Program/Support Area Assessment Template

Date Submitted: 02/07/06Submitted by: Dorado/BuchananAssessmentTeam Date:

1) Program/Support Area: Counseling and Advising Services
2) Mission/Purpose (Reference LCC Mission):The mission of counseling services is to assist students to define and clarify personal, academic and career goals and to understand the processes involved to achieve these goals. The MissionStatement for the counseling and advising unit relates to the LCC Mission Statement in the following ways:
1)Our work in preadmission and financial aid counseling increases student access to post-secondary education.
2) During advising and counseling students learn about program requirements and the applicability of courses to specific 2 and 4 year degrees.
3) Career counseling enhances the personal enrichment of students and increases awareness of career mobility options.
4) During individual sessions students are provided a forum to discuss and explore personal issues that require solutions.
5) Counseling faculty have specific specialty areas that address the needs of our diverse ethnic and cultural student population.
3) LCC Strategic Plan (Reference Goals/Objectives):
Goal A: Provide opportunities for the pursuit of knowledge, personal enrichment, and creativity
Obj 1: Provide life-long learning and development of essential skills
Obj 2:Develop effective teaching methodologies and delivery modes
Obj 4: Promote understanding/respect for different cultures
Goal B: Stimulate the cultural and intellectual life of the community by providing artistic, professional, and enrichment opportunities
Obj 1: Provide facilities, services, and activities to communities
GoalC: Improve educational effectiveness
Obj 1: Improve, broaden scope of assessment
Obj 4: Ensure availability of high-quality resources and services
Goal D: Build Partnerships
Obj 1: Improve, inter-/intra-campus communication
Obj 3: Develop and strengthen local and global connections
Goal E: Acquire and manageresources efficiently
Obj 1: Develop additional sources of internal and external funding
Obj2: Recruit, retain highly qualified personnel
4) Goal/Objective (Reference Program Goals/Objectives): Our assessment of orientation, advising and registration (OAR)effectiveness is focused on one of the seven goals established for the counseling unit. This goal is to provide orientation, registration and assist with course selection and interpretation of test scores.
5) Outcome Measure (What is being counted or measured?):
We wanted to know whether studentsacquired a greater understanding of college policies and procedures, campus support services, co-curricular opportunities, academic and financial deadlines,different methodologies of course delivery and satellite course offerings and how to use the SOC and General Catalog as a resource to select appropriate courses. We also wanted to know if, after completing the COMPASS test, students had a clear understanding of their level of proficiency in Reading, Writing and Math. Lastly, we wanted to know if, after completing the registration process, students know how to navigate the MyUH portal to register for classes.
6) Definition of Data Sample (where or from whom will data be collected?)Students who attend the OAR sessions.
(When will data be collected?): Data will be collected each semester at the end of each OAR session.
(How many data samples are intended to be collected?)The intention is to collect an evaluation form from each student who attends an OAR session.
(Why is this appropriate data?): The evaluation elicits feedback directly related to the SLO’s established for OAR.
7) Method of Data Collection (How will data be collected and by who?): Surveys will be collected from students by counselors staffing the OAR sessions.
Describe assessment tool (survey rubric, etc.) to be used; attach if possible. Please see the attached evaluation form.
8) Actual Level of Results (How many samples were collected?)85 of the 185 students who attended an OAR session completed the evaluation (46%).
What actual data (numerical results such as total count, percentages, averages, etc.) were collected?
Students completed a survey of 11 questions. They ranked the first 9 questions using a 5 point Likert scale with 5 indicating “Strongly Agree” to 1 indicating “Strongly Disagree” N/A indicated “Not Applicable”. Questions 10 and 11 wee open ended and were designed to assess the overall effectiveness of the OAR session and suggestions for improvement. Q1- Familiarity with important dates and deadlines. Q2-Understanding of important college policies and procedures Q3-Knowledge of support services on campus. Q4-Familiarity with college terms. Q5-Familiarity with different modalities of course delivery. Q6-Knowledge of how to use SOC and Catalog. Q7-Knowedge of Compass test scores. Q8-Knowledge of how to navigate the MyUH Portal. Q9-Overall evaluation of the OAR session.
The averages of the students’ responses to the evaluation questions are as follows: Q1 (4.5) Q2 (4.4)
Q3 (4.3) Q4 (4.4) Q5 (4.2) Q6 (4.5) Q7 (4.5) Q8 (4.4) Q9 (4.6). Examples of responses to the open-ended questions include the following: They really make you feel good about learning. Counselor was definitely very helpful. Orientation was very informative and helpful. Awesome session. OAR session has been extremely helpful to me on getting started to focus on my degree. Thank you.
9) Analysis (What have you learned, both in terms of the assessment process and student achievement of SLOs, as a result of this assessment?) The assessment process was efficient and effective. A 46% return rate provided a representative sample of the students who attended an OAR session. Average scores between
4.2 and 4.6 indicate that students have achieved the SLO’s established for OAR. It should be noted that OTAR was mandatory prior to the Spring 2006 semester. At this time, placement testing was eliminated from the process and conducted on a walk in basis. OAR became voluntary at this time. From Spring 2001 through Spring 2005 attendance at OTAR averaged 1082. Attendance at OAR for the Spring 2006 semester was 185. A dramatic decline in enrollment did not occur due to this change. Those students who did attend viewed the activity in a positive light. They stated that the things that they learned were helpful and participation in OAR was time well spent.
10) Plan of Action (What changes do you propose to improve student learning (for the student learning outcomes assessed) or to improve the support area?) I will look at the UAP numbers for Spring 2006. I will compare the number of new students on UAP for Spring 2006 with those on UAP for Spring 2005. If the number is significantly higher, we may want to revisit the practice of mandatory OAR. In the meantime we will use the voluntary system again for Fall 2006. It would also be advantageous to develop an on-line orientation as an alternative method of delivering the information.
11) Budget Impact (How much will the action cost?)The cost of developing an on-line orientation could be part of the duties assigned to an APT hired specifically to address the IT needs of the Student Services Division. The cost of funding this position is estimated to be $35,000.
(How could the proposed plan be funded?) This will be determined by the Chancellor through the program review process, which will identify funding priorities for the campus.
(If a grant will fund the proposal, how will long-term funding be carried through?)

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