“When learners are at a distance, the careful design of assessments is particularly important, because society somewhat unfairly imposes higher expectations on the assessment of online learners.”Oosterhof, et al. (2008) Assessing Learners Online

Donald Staub, Title III Director Carteret Community College

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Assessing Distance Learning: Are they learning what we

think they are?

The Lineup

• DL @ CCC

• Why Worry about DL Assessment?

• How We’re Doing It

• The DL Program

• DL in Programs

• Barriers, Conclusions & Solutionsccctitle3.wordpress.com

DL @ CCC• 33 programs @ CCC

• FA10 enrollment ~1800

• DL is 10+ years old

• FA10

• 336 total sections taught

• 243 seated sections (72%)

• 64 Internet (20%)

• 29 Hybrid (8%)

• 58% FT / 42% PT

Why worry about DL assessment?

Reason #1: Student SuccessReason #2: Persistence(btw: success vs. retention vs. persistence)

@ the College-Level:

@ the Course-Level:

Reason #3: Generalizability

(c.f. Oosterhof, et al, 2008)

“Generalizability is the degree to which learner performances that are observed generalize to performances that are not observed.” [i.e. learning]

SACS

Reason #4

“Comparability of distance education programs to campus-based programs and courses is ensured by the evaluation of educational effectiveness, including assessments of student learning outcomes, student retention, and student satisfaction.”

(CS 3.3.1)

COC Distance Education Policy Statementhttp://www.sacscoc.org/pdf/Distance%20and%20correspondence%20policy%20final.pdf

The (former) Guidelines

2009-2012 Strategic Plan

We will create a culture where all institutional actions are focused on improving student learning and success and leading to student goal completion.

Q1: Is the distance education program reflected in the institution’s strategic (or master) plan?

PM 16—Success and Withdrawal Rates by Instructional modalities

Q2: Is there evidence that outcomes for the program have been identified?

DL-AO #1: Faculty demonstrate the ability to teach in the online environment in a proficient (student centered) manner.

DL-AO #2: Students have more educational options to pursue degrees, diplomas, and certificates due to expanded online course offerings at CCC.

Other possibilities: Growth rate, Success rates, Infrastructure-related….

AO #1: Faculty demonstrate the ability to teach in the online environment in a proficient (student centered) manner.

Assessment: Quality Assessment Plan, Success/ Persistence Rates, Student Surveys/Evaluations.

AO #2: Students have more educational options to pursue degrees, diplomas, and certificates due to expanded online course offerings at CCC.

Assessment: The number of internet/hybrid sections offered.

Q3: Is there evidence that the effectiveness of the distance education program is regularly assessed and steps taken for improvement of the program?

The QAP(Quality Assessment Plan)

• Developed in-house (using models)

• Peer-reviewed by content specialist

• Stipends (T3)

• All current online courses have been reviewed

• All new online courses must be reviewed/ certified

http://web.carteret.edu/keoughp/TitleIII/FinalQAP.xls

The QAP Score Card

The QAP Score Card: Learning

• 248 seated sections

• 72% success / 25% D, F, WD (14% W)

• 62 internet sections

• 68% success / 31% D, F, WD (16% W)

• 22 hybrid sections

• 75% success / 24% D, F, WD (9% W)

• FA08 internet: 61 sections; 67% success

• FA07 internet: 59 sections; 66% success

• FA06 internet: 48 sections; 66% success

Success - Fall 2009

Q3: Is there evidence that the effectiveness of the distance education program is regularly assessed and steps taken for improvement of the program?

• Modality Comparison

• Grade Distributions

• ILLOs (Gen Ed outcomes)

• Program Reviews• “Evaluate Instructional Modalities”

Modality Comparison

Institutional-level

Modality Comparison

Gateway courses

Modality Comparison

Program-level

Grade Distributions

FA 08

ModalityTotal Enrol A B C

Success Rate D F WD WD*

TRAD 3643 0.31 0.26 0.14 0.72 0.04 0.07 0.06 0.09 0.26IN 1159 0.32 0.22 0.12 0.65 0.05 0.12 0.08 0.08 0.33HY 188 0.48 0.22 0.11 0.81 0.04 0.05 0.02 0.06 0.18

FA09

ModalityTotal Enrol A B C

Success Rate D F WD WD*

TRAD 3714 0.33 0.26 0.13 0.72 0.04 0.08 0.06 0.08 0.26IN 1362 0.31 0.24 0.12 0.68 0.05 0.1 0.07 0.09 0.32HY 256 0.41 0.18 0.14 0.74 0.04 0.1 0.08 0.03 0.24

ILLOs (Gen Ed outcomes)

1. Communication

2. Computer Literacy

3. Critical Thinking

4. Humanities & Fine Arts

5. Information Literacy

6. Personal Growth & Responsibility

Computer Literacy - CIS 110

Outcome: Students demonstrate proficiency in the use of computer technology including application software, system software, and internet browsers.

Assessment: Final Exam in CIS 110.

Word pts. (20%)

Excel pts. (15%)

PowerPoint pts. (10%)

Access pts. (15%)

Integration pts. (15%)

Theory pts. (25%)

Final Score

IN01 80 73.8 95.7 64.7 83 81 79IN02 91 95 100 79 94 81.9 89WB03 91 75.5 96 78 88.5 80.8 84.6WB04 92.5 89 100 85 92.7 77 80.9WB05 82 89 92.8 82 86 80.9 85

Computer Literacy - CIS 110 Section-by-section analysis

Computer Literacy - CIS 110Same instructor teaching one section of

eachSpring 2008 online <75% seated <75%# of Ss @ 10% 24 16Final # of Ss 16 12Attrition 25% 25%Word (20) 15.75 9 17.8 5Excell (15) 12.3 5 12.2 5PPT (10) 6 16 6.3 11Access (15) 13.4 6 12.75 6Integration (15) 13.25 4 13.8 4Theory (25) 19.29 3 20.5 3Final (100) 73.3 6 81.2 6

Personal Growth & Responsibility ACA 115

Outcome: Students demonstrate the ability to understand and manage self effectively.

Results Spring 2009: 131 total projects submitted; 81% scored 80 or above.

Seated 115: 85% scored 80 or above Online 115: 81% scored 80 or above

Assessment: Advisement assignment in ACA 115 & 118 evaluated by rubric.

Q4: Has the institution developed student learning competencies for the courses/programs offered by distance education? If these are the same competencies for courses/programs offered by “traditional” methodologies, is assessment identified for distance learning students separate from students taking courses by “traditional” methodologies?

Yes! … No?…maybe??

• PLLOs

• Course-Level Assessment

PLLOs (SLOs)

Same instructor teaching one section of each (take a look at a common assignment from each

section)

• ACC 120

• BUS 110

• ECO 251/252

ACC 120

BUS 110

ECO 250

Course-level assessment

• ART 111

• HIS 111

• RCP 114

ART 111

Grade Evaluation ( Percentages and Points )

AssignmentCategory

Number ofAssignments

% of ea.towardFinalGrade

Total pointsgenerated by ea.

individualassignment

Total % ofCategory inFinal Grade

Total Pointsof Category

in Final grade

WeeklyQuizzes

14 2.5% ea. 80 35% 1,120

DiscussionBoard

16 2.5% ea. 80 40% 1,280

Mid TermEssay

1 10% ea. 320 10% 320

Final Exam 1 15% ea. 480 15% 480

Totals 32 100% 3200

A - (100 - 90): - You posted 3 or more times and you completed the Assignment with a well thought through response. (The more you post MEANINGFUL responses over 3 the higher your grade. Though welcome and expected, please understand that a One or Two sentence "feel good" post such as (... Great response Michaela!!) or (... I love how you put the meaning and then went down and talked about them. it made it easy to understand!!) will count for very little towards your grade.

HIS 111

Essays (online) vs. Research Paper (seated) … same rubric

RCP 114

Conclusions

“I got rid of [the discussion board]…it’s a pain in the ass.”

“I have to pull teeth to get them to post even when they get a score”

20-30% of entire grade is Db…“but it’s not really a discussion board… it’s more of an assignment tool”

“Participation is reserved for those on the bubble.”

“There’s nothing like a good old test. It averages. Students can’t argue the grade. They’re either right or wrong.”

Donald Staub Title III Director

Carteret Community Collegestaubd@carteret.edu

252- 222-6010

http://ccctitle3.wordpress.com/