3. What is an SA (Strategic Action)?
A strategic Action (SAs) is a step that an academic program or administrative unit may take to achieve its goals and is not necessarily assessed through the five steps.
4. What is a GEO (General Education Outcome)?
A general education outcome (GEO) is a statement that defines the knowledge, skills, and
perspectives acquired by a student who satisfies the general education requirements. These can
include content knowledge obtained from a range of disciplines, expected intellectual abilities, and
the development of personal and social responsibility that are commensurate with those of an
educated citizen in a democratic society. A GEO is a type of an SLO.
5. How are student learning outcomes different from measurable objectives?
Measurable objectives set the parameters for the course. SLOs address what students leave the course with. EX: Student will be able to write an essay with correct form and format in a variety of rhetorical modes. (Measurable Objective). Student will be able to explain the structure of an essay. (SLO).
6. Are student learning outcomes just a passing fad, a flavor of the month?
Mt.SAC has incorporated SLOs into programs such as graphic arts, psych tech, business and the career institutes. Additionally, VTEA grants have supported SLO training such as Langford and Alverno Institutes over the past 10 years. Last year, accreditation has also added impetus to implement SLOs into the assessment process.
8. Why is Mt. SAC using the Nichols model when there are so many others out there?
The Academic Senate-appointed SLOs Steering Committee considered many models and chose the Nichols model because it gave the AUOs option, allowing us to include the support areas. It also adapted well to the grass roots approach the committee believed was vital to success while it honored past improvement initiatives on campus.
10. What about those departments on campus that have already been working with SLOs?
The SLOs/AUOs Implmentation team has been pleased to find a number of departments already working on SLOs. Some are using our model and some are not. In either case, we have recorded the departments’ efforts, and we have worked with faculty members on any minor adjustments needed for consistency with campus-wide efforts and for documentation purposes.
16. How is assessment of SLOs different than assignment of a grade?
The primary difference is in the use of the assessment results. The assignment of a grade quantifies the overall level of student achievement or competency, allowing for a common basis of comparison assuming all faculty utilize the same standards for grading. The grade, however, gives no information about what a student has learned. Additionally, SLOs look at the student population, not the individual, achievement.
17. Are SLOs intended to replace the grading system?
No. SLOs are not intended to replace any type of grading system. Please refer to this whitepaper:
Grades versus SLOs
.
A grade provides an overall picture of how a student performed in the entirety of the course. It
does not indicate how well a student obtained various skills and concepts. Whereas grades are
meant to be student-specific, SLOs are meant to be skill-specific. The purpose of SLOs is to first
determine which skills are most central to the course and then to assess if and how well a group of
students have indeed obtained those skills. A student who attains course-level measureable
objectives and those measurable objectives are related to an SLO is said to have attained the SLO.
Grades are thus awarded to the student based on achieving the measurable objective and its
related SLO. Attainment of degrees and/or certificates follows a similar pattern in that if the
measurable objectives for the course and thus the relevant program are achieved, then students are
awarded their degree and/or certificates based on the SLOs.
19. What is the relationship between an SLO, an AUO, and a GEO?
The same process is used to develop and assess SLOs, AUOs and GEOs and consists of the following five steps:
- Mission / Goals
- SLO / AUO / GEO
- Means of Assessment and Criteria for Success
- Summary of Data
- Use of Results
Course-level and program-level SLOs stay within the discipline whereas a GEO, which is another
type of SLO, crosses disciplinary boundaries. AUOs are separate from learning outcomes like SLOs
and GEOs because they measure service expectations instead of learning expectations.
20. How did SLOs, AUOs, and GEOs get their start?
Mt. SAC began developing SLOs and AUOs in 2004. An SLO/AUO Implementation Team (with
leadership from faculty) was formed and worked for three years to facilitate these processes at the
college. In 2007, the SLO Committee was formed and took over these efforts with the leadership
and support of the SLO Coordinator and the assistance of the Research and Institutional
Effectiveness Office. The college began the GEOs process in 2007. The GEO Committee facilitates
this process with the leadership and support of the GEO Coordinator and the assistance of the
Research and Institutional Effectiveness Office. Each of these efforts supports Mt. SAC's
commitment to enhance teaching and learning, thereby working to increase the success of its
students.
21. What is the relationship between course-level measurable objectives and course-level SLOs?
Course-level measurable objectives encompass the content of a course and are used to form SLOs.
Many measurable objectives resemble SLOs since they outline the skills that a student will learn
through the course and thus, need to be minimally revised to become SLOs. Other measureable
objectives may need to be combined or broken down to function as SLOs. Measurable objectives
can also be combined to create higher-level SLOs that look at a student's ability to synthesize
various skills.
23. Are SLOs a passing fad?
Improving teaching and learning and focusing on student success are the central principles of SLOs.
Because these are the same principles that have directed education since its beginning, there is little
likelihood of this being a passing fad. In 2008, the Mt. SAC Academic Senate passed a Course-Level
SLO Plan that takes Mt. SAC through 2010 and beyond. Because Mt. SAC uses SLOs, AUOs, and
GEOs, it emphasizes teaching, learning, and success as central to its institutional effectiveness.
24. Should SLOs be on the course syllabus?
Yes, but it is an Academic Senate matter. SLOs can be incorporated into your syllabus and in the
course/program descriptions as found in the catalog and schedule of classes. Through this process
of transparency, the students will benefit from knowing what outcome to expect (as well as the
associated criteria) as a result of the education experience. Furthermore, they will have a clearer
understanding of the grading system in the course since the criteria for measuring their
performance will be shared. In addition to students, the public also has an opportunity to see the
expectations set for a course or program. Transparency of SLOs is necessary to improve teaching
and learning.
25. Do SLOs need to change from year to year?
No. Since SLOs reflect the central skills in a course, they should remain fairly constant. However,
they can be changed as necessary based on the clarification of faculty perspectives through sources
like the review of curricular expectations and the results of previously assessed SLOs.
26. What is the role of faculty, managers, and classified professionals in developing SLOs?
The process of developing and measuring SLOs must remain the responsibility of faculty. The
process of developing and measuring AUOs must remain the responsibility of those who provide the
services. The best planning occurs when appropriate input from all college constituencies (i.e.,
faculty, managers and classified) is encouraged and supported. This results in a more effective and
efficient team.
25. How will SLOs/AUOs be tied to budget?
Through the Planning for Institutional Effectiveness (i.e. Mt. SAC's program review process), the
requesting of resources flows naturally from the SLOs/AUOs or Strategic Actions (SAs) accomplished
within the planning and program review processes. These budget requests are filtered to the
appropriate area leaders and through a team-focused approach, recommendations for budget
allocation within the team are made. Please contact your manager for information on how budget
allocation works in your area.
27. What if the SLO results show that the students are not meeting the learning expectations?
Such information is intended to prompt dialogue among faculty members. Dialogue could include a
reflection on the assessment process and possible modifications, an additional iteration to verify the
results, and discussion regarding what possible modifications can be made to the course to ensure a
greater number of student meet the learning expectations. No matter your final results, as Winston
Churchill stated, "Success is not final; failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts."
28. What is Mt. SAC's timeline for course-level SLOs?
In order to reach the 2010 goal of all active courses having two SLOs and the Means of Assessment
and Criteria for Success, the plan is as follows:
- By December 2008, 45% of all active courses should have at least 2 SLOs and accompanying means of assessment and criteria for success.
- By June 2009, 75% of all active courses should have at least 2 SLOs and accompanying means of assessment and criteria for success.
Please see the Academic Senate's website for up-to-date information on plans, timelines and goals to be achieved.
29. What is the relationship between the Nichols' Five-Column Model and the Mt. SAC Model?
They are essentially the same. Mt. SAC started with the Nichols' Five-Column Model
to document SLOs and AUOs but slight changes were made that customized the model to the campus.
It is now referred to as the Mt. SAC Model. The five columns are as follows:
- Mission / Goals
- SLO / AUO / GEO
- Means of Assessment and Criteria for Success
- Summary of Data
- Use of Results
Over the last couple of years, the campus has been using ePIE to document the program review
process as well as progress made in assessment efforts such as SLOs and AUOs. Though the ePIE
framework is a bit different than the five columns, the content has not changed. Please consult the
SLO / AUO Guidebook (pdf)
(see pages 50 and 51) for a crosswalk between the Mt. SAC Model and ePIE.
31. What is the relationship between PIE, e-PIE, TracDat, and Nuventive?
The annual program review process at Mt. SAC is called Planning for Institutional Effectiveness (PIE).
In the last couple of years, the PIE process has become electronic and is now referred to as ePIE.
The actual software application on which e-PIE runs is called TracDat and it is provided by a company called Nuventive.
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