Making Changes

Assessment without action is just data collection. Closing the loop is the step that connects evidence to improvement.

Principles for Effective Change

• Ground every change in a specific finding — the change should flow logically from what your data showed
• Name what you are doing and when — vague commitments are not change plans
• Faculty discussion is required — the improvement process is a collective conversation
• Define how you will know if the change worked — keep your measure consistent across cycles to enable comparison

Types of Changes

The following is a non-exhaustive list of examples of how programs can seek improvement based on assessment data. Note that all of these examples directly touch student learning.

Quick Changes (this semester or next)

• Redesigning an assignment to better scaffold the assessed skill
• Adding a practice opportunity or feedback cycle before assessed work
• Revising prompts or rubrics to make expectations clearer

Year-long Changes

• Redesigning a course to give a skill more sustained attention
• Adding a prerequisite or co-requisite
• Connecting students to campus resources at a specific curriculum point
• Organizing workshops to train program faculty on teaching specific skills, either with an outside expert or through the Harte Center.

Multi-year Changes

• Revising the sequence of required courses
• Adding or removing a required course based on persistent evidence of a gap
• Developing new curriculum to address an outcome the program doesn’t adequately develop

What the AoL Committee Looks For

1. Evidence that data was examined, summarized appropriately, and interpreted
2. Evidence that faculty discussed the findings together
3. A logical connection between finding and response
4. A specific timeline for proposed changes