Welcome back faculty members and students! It is the beginning of another exciting and energy-filled term here on campus at South Central College. The sleepy days of summer are slowly but inexorably slipping by the wayside, and the early mornings are ripe with a chill that is but a taste of things to come. Assessment has not been sleeping in over the summer… well maybe for a few days.

So, why do we bother with assessment? Grades are one issue; we have to assign grades to our students. Another issue is student learning. Are our students actually learning what we are teaching? If so, fine. If not, what do we need to change to ensure that those who are paying to be here for an education are actually getting one? Other reasons for assessment include determining whether the services being provided to our learners by entities such as the Student Affairs Center are efficient and productive. This is something for all of us to ponder as we go through our days and nights at SCC this semester.

So, you wonder, what is going on with assessment? What’s the word on the street, so to speak? We are continuing some assessment initiatives from last year, and we are going to begin some new initiatives this academic year. Results of the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency will be announced after the first Student Learning Committee meeting in September. The results of the Global Perspectives Inventory will also be announced at that time. Yada, yada, yada, you say… tell us the new assessment initiatives! Over this academic year, there are several initiatives being pushed forward, including:

• Assessment of the college core competency of Technological Literacy.
• Assessment of the college core competency of Professionalism.
• Continuation of development of assessment of student services.
• Continuation of development of assessment of CBI.
• Creation of an “Assessment Academy” college-wide to train and educate on assessment.
• Finalization of an assessment website, which will allow for transparency of our assessment process.

This is a short list of heavy-duty goals for one calendar year of nine months in length! Additionally, I have been asked, “Why do we need to assess these core competencies? We already assess communication, math, and critical thinking!” Well, my answer to this is that when SCC made them college core competencies, the institution decided these were key areas of importance for our students. Thus, we need to measure to ensure that our graduates and our transferring students have the requisite skills that we determined our graduates need to possess.

You will also note a change in the assessment plan as a whole this semester, as the Operational Plan has become a part of the Assessment Program at SCC. The packet you will be receiving contains both the Operational Plan and the Assessment plan, as both documents are linked.

And now, for the rest of the story! PERKINS FUNDING is available again this year for programmatic assessment initiatives. It cannot fund a project already tried and/or funded through another source, however. There are many Skills USA assessments out there which could benefit several programs on campus.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments! Also, please feel free to attend and become a member of the Student Learning Committee!

Wayne Whitmore