Program
Friday, October 19 - evening
(Dinner on own before arrival or in town)
8:30-10:00 Welcome reception & orientation
Saturday, October 20 - morning
8:00 Breakfast
9:00-9:50 Opening remarks
Introductions
10:00-11:00 Introductory talks on assessing general education: Snapshots to stimulate discussion
Kendrick Brown, Macalester College
Vicki Harper, St. Olaf College
Amanda Udis-Kessler, Colorado College
11:10-12:00 Group discussions: Topical groups address specific themes related to general education assessment
Each group will type their notes into their page inside the participant workspace.
Themes: Approach & Buy-in / Embedding & Integrating / Utilizing Results / Sustaining
Sample questions:
- How to promote campus-wide collaboration for GER assessment? Find common ground? Gain participation?
- How to conduct GER assessment with limited resources? Use technology to manage data gathering and reporting?
- How to sustain GER assessment (beyond the next review)?
- How to gather cross-sectional and longitudinal data?
- How to use GER assessment data to improve teaching and learning?
- What are the pitfalls of GER assessment and how to avoid them?
12:00 Lunch
Saturday, October 20 - afternoon
2:00-2:45 Reporting out from morning discussions: Sharing findings
3:00-4:00 Introductory talks on assessing department majors: Snapshots to stimulate discussion
Cherry Danielson, Carleton College
Rachel Ragland, Lake Forest College (online)
Bob Williams, Lawrence University
Soren Hauge, Ripon College4:00-4:45 Group discussions: Topical groups address specific themes related to department assessment
Each group will type their notes into their page inside the participant workspace.
Themes: Coordination & Support / Value / Sharing / Normalizing / Quality
Sample questions to explore:
- How to help faculty understand the value of assessment?
- How to coordinate departmental efforts?
- How to integrate assessment from the course to the program to the college level?
- How to gain more value with less effort from department chairs?
- How to promote the sharing of best practices across departments?
- How to make the best use of assessment data to improve teaching and learning?
- How to sustain department assessment and make it a normal part of institutional life?
4:45-5:30 Reporting out from afternoon discussions: Sharing findings
5:30 Dinner
Saturday, October 20 - evening
Free time for informal discussion
Sunday, October 21 - morning
8:00 Breakfast
9:00-9:15 Logistics
9:15-10:15 Next steps: Follow-up planning for ACM assessment workspace, collaboration, publication
10:15-10:30 Wrap-up
10:30-12:00 Room clean-up
12:00 Lunch