting them with services and supports on campus. The overall goal of the Student Needs Assessment Tool is to help students thrive, complete their classes, and complete a degree at WMU. While developing this tool, the PIs would survey support programs at WMU to create a tool that is easy to use and accessible for other programs at WMU. Planning for data collection and analysis will occur while developing this tool.

Aligning Dance Student Learning Outcomes Within A Vibrant Curriculum Through Curriculum Mapping, Megan Slayter, Jeremy Blair

Assessment Grants

The intent of this project is to investigate and articulate through curriculum mapping how specific skills associated with student learning outcomes for the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in Dance are introduced, developed, and mastered through their respective curricula.

Curriculum Mapping For B.S. In Healthcare Services And Sciences, Janet Hahn

Assessment Grants

This project will build on the Healthcare Services and Sciences program competencies revised at a faculty retreat in February 2020. It will map the competencies along with a suggested student progression. WMU Essential Studies assessment data will be integrated into the curriculum map and overall program assessment plan.

Closing The Text Equity Gap: Using The Writing Pace Meeting To Increase Writing Practice And Performance, Brian Gogan

Assessment Grants

This project measures the impact of an intervention on the quality of WMU first-year writing students’ peer feedback practices. This project builds on research that associates peer review practice with increased student success. Further, it extends a prior assessment, which suggests that the intervention was effective in increasing the average quantity of peer-review text produced by the bottom two quartiles of first-year writers at WMU. To assess quality, the project uses an established coding scheme to analyze 1,400 student-written comments exchanged by English 1050 students. A statistical analysis of pre-invention codes and post-intervention codes provides the basis for the assessment.

2021 Western Michigan University Assessment In Action Conference, Office Of Institutional Effectiveness

Assessment in Action Conference

Included here is the program from the 11th Annual Western Michigan University Assessment in Action Conference held virtually on April 9, 2021. The conference, sponsored by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, is a one-day event where those new to outcomes assessment can come and learn fundamental knowledge about the field, but it is also a place where those who have worked as leaders in outcomes assessment can come and extend their knowledge and skills and network with colleagues. Conference offerings included learning opportunities on various assessment topics for both academic and learner supports units.

Reshaping The Whole Story: Using Data To Enhance The Fye Experience For Students And Instructors, Adrienne Fraaza

Assessment in Action Conference

In January 2020, the Office of Student Transitions set out to overhaul the FYE experience for students and instructors. Past data indicated there was great opportunity to evaluate and reshape multiple components of the course, including: instructor hiring and training; course consistency; learning outcomes and assessment; and the integration of CliftonStrengths for Students into all sections. This session will go over the journey of planning and implementing the changes based on previous data gathered, the pivots made due to Covid-19, lessons learned, and how data collected this year will inform changes for next fall.

Western Michigan University Assessment Fellows Grants: A Brief History, Featuring The 2019-20 Fellows Grant Recipients, Karen M. Stokes Chapo

Assessment in Action Conference

In this session, we will provide a brief overview and history of the WMU Assessment Fellows Grant Program and the 2019-20 grant recipients will share about their projects and experiences.

Envisioning Ourselves As Educators: Practices For Student Affairs, Vicki Wise

Assessment in Action Conference

NASPA and ACPA collectively created seven Principles of Good Practice for Student Affairs (1997) as a framework for how student affairs can put student learning at the heart of its work. In this session, we will explore these seven principles for student affairs and uncover ways to move from theory to action through learning about backward design and development of a learning syllabus.

Holistic Assessment For Continuous Improvement In Student Success Programs, Lauren Carney, Vun Doubblestein, Nate Nguyen, Sue Murray, Liliana Salas

Assessment in Action Conference

Student success programs serving diverse student populations describe how they use a holistic and qualitative approach to measuring student success and conducting program evaluation. They will discuss data collection and implementation to enhance programming and services for students served.

How To Engage And Assess Learning Through Discussion In Any Modality, Jef Fisher, Megan Hess, Alyssa Moon, Matt Strock, Wendy Swalla

Assessment in Action Conference

Discussion is not just sharing ideas and answering questions. It can assist students in developing deeper understanding while honing their communication skills. A form of experiential learning, discussions empower students to communicate and vocalize their thinking, internalize experiences, and encourages them to more aptly reflect on and apply what they learn. In this interactive session, we will explore examples and exercises that you can use in any course to facilitate discussion and gauge student comprehension.

Using Data Visualization For Continuous Improvement, Ciji Heiser, Evan Heiser, Ewa Urban

Assessment in Action Conference

This session will identify key principles and recommendations for building effective visualizations and dashboards in higher education. Presenters will address the core aspects of the process for dashboard development, the benefits of using dashboards, and the ways in which dashboards support continuous improvement. Participants will engage in conversations about metrics they can focus on while building department and/or institutional dashboards. Presenters will share examples of several dashboards used for continuous improvement at WMU, including a dashboard for advancing equity, student success services, WMU Signature, and post-graduation outcomes reporting.

Opening Panel Discussion: Using Data For Continuous Improvement, Office Of Institutional Effectiveness

Assessment in Action Conference

At the 2021 WMU Assessment in Action Conference, Dr. Zebulun Davenport (West Chester University), Dr. Sara Finney (James Madison University), Dr. Ciji Heiser (panel moderator, Western Michigan University) and Dr. Vicki Wise (Oregon State University), participated in a discussion around the topic of learning assessment and using data for continuous improvement. Here you will find a list of resources that the panelists shared for your reference and further discovery about the topics they discussed in the panel.

Importance Of Reflective, Collaborative And Transparent Practices To Close The Assessment Loop, Vicki Wise

Assessment in Action Conference

In this session we explore the importance of closing the assessment loop and how collaboration, reflection and transparency are necessary conditions for doing so. The importance of closing the loop is to make evidence-informed decisions. This session offers up practical ways and promising practices to encourage collaboration, reflection and transparency to make assessment more meaningful.

This Is Not A Quiz: How Do We Create And Evaluate Authentic Assessments?, Jef Fisher, Megan Hess, Alyssa Moon, Matt Strock, Wendy Swalla

Assessment in Action Conference

This hands-on workshop will cover the basic principles of designing and evaluating authentic assessment of learning. In this session, you will work in small groups to create an authentic assessment and will walk away with rubrics that can be modified to suit your purpose.

Connecting Assessment Practice To Equity Work, Ciji Heiser

Assessment in Action Conference

This presentation will share a series of examples that connect assessment work to equity. Examples will include embedding equity throughout the assessment cycle, incorporating diverse perspective in learning outcomes frameworks, working with a student advisory council, and using data visualization to advance equity.

Stem Online Course Auto-Report, Brian Horvitz, Whitney Decamp, Megan Grunert Kowalske, Regina L. Garza Mitchell

Instruments for Measuring Online Teaching Practices

No abstract provided.

Online Observation Protocol Sheet, Brian Horvitz, Whitney Decamp, Megan Grunert Kowalske, Regina L. Garza Mitchell

Instruments for Measuring Online Teaching Practices

No abstract provided.

Online Observation Protocol Sheet: User Guide, Brian Horvitz, Whitney Decamp, Megan Grunert Kowalske, Regina L. Garza Mitchell

Instruments for Measuring Online Teaching Practices

No abstract provided.