November 20, 2008

Colleges Advised to Look Again at Effectiveness of Their Programs

Colleges should reassess how well they are achieving the aims of a liberal-arts education, says a statement, just released, that was signed by 90 colleges.

The statement says assessment should focus on the skills that students develop, not simply measured by short-term achievement but also in a long-term context. Prepared by a task force convened by the Consortium on Financing Higher Education, which comprises 31 selective private colleges and universities, the statement acknowledges the diversity among colleges but argues that all expect students to acquire a range of knowledge and to develop critical-thinking and communication skills.

“Each institution has a responsibility to assess its programs, and to do this in the way that is most meaningful for it and the constituencies it serves,” said Daniel Hastings, dean of undergraduate education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who led the task force.

The statement was signed by all of the members of the consortium along with several dozen other institutions, both public and private, including both liberal-arts colleges and research universities.

Peer review among institutions remains essential, according to the statement, while making data available to prospective students, parents, the government, and other sources of financial support is important to allow them to make informed decisions.

On the assessment theme, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education has announced a plan to overhaul its accreditation process next year. “Higher education must make the transformation with P-12 and contribute to it by helping to build quality learning environments staffed with teams who can make those environments effective for student learning,” said James G. Cibulka, president of the council. —Reeves Wiedeman

Comments

1. Anyone who is truly aware of the evaluation / outcomes assessment process knows about the disinterest in accuracy relative to social desirability.

   Nobody wants to report that their educational programs are adversely affected by student alcoholism & drug abuse, for starters. The proliferation of what John L. Jackson has deemed “racial paranoia” caused by poorly thought out “diversity” initiatives that are even more poorly executed is another thing that will surely go unreported.

   I was on an “outcomes assessment” committee for several years and, as a psychologist, was disgusted with the distortions, misrepresentations, and omissions that my group was expected to generate as “data”.

   My experience is not unique__ I have colleagues all over the country with similar experiences. I agree with “the statement”, but doubt that much honesty in reporting will be forthcoming__ many colleges and universities are little “Arthur J. Andersons” when it comes to reporting on their status.

   — JR    Nov 20, 04:12 PM    #

2. Lovely statement, but, ah, what is effectiveness? Although his work is almost 30 years old, I have read nothing, seen no research, to gainsay Kim Cameron’s doctoral study on the dimensions of organizational-level effectiveness of colleges and universities. The CFHE staement suggests they haven’t a clue. And, in my experience, neither do colleges and universities. Brave and empty words.

   — JAM    Nov 20, 04:24 PM    #

3. The emperor has no clothes.

   — Dick    Nov 20, 04:35 PM    #

4. Sadly, Dick is correct. The universities have no idea what what they are even trying to measure, much less how to do so.

   — Yes    Nov 20, 05:19 PM    #

5. Outcomes Assessment (OA) is a disaster in general. What incentive is there for an instructor or an institution to report failure? At my institution, which ironically actually does have very good stats for long-time career advancement, OA is used by administrators to bully faculty in general. OA is a sorry, sorry sham that results in endless and wasteful belly-gazing.

   — Chowder    Nov 20, 06:32 PM    #

6. The bad research represented in outcomes assessment is very largely the product of faculties who operate in a world of salaried self-employment with little or no sense of collective responsibility for their programs or their institutions. As a faculty member for more than thirty years, I can say that university faculty are the least accountable profession in the western world and are determined to keep it that way.

   — Torstensson    Nov 21, 08:16 AM    #

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