What's the difference between a student learning outcome (SLO) and an operational outcome?
What types of supporting documents should I upload into Xitracs?
What happens if you keep meeting your criteria?
Why can't I log into Xitracs?
First, make sure you are trying to log into the Xitracs Portal (rather than the Xitracs Accreditation Management System). Second, be sure to use your ASU user name and password. You may also want to try a different browser to see if that makes a difference. If you are still having problems, please contact IRAP to make sure the correct permissions have been assigned to you.
Why do we need to assess Student Learning Outcomes? / Now that we have received reaffirmation from SACSCOC, why should we continue to assess?
Accountability
Appalachian's assessment efforts go beyond meeting the expectations of SACSCOC and various programmatic accreditors. Sound assessment practices will allow programs to speak to institutional stakeholders authoritatively about the impact of their efforts and present evidence that a reasonable person would accept as proof that their claims are accurate. The call for accountability in higher education just keeps getting louder. In response, the University of North Carolina system has included publishing expected learning outcomes for each degree program on each campus as part of the UNC's Strategic Directions.
Program Improvement
Most importantly, the assessment process at Appalachian is not about keeping score; it is about getting better. The assumption is that programs will craft assessment plans to address that which is most important to student learning in their disciplines. It is also expected that during this process programs will find areas that need improvement, address them, and reassess until the program is functioning up to faculty expectations.
What's the difference between a Student Learning Outcome (SLO) and an operational outcome?
There are two kinds of outcomes: student learning outcomes, which focus on what students will be able to do as a result of participating in a program, and operational outcomes (sometimes referred to as program outcomes), which are changes in the program that faculty or staff want to occur as a result of their efforts.
Student learning outcomes typically start with the phrase, "Students will (insert specific action verb such as explain, apply, describe, create, etc.) . . ."
Operational outcomes for academic programs often focus on faculty (related to teaching, research, or service), student or alumni satisfaction, recruitment, retention and graduation rates, fundraising, or facilities. Basically, if the outcome is not specifically focused on student learning, then it is an operational outcome for the program.
What types of supporting documents should I upload into Xitracs?
A program should attach documents related to its assessment methods such as surveys, instruments (tests/questionnaires), rubrics, etc. Supporting documents should also be attached to assessment results, including full reports of assessment results and examples of student artifacts where appropriate. Finally, a program should attach action plans for any criteria that have not been met, which should include specific steps the program plans to take to ensure that a set criterion will be met in the future.
How many examples do I need?
In the assessment process, artifacts are the samples of student work produced in response to faculty developed assignments. There is no set rule for the number of artifacts that a program should attach to assessment reports. At the very least, there should be an example to represent each level of student performance (ex. Inadequate, Adequate, and Excellent levels of competency). The goal here is to allow any potential outside reviewer of a program's assessment report to get a basic understanding of how faculty distinguished between levels of proficiency.
What happens if you keep meeting your criteria?
If a criterion is met for an outcome, then a program has a couple of choices to make. The program may decide that the criterion was set too low and decide to raise it (set the bar higher). Alternatively, the program may be satisfied with meeting the set criterion and should move on to measure another outcome in their assessment plan. Ideally, a program should cycle through measuring all of the outcomes in its assessment plan within a 5-7 year period. Once the program has cycled through measuring all of its outcomes, it will be time to return to the beginning and start again to see if the program is continuing to meet its set criteria.