Volume 81 - Spring / Summer 2002	Download

Outcomes Assessment: Its Importance to Programmatic Accreditation by Kathy V. Waller, PhD, CLS(NCA) President, NAACLS Board of Directors

All educational institutions are being called upon to provide accountability to the various publics they serve. Whether K-12, two-year, four-year or research institutions, these organizations must convince taxpayers, donors, employers and others that the education they provide is meaningful. In a recent publication, Peter Ewell of the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems writes more bluntly.¹ He states, "Parents and the public-acting as 'consumers' of higher education-are looking not just at price, but at the underlying quality of a college credential and what it will buy them in the employment marketplace." Students expect to be able to complete a program and feel a sense of accomplishment in doing so. Graduates expect to be competent in their fields, be employable, receive an equitable income from their profession, and contribute to the communities they serve.

Laboratory educators are well versed in writing performance objectives. Objectives center on a measurable result, the conditions under which learning occurs, and standards of acceptable performance. These objectives concern specific professional skills, knowledge and attitudes for competent and ethical practice. However, performance objectives form only a part of the assessment needed within the overall construct of outcomes assessment.

More broadly based are outcomes measurements. They look at the total academic endeavor, including program and institutional activities. Outcomes assessments often include graduates' scores on state licensure or national certification examinations, job placement or career mobility. Various outcomes measurements are seen in Figure 1 on page 2. Again, these measurements are based on both program and institutional effectiveness.

It is obvious that a program that graduates only 25 percent of its entering students has not been effective in one outcome measure. Conversely, if, in a class of 20, 19 graduates are successful in completing a certification examination, this is an example of a positive outcome measure. Student admissions to graduate programs, employer evaluations and graduate accomplishments also contribute to, and are a part of, outcomes assessments.

Peter Ewell writes again about the roles of accrediting agencies in demonstrating what college students know and can do. He states, at minimum:

• Accrediting organizations-both institutional and specialized-must become more aggressive and creative in requiring evidence of students, learning outcomes as an integral part of their standards and processes for review.

• The accrediting community as a whole must become more vocal and articulate in talking about evidence of student learning outcomes, and it must evolve a common language with which
  to do so.

• Each individual accreditor must deliberately choose a coherent rationale that underlies its own approach to student learning outcomes, and must be able to use this rationale to clearly and publicly explain the specific procedures that it adopts.

NAACLS ascribes to the tenets of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) regarding outcomes measures. NAACLS believes that over-arching and multiple sources of information contribute to programmatic effectiveness. Accordingly, the Board of Directors of NAACLS and its Programs Review Committees have agreed that a number and variety of outcomes (such as those seen in Figure l) should, and can, be assessed. These are found in NAACLS Standard 19, adopted in 2001: "A review of outcomes measures (e.g., external certifying examination results, results from capstone projects) from the three preceding years must be documented, analyzed and used in program evaluation."

The Ewell Report for CHEA is a well-written and thought-provoking 25-page report that all educators and administrators should read and discuss. The CHEA may be contacted at: One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 510, Washington, DC 20036-1135. Telephone: 202 955-6126, Email: chea@chea.org.

Finally, NAACLS Standard 19 that requires outcomes assessment not only parallels CHEA Standards, but reflects a logical outgrowth to evaluation, in a larger way. And, if we can measure a variety of outcomes successfully, we can help convince legislators, students, parents and the public that we are indeed meritorious in our educational endeavors.

Figure 1. Possible Outcomes Measures Student grades and grade-point averages in program components Portfolios of representative academic accomplishments and work samples in program components Program completion rates Scores on certification and/or licensure exams Job placement rates Employer evaluations Career mobility indices Alumni follow-up studies, e.g., student satisfaction of the program; success in employment Professional recognition rates of graduates (awards and accomplishments) based on elements of the program Research and publications by graduates

Reference:

1. Peter T. Ewell, Accreditation and Student Learning Outcomes: A Proposed Point of Departure. National Center for Higher Education Management Systems. CHEA Occasional Paper. September, 2001. Washington, DC.
   

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