Assessment Team
Charter

Definition
The Assessment Team is faculty-led and chartered by the Learning Council. Assessment of the educational program of Lane Community College is a faculty-driven process; the Assessment Team will support, review, and document the ongoing work of program assessment at Lane. For assessment purposes, program refers to the cumulative effects of an educational process in a discipline or degree.

Systematic program assessment provides faculty with ongoing opportunities for thorough, thoughtful, critical analysis of evidence and reflection about what students learn, with the goal to improve learning. Programs are defined by the learning outcomes they produce in students; learning outcomes are broadly defined as the knowledge, skills, and attitudes students acquire by the end of a program of study. Assessment of these learning outcomes informs our decisions about curriculum to “close the loop” in the improvement process.

Faculty and other stakeholders in each discipline will identify programs to be assessed. Examples of programs include, but are not limited to:

• a sequence of prescribed courses that leads to a career technical associate degree or certificate
• the general education component of an associate degree
• course sequences in a transfer discipline such as biology or history
• pre-collegiate or remedial courses
• special programs for selected students such as TRiO or the Women’s Program

Purpose
The Assessment Team will:

• Review and update Lane’s Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Plan(.doc) to include systematic program assessment procedures
• Review program assessment plans; provide feedback to program coordinators on the quality of their plans
• Develop strategies and processes to support systematic program assessment
• Provide a variety of discussion forums and professional development on assessment issues
• Collaborate with college teams establishing data storehouses and technological tools for assessment
• Align learning outcomes assessment and curriculum development with ongoing college planning and resource allocation
• Ensure that assessment activities are in alignment with state requirements, accreditation standards and are congruent with employee contracts and college policy.

Scope
The Assessment Team will facilitate systematic assessment of the educational program at Lane.

Deliverables

• Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Plan to be updated annually and reviewed by the Learning Council
• Annual Assessment Team work plan, to be reviewed by the Learning Council
• Biennial report on ongoing assessment efforts to the Learning Council and the Office of Academic and Student Affairs
• Biennial reports to program coordinators with feedback on program assessment plans
• Web page updated annually showing how program assessment results are used to improve the educational program at Lane

Membership
Terms will be 2 to 3 years, on a rotating basis, to provide continuity and diversity of representation from divisions.

• Team Chair, to be selected from faculty membership and supported by reassignment time of one course per quarter, for a term of two years
• Minimum of five, maximum of twelve faculty, appointed by Faculty Council, to include transfer disciplines, professional-technical programs, and support services.
• IRAP Director or designee
• Coordinator, Student Outcomes Assessment and Curriculum Development
• ASA representative
• Two instructional managers or their designees
• Non-credit representative

Charter Review
This Assessment Team will review this charter annually in fall and spring and report any revisions to the Learning Council.