Strengthening Student Success, San Jose, CA - 10/4/07 1 Strategies to Create, Measure, and Document Program Effectiveness in Student Services Angela Caballero

Strengthening Student Success, San Jose, CA - 10/4/07

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Strategies to Create, Measure, and Document Program Effectiveness in

Student ServicesAngela Caballero de Cordero, Ph.D.

SLO Coordinator, Allan Hancock CollegeAlan Keys, Ph.D.

Psychology Professor/Faculty Research Coordinator, Sacramento City CollegeRichard Erlich, M.Ed.

Counselor/Transfer Center Director, Sacramento City College


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Developing and Assessing Student Learning Outcomes within Student Services

Alan Keys, Ph.D. Psychology Professor/Faculty Research Coordinator,

Sacramento City CollegeRichard Erlich, M.Ed.

Counselor/Transfer Center Director, Sacramento City College


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Student Services SLO Development at SCC: Session Goals

Participants will be able to… Describe foundation elements of Student

Services engagement in SLO development and assessment at SCC

Demonstrate an understanding of the Ruth Stiehl method of SLO development and it’s application to Student Services

Discuss the integration of Student Services in college SLO processes


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Foundation for Student Services SLO Development at SCC

College commitment to collaboration between Student Services and Instruction on SLO development

Student Service and Instructional perspectives integrated in institutional SLO philosophy


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SCC’s SLO Philosophy Statement – Guiding Principles

SLO assessment is developed and implemented by faculty and student service professionals and is driven by educational values.

The ability of SLO assessment to inform faculty and students of the impact college programs and services have… is enhanced when substantive connections are made between Student Services and Instruction.


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SCC’s SLO Philosophy Statement – Student Engagement

A commitment to SLO assessment at the course, program, and student services levels serves to empower students… in the process of charting their educational and personal development paths.


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SCC’s SLO Philosophy Statement – Student Development

SLO assessment can demonstrate our capacities for fulfilling our mission by assessing student development and the skills, knowledge, competencies, beliefs, and attitudes that students cultivate as a result of both Student Service and Instructional efforts.


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Parallel Paths of SLO Development at SCC

Student Services SLO development at Division and Unit level – Stiehl Method

Instructional SLO development at course & program level – Intradepartmental process

General Education Learning Outcome development – Integration of instruction & Student Services


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SLO development in Student Services -Stiehl Process OverviewLearning Element Identification

Major theme development

SLO creation

Assessment plan design


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Step 1. Identify Learning Elements

Organize groups (2-5 participants) based on participant’s department

Provide block paper & “Post-It Notes” to each group

Brainstorm the “prompt” and answer on Post-It Notes.


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Trigger Prompt

Upon completing service interventions with students, students will be able to know and do…


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Step 2. SLO (Theme) identification

Members share their responses – Allow adequate time (20 - 30 mins)

Sort individual responses into major themes

Participants name the major themes and transfer to block paper


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Step 3. Create SLO Statements

Identify each response (i.e. “Post-It” note) as an element of learning within the major theme

Develop statement that summarizes each theme’s learning elements– Utilize Blooms taxonomy


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DSP & S Example

Major Theme Identified-

Self Advocacy

Learning Elements (excerpts)– Students should be able to…– Access campus resources– Understand and use accommodations– Assess accommodations and their usefulness– Complete Service Request Form– Pick up and deliver accommodation form to instructors– Schedule testing accommodations


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Self Advocacy SLO Statement

Develop and apply self advocacy skills for school,

personal life, and work world


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Preliminary Assessment Plan for Self Advocacy SLO Assess with specific measures of

student behaviorsAssess if student…

– Completes Service Request Form

– Picks up and delivers accommodation form to instructors

– Schedules testing accommodations


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Parallel Paths ConvergeStudent Services developed SLOs using

Ruth Stiehl’s method

Instruction developed Course & Program SLOs via intradepartmental collaborations

GE Learning Outcomes integrated Student Services and Instructional processes


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GE Learning Outcome Development Process at SCC

Specific Aims (excerpts)

Reflect collective vision of a true “General Education” for AA/AS degree earners

Clarify expectations and purpose of student service experiences

Consider diverse paths of students to achieve goals


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GE Learning Outcome Development Process at SCC

Steps in GELO developmentGE “theme” development:

– College-wide workshops with Instruction, Student Services, & student collaboration

GE “learning element” development– Task group development of specific SLOs for

each of 7 GELO “theme” areas


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GELO Theme Areas

CommunicationQuantitative ReasoningDepth & Breadth of UnderstandingCultural CompetencyInformation CompetencyCritical ThinkingLife Skills and Personal Development


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Student Services & GE SLO Alignment Student Services SLOs General Education SLO Areas

1) Identify and effectively use programs, services, computer technology, and resources for college entry, successful progression through college, and transition from college to the community.

2) Demonstrate the skills necessary to use a variety of information tools to locate and retrieve information in various formats for a variety of academic, personal, professional or vocational purposes.

Information Competency

3) Apply principles and skills that contribute to life-long learning such as confidence in academic abilities, perseverance, discipline, questioning attitudes and interpersonal and social effectiveness.

4) Take responsibility for taking care of self to be successful in professional, personal, and social environments.

5) Develop and apply self advocacy skills for school, personal life, and work world.

6) Develop successful study strategies in order to acquire, evaluate, generalize, and apply new information.

7) Engage in academic and vocational planning, choose and implement a plan for an academic major and career choices, and evaluate progress towards accomplishing their goals.

8) Demonstrate that they’ve created supportive social networks with family, faculty, and peers that facilitate adjustment and a sense of belonging to the college community.

Life Skills and Personal Development


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9) Identify and analyze problems; creatively propose, analyze, implement, and evaluate solutions to problems.

10) Demonstrate an understanding of the way personal attitudes, values, perceptions and beliefs affect and sometimes obstruct competent reasoning.

Critical Thinking

11) Develop communication and leadership skills for successful transition and adjustment into the work world or the university.

12) Create and deliver appropriate and effective oral messages for a variety of situations, using presentation aids when appropriate.

Communication

13) Develop and utilize effective communication skills in building and maintaining multicultural interpersonal relationships.

14) Demonstrate respect, appreciation, and acceptance for multicultural differences

15) Evaluate the role of culture in identity construction.

Cultural Competency

16) Critically reflect and evaluate moral and ethical responsibilities as a world citizen, building a larger consciousness and purpose beyond self.

Depth and Breadth

of Understanding

Student Services SLOs General Education SLO Areas


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Conclusions

Stiehl method of SLO development is effective at producing meaningful and measurable SLOs for a variety of Student Service areas

Stiehl method demystifies the SLO process, facilitates a focus on student learning, and stimulates collaboration in Student Services


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Conclusions - continued

Integration of Student Services perspective in all levels of SLO development is critical for creating an effective and meaningful SLO process

Student Service SLO development and college GELO efforts converged with well-aligned overlap between their Themes


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References

Stiehl, R., & Lewchuk, L. (2002). The Outcomes Primer: Reconstructing the College Curriculum (2nd ed.), Corvallis, OR: The Learning Organization.

Stiehl, R., & Lewchuk, L. (2005). The Mapping Primer: Tools for Reconstructing the College Curriculum. Corvallis, OR: The Learning Organization.

Sacramento City College SLO Assessment and Faculty Research Resource Site. http://web.scc.losrios.edu/slo.

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Strengthening Student Success, San Jose, CA - 10/4/07 1 Strategies to Create, Measure, and Document Program Effectiveness in Student Services Angela Caballero