Outcomes and Assessment FAQs

• Yes. ACES outcomes are imported into each Canvas course. When an assignment or assessment is created in Canvas, a rubric must be created, and the desired outcome(s) is/are then added to the Canvas rubric for evaluation using the Speed Grader tool
• OAC recommends evaluating these outcomes separately from the graded components of the assignment. When adding an ACES outcome to a Canvas rubric, uncheck the box that says “Use this criterion for scoring: (see image below).
  

Yes. In addition to assessing ACES – Institutional Learning Outcomes, each program has revised their own discipline-specific learning outcomes which have been imported into each Canvas course. Each department has developed an assessment plan as part of their comprehensive Program Services Review (PSR). The OAC recommendation is to contact your coordinator and/or department PSR representative if you have any questions about the assessment plan for your program.

The Office of Institutional Research will run reports at the end of each semester that can identify information such as which ACES outcomes were attempted, in which courses, how many students were assessed, and at what level they achieved, etc. Department-specific assessment data will be made available to all program coordinators and department PSR representatives, who can then share with faculty. College-wide ACES assessment data is also available to the public through the Chaffey ACES dashboard: https://www.chaffey.edu/ir/aces.php

ACES outcomes are assessed on a scale from 1 to 4. No progress toward skill completion is earned for a score of 1 (emerging) or 2 (developing) on a given outcome, while a score of 3 (achieving) or 4 (mastering) does earn progress toward skill completion. If a student does not submit the assignment, or if their work does not address the ACES outcome(s) being assessed, it is advised that faculty leave the score for the ACES outcome(s) unmarked.  This should not affect students' grades, since it is advised that when ACES outcomes are added to a rubric, faculty uncheck the box that says, "Use this criterion for scoring."

When outcomes are left unmarked, they will appear as "N/A" data on the department report generated by the Office of Institutional Research.

CLOs are assessed on a scale from 1 to 4. No progress toward skill completion is earned for a score of 1 (foundational) or 2 (novice) on a given outcome, while a score of 3 (skilled) or 4 (highly skilled) does earn progress toward skill completion. If a student does not submit the assignment, or if their work does not address the CLO being assessed, faculty should score it as a 0 (non-submittal/no evidence).  This should not affect students' grades, since it is advised that when CLOs are added to a rubric, faculty uncheck the box that says, "Use this criterion for scoring."

• Each department has developed a CLO and ACES-ILO assessment plan as part of their comprehensive Program Services Review (PSR). The CLOs and ACES outcomes are now listed in the Course Outline of Record (COR) for each course under Student Learning Outcomes section of the COR.
• The Student Learning Outcomes listed in the COR are the minimum outcomes to be assessed for a course. You are welcome to include more as they apply to your course.

As teachers, we want to see if our students are learning what we think we are teaching them. And it is part of the accreditation process - The Accrediting Commission for Schools, Western Association of Schools and Colleges (ACS WASC) and the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) mandates that learning outcomes and standards of performance are developed and regularly assessed for courses, programs, certificates and degrees (WASC Standards 2.3, 2.4.; ACCJC Standards I.B, II.A).

This will depend on the assessment plan that each department has developed as part of their comprehensive Program Services Review (PSR). The OAC recommendation is to contact your coordinator and/or department PSR representative if you have any questions about the assessment plan for your program.

The current goal is for CLO and ACES assessment to occur in 30% of sections for all courses within the 4-year PSR cycle.

• Each department has revised and mapped their Course and Program Learning Outcomes and developed an assessment plan for CLO and ACES-ILOs. The PLO/CLO mapping and assessment plan can be found in CurriQunet META, Chaffey’s online management system for curriculum.
• Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) can be found under Student Learning Outcomes in the Course Outline of Record (COR) as well as in the course syllabus. 

PLOs and CLOs will be updated during comprehensive Program Services Review (PSR) process.

Yes. “In every class section students receive a course syllabus that includes learning outcomes from the institution’s officially approved course outline” (ACCJC, Standard II.2.3).

There is plenty of support and resources to help you. These resources include:

1. The Outcomes and Assessment website provides a huge resource of knowledge and information about learning outcomes.
2. The Outcomes and Assessment Chair and Committee are dedicated to developing comprehensive training materials and professional development opportunities. 
3. The Office of Institutional Research provides assistance and support with learning outcomes data analysis.

The learning outcomes cycle must be a collaborative ongoing process embedded in collaborative dialogue. Institutional Research can help programs and departments design assessment tools and analyze quantitative data with statistical software. They, however, will not interpret the data.  Faculty members and staff know best how to interpret results within their own discipline and their own program.