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Institutional Accreditation & Effectiveness

COLL 400

The COLL 400 assessment involves the collection and evaluation of student work portfolios.  This approach is designed to minimize the burden on COLL 400 faculty, departments, and programs by collecting information once every four years to be used for multiple assessment purposes.  

These COLL 400 Learning Expectations (a.k.a. what the faculty expects students to learn and be able to do in COLL 400 courses) are the basis of this assessment: 

  1. Students will take initiative in synthesis and critical analysis.  [Critical Thinking]
  2. Students will solve problems in an applied and/or academic setting.  [Problem Solving]
  3. Students will create original material or original scholarship. 
  4. Students will communicate effectively with a diversity of audiences. 
  5. If course satisfies the Major Writing Requirement:  Students will develop and express ideas in writing that uses genres, styles, and technologies appropriate to the content and audience and can incorporate texts, data, and/or images. [Written Communication – taken from the AAC&U Written Communication VALUE Rubric.] 
COLL 400 Student Work Portfolio Description 

Student Work Portfolios demonstrate student learning with respect to Expectations 1, 2, and, if applicable, 5 above.  A student work portfolio includes the following: 

  1. Instructions for Student Assignment(s) (See details below.) 
  2. Assignments, Student Work, and Expectations Connection Template that describes how assignment(s) and resulting student work address COLL 400 Learning Expectations 1, 2, and 5, if applicable (see details and Template below). 
  3. Student Work (See details below.) 
  4. Rubrics for Critical Thinking/Problem Solving (doc) and Written Communication (doc) used by reviewers to score student work. 
Steps for Creating COLL 400 Student Work Portfolios

Your Student Work Portfolio will demonstrate the extent of student learning of Expectations 1, 2, and 5 (if applicable).  You may prepare the first two components above at any time during the semester, while in many cases the student work will be a culminating assignment(s) at the end of the semester.  We will send you reminders throughout the semester, along with detailed instructions for submitting materials. 

NOTE:  You will submit student work portfolio materials for each COLL 400 course you are teaching.  If you are teaching more than one section of the same course, you will submit Instructions for Student Assignment(s) and Assignments, Student Work, and Expectations Connection Template (one document) common to all sections.  If you are teaching the same course both semesters of the academic year, you will submit Instructions for Student Assignment(s) and the Expectations Template common to all sections both semesters.  You will submit student work from all sections taught in 2019-20.

COMPILE STUDENT WORK PORTFOLIO MATERIALS (Click on the items below to view details.):

COMPILE STUDENT WORK PORTFOLIO MATERIALS
Instructions for Student Assignment(s) 
Select the assignment(s) to be assessed.  If these learning expectations are demonstrated in a single assignment, you will submit one assignment, such as a culminating project, paper, report, etc.  If they are met through multiple assignments, please include each of them.  If you are teaching multiple sections of the course, please select an assignment(s) common to all sections. 
Assignments, Student Work, and Expectations Connection Template [see Expectations Connection Template (doc)] 

the Assignments, Student Work, and Expectations Template briefly describe how your selected assignments and associated student work address the following COLL 400 student learning expectations:   

  • Assignments that specifically encourage synthesis and/or critical analysis – Learning Expectation 1:  Critical Thinking – “Students will comprehensively explore issues, ideas, artifacts, and events before accepting or formulating an opinion or conclusion.”  [Taken from AAC&U Critical Thinking VALUE Rubric.] 
  • Assignments that involve solving problems in an applied and/or academic setting – Learning Expectation 2:  Problem Solving – “Students will design, evaluate, and implement a strategy to answer an open-ended question or achieve a desired goal.”  [Taken from AAC&U Problem Solving VALUE Rubric.] 
  • Assignments that involve written communication (for courses that satisfy the Major Writing Requirement or include substantial written assignments) – Learning Expectation 3:  Written Communication – “Students will develop and express ideas in writing that uses genres, styles, and technologies appropriate to the content and audience and can incorporate texts, data, and/or images.”  [Taken from the AAC&U Written Communication VALUE Rubric] 
Student Work 

Collect student work from the selected assignment(s) for each student enrolled in each section of your course.  Student work will be collected from all students enrolled in a COLL 400 course in fall 2019 and spring 2020 semesters.