Evidence for changes in student learning comes from multiple sources, but particularly from the end-of-program assessments in the major, that are reported by many of the academic departments. Because of the variety of means of assessing student outcomes that departments are using, it's not easy to discern trends, except perhaps for writing skills. Because of the writing intensive courses that are now required in each major, and as part of the General Education program, all undergraduates at WSU are increasing the amount of writing they do in their undergraduate career. One of the major changes has been an increase in the quality of writing demonstrated by students in the writing portfolio examination. This is also documented in the ratings of satisfaction in WSU's contribution to growth in writing skills reported by recent graduates in the alumni survey, and by freshmen rating their growth in writing on the CSEQ.
There are several areas that are not being assessed and that still need to be developed. One is the assessment of effects of the new General Education curriculum. Since all students are required to complete courses in this program, it is not clear what kind of comparison would provide valid data on the effects of the program. A subcommittee of faculty is identifying suitable student outcomes, and possible sources of data for this assessment. A draft of the assessment plan for General Education is listed in the annotated bibliography in the appendix.
Another area, related to General Education, that still needs to be developed is assessment of general reasoning skills or critical thinking. We have not identified any means of assessing these skills in any reasonable way. There is even some question whether assessing these skills is possible, as there is some evidence that problem solving skills do not transfer easily from the areas in which they were originally learned.
Similarly, our approach to the assessment of quantitative skills has not been successful, mainly because of problems with student motivation and difficulties in recruiting representative samples of students. We are continuing to pursue alternative strategies, including having the tests administered in capstone courses.
Employer input is another area that we have not assessed very well. This is largely due to the reluctance of employers to participate in surveys, and the methodological difficulties of assessing work performance and relating it to undergraduate outcomes. Several colleges, including Sciences, and Veterinary Medicine, at WSU have contacted employers for surveys of graduates and have obtained information on recent graduates. However, these surveys are limited to only a small number of graduates.
Assessment of General Education is one area that was originally not included in our workplan, but that has since become an important objective for us. WSU Freshman student are required to enroll in two foundation courses, World Civilization 110 and 111. Some sections of both these courses are taught using multi-media. Students in these two courses are asked to evaluate the course, the instructor, the teaching assistants, and what they gained out of the course. These student evaluations are summarized and analyzed and used to provide feedback to instructors. Evaluations of multimedia courses are also compared with non multi-media courses. To date we have collected student evaluations of the World Civilization courses and instructors for the past four years. In each year we have also compared the evaluations of those courses taught by multimedia versus those taught by traditional lecture formats. The data thus far show a significant difference between the two modes in the amount of learning and satisfaction with the course as reported by students. In addition, the Student Advising and Learning Center has conducted some analyses comparing the performance of students in multimedia and non-multimedia classes, controlling for differences in admissions index numbers. They found a significant difference in course grades between the two groups, with the multimedia classes performing better than the traditional classes.
Assessment of the Extended Degree Program is another area that has been added to our assessment workplan. During the past two biennia WSU has been offering a degree completion program that is delivered entirely by distance education technologies. This Extended Degree Program (EDP) is the first program of its kind in the state, and it offers a Bachelors of Arts in Social Sciences to students who place-bound. WSU has evaluated every major aspect of this program including student outcomes, perceptions of alumni and key constituencies, and course evaluations. The program has been using a mail survey to determine student reaction to the program. Students in the program have indicated that the program has improved their learning process skills and their self image as well-informed citizens. Students felt that their EDP degree would enhance their career opportunities and increase their interest in participating in future educational activities. On several measures of student achievement, EDP students were found to equal or surpass their on-campus counterparts. Faculty also responded positively to the program, and felt that their experiences in teaching in the program also improved their effectiveness in their on-campus courses. The program is still too young to have very many graduates. Therefore a complete assessment of the program's effectiveness is not yet possible. However, the program is growing both in the numbers of students who are enrolling each year, and in the number of courses being developed and offered. The program is continuing to conduct annual assessments of its students and graduates.
Assessment of computers and the effectiveness of technology is a new area because of WSU's emphasis on computer literacy and technology in the classroom. A number of different assessments have been conducted. An assessment of the use of multimedia technology and the World Wide Web in a Food Science and Human Nutrition course found that students performed significantly better than comparable students in a similar course without multimedia. Additionally, almost 90% of the students reported that the use of technology facilitated learning and understanding of information. The Student Advising and Learning Center has also been assessing classroom learning that uses computers. They have found that students are supportive of the technology, that computers can enhance student performance, but that increased help is necessary for many students to use computers effectively. In a program built upon peer facilitated collaborative use of interactive and generative technologies, EXCEL students were found to achieve the highest overall grade point averages of any at-risk students, even though their admissions index numbers were significantly lower than at-risk students who did not enroll in EXCEL. We are just beginning to explore the implications of computing technology on student learning, and we expect to design more assessments in this area. WSU is currently collaborating with the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education and four other universities, on a project to study the effects of technology on student learning. Earlier this year WSU surveyed its faculty to assess the level of computer use and found very dramatic evidence of computer literacy. Over 97% of faculty reported that they use personal computers to do their work, and over 70% considered electronic mail essential to doing their work. Most faculty (76%) believe that increasing the use of instructional technology will improve the quality of work.
Another new element in our assessment workplan is the development of a student course evaluation instrument which is more reliable and valid and useful than those currently used by departments. WSU has pilot tested an instrument, after a year of gathering information from other universities around the country. Several departments on campus are participating in using the questionnaire. The intent is to improve instruction by having available more accurate information about course evaluations through departmental and university-wide norms. These can be used by faculty and departments for improvement.
