History of Assessment at NMC

The following timeline and the accompanying documents provide a history of assessment at Northwestern Michigan College and mark the progress of the institution in the development of a culture of assessment that promotes improvements in teaching and learning.

2004	In July, the Higher Learning Commission sent its response to the College's Monitoring Report. The HLC accepted the College's report, with the requirement that a progress report be submitted by June 30, 2005, on curricular review based on assessment results.
2003	In December, the College submitted a Monitoring Report to the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association on the establishment of a philosophy of General Education, institution-wide general education outcomes and assessment of General Education outcomes linked to the improvement of teaching and learning.
	Two new methods were instituted to supplement the artifact-based process for assessment of General Education Outcomes. The CAAP Critical Thinking and Writing tests were used, and the Assessment Team developed a Retrospective survey for students to identify improvements they have gained in their understanding of the Outcomes due to a specific course. The Fall 2003 Assessment Newsletter provides a summary of the results and identifies strengths and challenges.
	Fall 2003 All academic programs have now completed their self assessment and submitted their PSSAs. This three-year process was developed to help us document student achievement of program outcomes. To ensure this process is more than a formality, programs will review assessment results annually and make improvements as needed. This process is designed to help programs continually assess and improve student learning whether they be seeking employment or transferring to another institution.
2001-2002	The Spring 2002 Assessment Newsletter reported on improvements in the artifact process (simplified rubrics and additional training aids) and the Professional Development Day that was devoted to rubrics and assignment writing. Artifacts received from 27 sections, nine for each outcome. However, for five sections, the assignments were not clearly asking for the required outcomes. During the year, 27 courses provided artifacts. The Fall 2002 Newsletter reported the results.
2001	May 2001 The first run of the artifacts-based assessment process was used to assess two of the three General Education outcomes. A summary of the process and results were reported in the Fall 2001 Assessment Newsletter: "We were able to score 14 sets of student work in Communications (6) and Critical Thinking (8)." Much was learned about the process, including the need to develop more appropriate assignments: "Assignments were often descriptive when the outcome asked for evaluative work. Assignments (and the results from them) did not always match the outcome. Faculty might want to look at the rubrics when deciding which assignment to use as evidence of General Education learning."
2000-2001	The College developed a statement of philosophy of General Education and General Education Outcomes. GENERAL EDUCATION OUTCOMES General Education at Northwestern Michigan College promotes the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to function effectively in a changing world. General Education fosters intellectual curiosity, essential to lifelong learning. To ensure students experience the benefits of our philosophy of general education, the faculty of Northwestern Michigan College commits to instilling these practices throughout the curriculum. Communication: Students will practice effective communication with an awareness of audience and a sense of purpose. Level 1: Understand, organize and express ideas using standard English. Level 2: Use qualitative or quantitative information gathering methods, and communicate with an awareness of audience and a sense of purpose. Level 3: Apply strategies, theories or technologies to communicate in one or more disciplines or professions. Critical Thinking: Students will analyze their own thinking and the thinking of others in order to effectively identify and resolve issues. Level 1: Identify issues and articulate a process to resolve them. Level 2: Construct arguments, evaluate claims, and develop conclusions using evidence and logic. Level 3: Demonstrate the ability to resolve issues in one or more disciplines or professions. Cultural Perspectives: Students will understand the contributions of diverse people and cultures. Level 1: Demonstrate an awareness of diverse peoples and cultures. Level 2: Analyze the contributions and influence of diverse cultures upon people(s). Level 3: Evaluate the impact of cultures in context in one or more disciplines or professions.
2000	April 2000 The visiting team for the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (now the Higher Learning Commission) of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools granted Northwestern Michigan College's request for reaccreditation. One condition of the reaccreditation was that a report on General Education be submitted by January 1, 2004. The visiting team specifically requested a report on the establishment of a philosophy of General Education, institution-wide general education outcomes and assessment of General Education outcomes linked to the improvement of teaching and learning http://www.nmc.edu/assessment/learning-assessment/history.html
1999	An informal survey in January 1999 indicated that 56 percent of faculty said they were "clear" on "how student learning can be enhanced through assessment." The same survey revealed that only 38 percent were "clear" on "how assessment differs from performance evaluation, with the rest being "murky" or "muddy."
	The College-Wide Assessment Team believes that the greatest and quickest change in curriculum and methodology occurs when instructors are assessing learning and their own performance in the classroom on a regular basis.While it is equally important to be assessing major outcomes at a higher level, faculty can best understand and directly participate in assessment at the classroom level.What follows here is each discipline's summary of the day-to-day use of assessment. http://www.nmc.edu/reports/nca/6--criterion_3-2.pdf
	In Spring 1999, 14 academic areas and 8 service areas were asked to complete the self-assessment process for the first round of Program and Services Self Assessment.
1998	The 1998 update to "Signs & Symbols" documented the institution's struggle to bring assessment into broader use.
	In Fall 1998, President Burke formed the College-Wide Assessment Team to systematize these efforts across the college and to jump-start our student outcomes assessment efforts.
	Faculty Professional Development Days in 1997 and 1998 were devoted to performance evaluation; classroom assessment techniques; peer presentations of successful assessment methods; and discipline specific work sessions. In Fall 1998, documentation of classroom assessment was required of all faculty in four areas: Learning outcomes; Assessment methods; Results of assessment; Changes made.
1996	In late 1996, the Vice President for Educational Services formed a task force to create a new program review system.After a six month study, this group proposed a new "Program and Services Self-Assessment Process" which became policy in late 1997. In general, the policy calls for college units to form self-assessment teams which include members from outside the unit.These teams identify program or service strengths and opportunities for improvement, then develop action plans and timelines for implementation.
1995	In 1995, NMC's Assessment Plan,"Signs & Symbols," was written by Communications instructor John Pahl and approved by NCA.While some implementation activities began, institutional energies were primarily focused on starting a University Center and conducting millage elections in all five counties of our service area.There was also a change in NMC's president in 1996 and subsequent restructuring. http://www.nmc.edu/reports/nca/5--criterion_3-1.pdf
1994	Responding to calls for accountability from the public, higher education has sought to demonstrate its value in more meaningful and measurable ways in recent years. At NMC, we accepted this challenge by identifying 12 "Indicators of Success" to explore how well we were fulfilling our mission and purposes: Quality Culture Significant Learning Outcomes Successful Student Placement Successful Academic Transfer Community Partnership & Enrichment Support for Economic Development Lifelong Learning Cultural Enrichment Excellence in the Conduct of College Business Open Access Effective Student Support & Satisfaction Student Success & Retention These "Indicators" were adopted by the Board of Trustees in 1994, and teams for each indicator were charged with creating standards and measures, collecting data, and making recommendations for continuous improvement.These 12 reports were delivered to the Board at their monthly meetings, on a rotating basis, until 1997. Since then, they have been given annually or biannually, depending on how often new data is collected.
1993	With representation from each academic division, the library and student services, the "Core Curriculum Task Force" undertook an extensive review of other community colleges, workplace skills, and technical education before making its recommendations.These "General Education Requirements" were the result: English Composition, 8 credits (ENG 111 and 112) American Government, 3 credits (Survey of American Government, PLS 101, or Comparative Government, PLS 132) Laboratory Science, 4 credits Humanities course, 3 credits Math competency, equivalent to Beginning Algebra (MTH 23) for associate in applied science degree and associate degree in nursing; Intermediate Algebra (MTH111) for associate in arts or associate in science degrees These changes represented significantly enriched general education requirements-a math competency, a laboratory science, and a humanities course. (Earlier requirements offered a choice between humanities and social sciences.) Furthermore, the task force identified five essential competencies which needed to be "infused" into the general education courses to meet employer expectations.These are Critical Thinking, Cultural Diversity, Computer Technology, Information Literacy, and Writing Skills. Approved by the Board of Trustees in 1993, these General Education requirements provided the basis provide the basis for the General Education outcomes
1992	Starting in 1992, NMC has conducted some form of CAAP testing on an annual basis. From 1992-96, NMC required that students with over 30 semester hours take a test in one of the following skill areas: Mathematics, Reading,Writing, or Critical Thinking. Students were given one of the four tests randomly, which meant that approximately one quarter of the entire group was tested in any one academic skill.
1991-1992	In 1991-92, the college established a task force to "study and define the competencies required for a core curriculum model for NMC students pursuing the associate degree." A series of industry visits by President Quinn and others suggested that employers were seeking a more rigorous level of preparation in their workers, and NMC's anticipated switch from terms to semesters provided an excellent opportunity to have a new look at everything.