embracing programmatic differences to enhance

Embracing Programmatic Differences to Enhance Institutional Assessment

Dr. Bonnie Steele, Director of AssessmentColorado Mountain College

Today’s Session…

• Institutionalizing assessment at CMC

- Building the foundation- Adopting a centralized assessment system

• Creation of different models of assessment by discipline/program

• Connecting assessment to our strategic plan

• Successes & lessons learned

this presentation is hosted by

Colorado Mountain College

A thriving college of 11 sites set in the Rocky Mountains

At a Glance:

• Degrees:• Three - 4 year degrees• Twenty Six 2 year Degrees• Career & Technical Certificates• ESL, GED and ABE Programs• Continuing Education Program

• 110 Full-time faculty – Approx. 700 Adjuncts

• 1059 graduating students AY 13-14

• > 19,000 Students• Service area slightly larger than

the state of Rhode Island

CMC Spring Valley Location


HLC Visits CMC, 2008

Impetus for Change

• 2009 HLC Feedback Report expectations

• We took what we had and morphed it into something flexible, but structured


Goal: Develop a systematic, institutional assessment process that can be adapted to meet individual program assessment needs across our 11 sites

Building the Foundation

• Multiple meetings with Academic Affairs and Student Affairs

- Mandatory spring and fall in-services

• Additional Training:

- Bloom’s Taxonomy

- Dr. Suskie’s method of scoring assessment results

- Instituted Master Adjunct program


Need for a Centralized Assessment System

• Online tool

• Hosted and supported

• The ability to create a common structure

• A place to put Student Learning Outcomes and map to larger goals and objectives


Taskstream Implementation

• Taskstream gives order to the “I’ve got my assessment in the top drawer of my desk” issue

• Training sessions monitored by Taskstream support staff - 2010

• Created a fixed structure for assessment

• New 4 – Yr. Degrees offered us an opportunity to learn new tools - 2011


Fixed Structure for Assessment

Standing Requirements

Assessment Cycles for Each Year

Findings standardized through a common template


Different Models by Discipline

• General Education – AA, AS, AGS Degrees/Programs (State Model)

• Career and Technical Education – 22 Areas Program Assessment

• ESL, GED and ABE Programs

• 3 - 4 Year Degrees: BSBA, BASS, BSN


Dedicated Workspaces for Each Program


Example: Nursing (BS)


Example: Business Administration (BS)


2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Begin managing course-level assessment with AMS by Taskstream

Emphasize assessment in strategic plan

Move towards program & gen edassessment

Begin full implementation of LAT by Taskstream

CMC Assessment Path

Achievements to Date

• BSBA Comments from BSG Business Game: :- “You should be quite proud of your students for such an

excellent performance — a performance that reflects quite well on you and the caliber of instruction that students are receiving in your course.”

• “Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) has approved the application for initial accreditation of the baccalaureate degree nursing program at CMC.”

• Candidate status from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN)

• BASS Degree: State-wide Sustainability Conferences in Steamboat Springs on Even Years


What We’ve Learned

• Assessment must be faculty driven and led

• Relationships are everything

• Closing the loop occurs subtly at times, making it hard to capture or measure.

- Ski Area Operations

- Culinary Program

- Outdoor Education

• Training, Training, Training!!!


Questions?

Thank you for attending!

Contact Us

Dr. Bonnie SteeleDirector of AssessmentColorado Mountain [email protected]

TaskstreamFor more information about Taskstream

or to request a demonstration, contact:

[email protected] or 800-311-5656


mailto:[email protected]

embracing programmatic differences to enhance

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