The Outcomes Assessment Committee serves as the liaison to faculty and administration to monitor the ongoing assessment process aimed at measuring and improving student learning. The committee works in collaboration with the Office of Academic Services to coordinate the implementation and administration of the plan for assessing academic achievement filed with the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association (HLC).

OA Mission Statement

South Suburban College takes pride in examining how well our students learn in an effort to continually improve the learning process. Whether it is a course, program, or general education component, various assessment techniques are employed to determine what works best for student success toward mastery of the learning objectives. Faculty and administrators from all academic, student services and co-curricular tiers collaborate on matters related to instructional redesigns and services that optimize the learning experience. In this regard, South Suburban College is a shining example of a learning focused institution.

Faculty Rubric Data Submission Deadlines

Fall Semester

• Each faculty should use at least one OA rubric in at least one course during the semester.
• By midterm, create your activity in Livetext®.
• By the deadline for the final grades, enter the assessment scores from the fall semester.

The Grand Plan

The Outcomes Assessment Committee developed a plan to assess student learning with respect to the general education outcomes, which include written communication (WC), critical thinking (CT), oral communication (OC), research methodology (RM), multiculturalism (M), and technology (T).

These three links will take you first to the SSC Grand Plan with tools for assessment including Cycle 1 results (WC & CT), then Cycle 2 results (OC & RM), and finally Cycle 3 results (M & T) in terms of data, analysis, and implementation of changes.

Spring Semester

• Each faculty should use at least one OA rubric in at least one course during the semester.
• By midterm, create your activity in Livetext®.
• By the deadline for the final grades, enter the assessment scores from the spring semester.

Suggestions

If an instructor is teaching multiple sections of the same course in a semester, it is encouraged to submit assessment scores for the same activity for all of the sections. The more data we have at our disposal the better the subsequent analysis. Within a department, rubric data across several sections of the same course could be utilized in the preparation of departmental annual updates.

Program Assessment

New Program Requirements

Together with the Curriculum Committee, an Outcomes Assessment plan is required with any proposals for new courses or programs of study. The department is asked to complete the first part of an annual update outlining the student objectives and their expected outcomes. These are then reviewed by the outcomes assessment committee and suggestions are returned to the department. For new programs this information may be covered across several courses over an extended period. Programmatic objectives can be clearly outlined through the use of a program map outlining where and when each objective will be addressed and what level of competency is expected, as well as how each objective is to be measured.

Career Program Rubric Collaboration Project

Several career programs from the College have collaborated on a rubric development project with LiveText and other surrounding community colleges. Faculty from the participating college programs worked together within their disciplines to develop rubrics to assess student objectives throughout their time in the program. To date, we have program wide rubrics for Radiologic Technology, Graphic Design, and Occupational Therapy Assistant. These rubrics are a very useful tool for assessing a student’s achievement as they progress through a program

Annual Updates

The Outcomes Assessment Update form is a tool that is completed annually to gather data related to the assessment of students based on a common set of objectives, across several courses and/or sections. A department/program develops a plan to evaluate student achievement in regards to a set of objectives. The plan is implemented over a course of an academic year. The results are gathered and analyzed. Based on the results, assessment plans are modified to drive change, improve program effectiveness and student performance.

Annual Update Submission Guidelines

Preparation- The Annual Update should be prepared during April/May of each academic year.

Submission– The deadline for submission of the Annual Update is May 31st of each year. The report should be ELECTRONICALLY submitted to the academic administrator and the OA committee chair (currently Anna Helwig)

Review- All Annual Updates will be reviewed by OA committee members based on the Annual Update Review Checklist. Feedback will be provided to the department/program for incorporation into the plan prior to implementation.

Implementation- The plan proposed in the Annual Update should be put into action during the Fall and Spring terms of the academic year.

Data Analysis- During the spring semester, fall data can be analyzed as well as the spring data as it becomes available. Evaluate student performance according to the expected outcomes. Then, summarize the results and update the action plan for the next year.

Best Practices

1. Data should be collected for multiple cycles. The department/program may find it necessary to start collecting data on one set of objectives while still continuing to collect data on a previous set of objectives.

2. If the department/program intends on using data from the summer term, please notify the academic administrator and OA committee chair.

3. If the department/program plans on utilizing OA rubric data for report preparation, please contact the Office of Institutional Research at (708) 596-2000 x2225 for assistance in obtaining the necessary data.

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In an effort to ensure the measurability of the general education objectives, the department chairs have revised many of the objectives. In addition, departments have also aligned their course objectives with the overall general education objective of the college. The revised General Education Objectives included below.

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