77-000
ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT (POLICY)
The Board of Trustees and constituencies of Oglala Lakota College are committed to
continuous improvement of student academic achievement. To further this goal,
academic departments will conduct regular activities to assess the knowledge, attitudes,
and/or abilities students are acquiring while attending classes at OLC.
Results of assessment activities will be used to plan and budget for continual
improvement of college operations.
Purposes of assessing student academic achievement:
1. To provide information to students and faculty about individual progress;
2. To inform faculty and other professionals so they may develop appropriate
learning programs and curriculum;
3. To provide information to people who make decisions about the allocation of
resources for curriculum, pedagogy, college organization, and other educational
goals;
4. To provide information to the public regarding the institution’s performance;
Who will be assessed:
1. Entering freshmen
2. Students in basic skills courses (English and Math).
3. Students completing an Associates Degree and/or complete a designated
number of credit hours during their first two years of college.
4. Students in academic and vocational degree programs as determined by their
academic department.
What will be assessed:
Entering freshmen and junior students will be assessed in basic skills subjects and the
college core, including but not limited to Reading, Writing, Mathematics, and Lakota
cultural awareness.
In addition to college wide assessment in core subjects, students’ learning will also be
assessed in their majors and in specific courses as determined by the respective
academic departments.
Assessment process:
Assessment will use a number of direct and indirect measures to determine learning.
Direct measures may be criterion-based and/or norm-referenced. Students will be
assessed at different points during the student’s academic program.
Reporting of results:
1. The chair of each academic department and/or the director of each instructional
site is
responsible for forwarding assessment results to the Institutional Assessment
and Research Office as outlined in the procedures below .
2. Summary Reports of assessment results in Basic Skills/Core will be prepared by
the Institutional Assessment and Research Office on a semester and /or annual
basis.
3. Each academic department will prepare a report of assessments carried out with
a copy of each report to be lodged in the Institutional Assessment and Research
Office.
Assessment Committee:
Oglala Lakota College will have a permanent assessment committee whose members
broadly represent the college’s academic departments. In addition, members may also
be drawn from support services and students.
The duties of the assessment committee are:
1. Develop, distribute and monitor a schedule pertaining to assessment (i.e. an
assessment calendar)
2. Review assessment results from the Institutional Assessment and Research
office and from the academic units.
3. Recommend assessment activities and processes and their modification.
4. Review and approve a semester and annual report prepared by the Institutional
Assessment and Research office, which describes the semester’s and year’s
outcomes of the assessment of student academic achievement.
Planning and budgeting:
Assessment results and assessment reports will be distributed to OLC’s Administration
and Departments for use in planning and budgeting for continual improvement of student
learning.
Personnel:
Oglala Lakota College affirms that assessment is a process independent of decisions
concerning personnel matters, such as retention, rehire, or dismissal. Assessment
outcomes will not be used for such purposes and every effort will be made to safeguard
against the use of assessment results for matters related to these areas.
1. All Tests to be used for assessing student academic achievement will be reviewed by
the assessment committee and copies will be lodged in the Office of Institutional
Assessment and Research.
2. Directors of instructional sites or other designated faculty or staff are responsible to
forward results of all diagnostic/placement tests to the Institutional Assessment and
Research office no later than the first week of classes in the Fall and Spring
semester.
3. Designated faculty from relevant academic departments will forward the results of
any post tests conducted in pre-college level classes and/or other classes
designated for post tests by the department involved no later than the due date for
final grades each semester.
4. A designated faculty member from the Humanities and Language Arts department will
forward the results of holistically scored essays to the Institutional Assessment and
Research Office at the end of each semester, that is, on the date when final grades
are due in the Registrar’s Office.
5. Based on the assessment activities carried out by each academic department and
as outlined in the department’s assessment plan(s), the assessment committee will
publish an assessment calendar each semester.
6. Academic departments will provide the Institutional Assessment and Research office
with a report that summarizes the department’s assessment activities and
assessment results as they relate to departmental programs, courses, and/or
disciplines. This report should constitute an appendix to the department’s overall
report, which is due at the end of department chairs’ contract year.
7. Based on the timely submission of reports and data from academic departments and
instructional sites, the Institutional Assessment and Research Office, will furnish a
semester report by the middle of the following semester and an annual report by the
end of the academic year. The annual assessment report will be reviewed by the
assessment committee at the beginning of the following academic year and contain
recommendations from the Assessment Committee for improving the academic
achievement of OLC’s students.
I. ASSESSMENT OF GENERAL EDUCATION
Tests and Who: What: How: Administered: Responsibilty:
Assessments:
Placement tests: Entering Reading, writing, Computer Prior to Foundational
first year and math adaptive completion Studies
studentd inventories of registration Results
process forwarded to
to Direstor of
Assessment
Post Tests Students who General Studies Standardized and Twice per calendar Director of Assessment
are at the end and Lakota nationally recognized year. Prior to
of their second Language Cultural direct measure of students being
year of studies, Profieciency general education awarded an associate's Lakota Studies
end of sophmore curriculum degree or Dept. forwarded
status or beginning advancement to to Director of
of junior year status bachelor's degree Assessment
status
Holistic Writing Students who Writing and Holistic Scoring End of semester. Humanities Dept.
have completed Composition of Essays by results forwarded
Engl. 103 Skills faculty to Director of
Assessment
Information/ Students exiting Computer Locally developed End of semester Instructional
computer general education Literacy assessment of Technology
literacy technology courses and student proficiency Dept. Results
knowledge demonstrated forwarded to
and skills skills Director of
Assessment
Results
forwarded to
Director of
Assessment
II. ASSESSMENT IN THE MAJOR
Exit Exams Who: What: Direct Measures: Responsibility:
To measure Students in * Courses * Course embedded Academic Department
student learning Junior or * Disciplines assessments
in courses Senior year (as * Programs * Capstone/Internships,
and programs determined by their standardized and Results forwarded to
academic department Departments determine locally developed Director of Assessment
what professional exams as part of annual reports
standards and * Essays blind scored
accreditation across the department
requirements apply or division
within the major or * Juried Reviews of
degree senior project
* Externally reviewed
exhibitions/performances
* Performance on state and
national licensure
* Exams other as appropriate
The Institutional Assessment and Research Office will furnish an annual assessment report based
on Sections I. and II. above by the end of the academic year. The Assessment Committee will
review the report at the beginning of the following academic year. The report will contain
recommendations for improving student academic achievement.
OTHER ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES:
(INDIRECT MEASURES)
Component Time Schedule Population Distribution Use of Results Responsibility
of Results
Alumni Survey Every Year Alumni of the College, community, Information and Director of
previous year OLC Website Planning Assessment and
Center Directors
Employer Survey Every odd year OLC Graduate Administration,faculty Program and Director of Assessment
employers departments, districts curriculum planning and Center Directors
Community Survey Every three years District Administration,faculty Establishing Director of Assessment
Population departments, districts community needs and Center Directors
Survey of Every semester Students who Administration,faculty Program planning Director of Assessment
Students who drop out/stop out departments, districts and Center Directors
drop out/stop out
Student Every semester All students Districts, departments, Identify student Director of Assessment
attendance chairs, administration needs and Center Directors
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