History of SLO Assessment at MJC
The Investment and Production of Disaggregated SLO Data
Prior to 2015, the college used a homegrown database tool for housing its learning outcomes. While relatively simple and effective to use for course reporting, the system had significant limitations with both the capture of and reporting of assessment results at the department and institutional levels. The tool relied on faculty transferring individual course data into large spreadsheets to generate aggregated program, general education, and institutional learning outcomes assessment results. Consequently, it proved exceedingly difficult to obtain regular, effective, and timely data for the meaningful conversations about student learning that is necessary for improvement across programs and throughout the institution.
After considering a variety of software alternatives, and as part of a commitment to the College student equity initiative, the College adopted the eLumen SLO reporting platform in 2015. The shift to this database meant significantly changing the way assessment was enacted and completed. Instead of reporting aggregated results of CLO assessments for a particular class section, faculty needed to report learning outcomes results on individual students. This form of reporting would allow for disaggregated outcomes data based on demographics, course modality, and more. The college archived the results recorded in the previous database and began intensive work on populating the new software with the requisite infrastructure in spring 2015. The new system was implemented across the College in fall 2015.
The move to eLumen also coincided with an institutional evaluation concerning how to improve the overall SLO assessment and Program Review schedule and process. A Program Review Workgroup was appointed by the College Council in spring 2016. After a year of analysis and utilization of eLumen, the Academic Senate and College Council adopted a new two-year comprehensive SLO assessment and program review process, replacing a five-year model that was difficult to manage across the institution. The new process is more robust, and maintains a schedule that works well with CTE programs and allows for the curriculum updating process to pull from considerably more program review and assessment data.
The eLumen software system has provided a sophisticated means to record, edit, assess, and report all learning outcomes for the college – course, program, general education, support service, service area, administrative, and institutional SLOs. It provides a simple interface to “map” course-level student learning outcomes (CLOs) to program learning outcomes (PLOs) and institutional learning outcomes (ILOs), as well as support service learning outcomes (SSLOs) to service area outcomes (SAOs). The eLumen interface makes it simple to record these mappings. The software then compiles results for all SLOs, and the Office of Institutional Effectiveness has produced a data dashboard that disaggregates SLO data for program review, public viewing, and institutional dialog.
Disaggregated data is available for all program, general education, and institutional learning outcomes on the SLO Data Dashboard.
http://www.mjc.edu/instruction/outcomesassessment/programreview/prdashboard/lo_data.php
The last two years of SLO assessment work, from 2015-2017, has produced dramatic results for the College: disaggregated SLO and achievement data is now being used in program review and is available for department and institution wide analysis and reflection.
Student Learning Outcomes Handbook
A user's guide to student learning outcomes at Modesto Junior College
How to Enter CLOs in CurricUNET
Use MJC's CurricUNET to enter, store, and update CLOs.
Outcomes Assessment Day 2012
An archive of the grids produced during this Outcomes Assessment Day.