Accreditation and Student
Learning Outcome Committee 2007-08
Janet Fulks, Bakersfield College, Chair
Angela Caballero de Cordero, Allan Hancock College
Marcy Alancraig, Cabrillo College
Kenneth Bearden, Butte College
Scott Lee, Antelope Valley College
Robert Pacheco, Barstow College
Janice Tomson, Long Beach City College
Gary Williams, Crafton Hills College
Special thanks for expertise, comments and editing
to:
Greg Gilbert, Copper Mountain College, 2006-07
Past Chair Ad Hoc
Marybeth Buechner, Cosumnes River College
Table of Contents Abstract
Introduction
Literature Review
Background
Present Status of SLO Coordinators
Table 1: How long have you been SLO Coordinator/Chair?
Table 2: How many years does your role as SLO
Coordinator last?
Table 3: How were you appointed to the position
of SLO Coordinator?
What Do Student Learning Outcomes and Assessment
Coordinators Actually Do?
Table 4: Various Models of Organizing the SLO
responsibilities
Criteria for the Position of SLO Coordinator
Table 5: Designing and Defining SLO Coordinator
Responsibilities
How Are Student Learning Outcomes and Assessment
Coordinators Compensated?
Table 6: How much reassigned time does your SLO
position provide?
Table 7: Colleges Reporting Multiple Reassigned
SLO and Assessment Coordinators
Training for SLO Coordinators
Table 8: training opportunities
Considerations and Recommendations
Table 9: Summary of Recommendations for SLO Coordinator
Positions
Conclusion
References
Appendices
Appendix A: Annual Report Update on Student Learning
Outcomes
Appendix B: Survey Participants
Appendix C: Survey and Non-Narrative Results
Appendix D: Sample SLO Coordinator Job Descriptions
and Expectations
Appendix E: Training Needs Accumulated from the
SLO Survey and Regional Meetings
Abstract
Formally stating and assessing student learning
outcomes (SLOs) is a new focus for California
community colleges required by the 2002 Accreditation
Standards. This paper, the first in a series,
explores one aspect of this sea change across
the state: the emergence of a new group of faculty
leaders, Student Learning Outcomes and Assessment
Coordinators. Responsible for guiding the SLO
development and assessment efforts at their colleges,
these faculty are charged with designing and
implementing assessment processes for instruction,
the library, and student services. In addition,
they provide training for whatever assessment
model the college adopts and they must organize
and report assessment data for accreditation.
As assessment leaders, they must balance the
often differing concerns of faculty and administrators
as well as deal with any college resistance.
Student Learning Outcomes Coordinators act as
agents of change on their campuses; not change
for the sake of change, but change anchored in
campus culture and targeting improved learning.
Unfortunately, many are working without clear
job descriptions or have not received training
for this position. Some SLO Coordinators shoulder
this burden without any reassigned time on top
of a full teaching load. Until now, there have
been few opportunities for SLO Coordinators to
network together and exchange ideas; they have
been undertaking their task in isolation. This
paper, detailing research conducted by the Academic
Senate’s Ad Hoc Accreditation and Student
Learning Outcomes Committee, explores the current
status of California’s SLO Coordinators
and makes several recommendations to address
the challenges they face.
Introduction
Student Learning Outcomes and Assessment are
faculty tasks which reach from the core of our
classrooms to the public image of our profession.
Some proponents claim that outcomes and assessment
are instruments to improve education, to repair
our educational system, and to hold institutions
accountable to the public. While we do not agree
that SLOs and assessment are a panacea for all
that ails education, the research indicates that
they do have value. But who should define these
outcomes and carry out the assessments? This
paper, the first in a series of papers on student
learning outcomes and assessment, emphasizes
the centrality of the faculty role in creating
this process. It is up to faculty to create and
assess outcomes (utilizing both quantitative
and qualitative measures) and to analyze that
evidence to improve student learning and teaching.
Because meeting the assessment expectations of
accreditation standards requires knowledge and
abilities beyond typical grading, faculty need
training in many areas. Student Learning Outcomes
(SLO) Coordinators are important leaders in staff
development, advocating faculty primacy in curricular
issues, and supporting academic freedom. SLO
Coordinators also handle responsibilities that
produce reports to external agencies with an
eye on the validity and reliability of the reported
data. As a related responsibility they must determine
where to house the data and create the conditions
to make it safe to collect data without inadvertently
stepping on individual student, faculty or administrative
rights. Subsequent papers will address the effects
of outcomes and assessment in the classroom,
on our institutions individually, and to our
California Community College System as a whole.
To meet the challenge presented by the 2002
Accreditation Standards, a phenomenon occurred
in California community colleges; the rather
rapid development of a new faculty position,
the Student Learning Outcomes Coordinator. In
this role a faculty member looks beyond the accreditation
requirements and self study report, the direct
responsibility of the accreditation co-chairs
and Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO). The
SLO Coordinator must look into long term institutional
assessment processes that are sustainable. The
SLO Coordinator evaluates the staff development
needs, trains faculty on assessment tools that
provide reliable and valid data, and motivates
robust discussions that convert these data into
positive changes to improve learning. At its
heart, outcomes assessment addresses the scholarship
of teaching, and falls squarely into the faculty
domain.
