Section 2: The Assessment Process at MC: Assessment Schedule & Required Activities
All disciplines, programs, and administrative areas have been placed in designated groups within a collegewide combined schedule that integrates all corresponding assessment activities across a 6-year period. Assessment activities within the schedule represents a discipline, program, or administrative area’s corresponding assessment obligations (i.e., depending on whether a discipline has a Gen Ed course, a degree program, etc.).
Below is a linear representation of the cycle with the corresponding due dates for any required activities:
Linear View of the Assessment Cycle at Montgomery College
| Cycle Initiation: Start/Restart | Data Collection | Data Collection | Integrated Report | Data Collection | Data Collection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
CAR (Planning Stage) |
Year 1 (Assessment) Planned Data Collection (Gen Ed and/or Program Data) Interim Data Collection Report |
Year 2 (Assessment) Planned Data Collection (Gen Ed and/or Program Data) Interim Data Collection Report *General Education Recertification |
Year 3 Integrated Report *(Gen Ed and/or **Program) *Includes CAR updates |
Year 4 (Reassessment) Planned Data Collection (Gen Ed and/or Program Data) Interim Data Collection Report |
Year 5 (Reassessment) Planned Data Collection (Gen Ed and/or Program Data) Interim Data Collection Report |
| Due on Oct. 1 at the end of the cycle year | Due on Oct. 1 at the end of the cycle year | Due on Oct. 1 at the end of the cycle year | Due on Oct. 1 at the end of the cycle year | Due on Oct. 1 at the end of the cycle year | Due on Oct. 1 at the end of the cycle year |
A copy of the combined schedule is listed in Appendix A - this schedule, and more detailed discipline schedules, can also can be accessed in the Assessment Repository located within MC’s Blackboard Community site (Instructions on how to join the Assessment Repositorynew window). Within the Repository, click on the folder titled “The Assessment Cycle & Schedule of Disciplines” on the main menu to your left.
*All applicable assessment activities within a discipline, program, or area’s identified group are required to be completed in a timely manner in accordance with the established schedule and due dates.
Data Collection and the Assessment Schedule
Data Collection Defined
Listed below are definitions for data collection terms listed in the circular & linear cycle:
- Planned data collection: Planned data collection refers to the process of scoring and recording results of any required assessment activities that are applicable to that course, discipline, or program according to their own assessment plan on record. The data being “collected” are the actual results of how students performed for that assessment period respective to the type of assessment that was administered (i.e., the signature assignment for Gen Ed, outcomes assessment for a program, etc.).
- Data collection plan: A discipline or program’s data collection plan represents the layout for examining
and scoring their respective assessment results for student performance. Each plan
should be created by the faculty of the respective discipline or program performing
assessment, in consultation with/approval from the Office of Assessment. Each plan
should correspond with that discipline or program’s first assessment period in the
cycle during years 1 & 2, and also with their reassessment period in the cycle during
years 4 & 5.
Any changes to the plan are intended to be made during the Integrated Report in Year-3 as a result of planned actions, or while completing the College Area Review (CAR) in year 6 (to be implemented as they exit the CAR and enter the new 6-year cycle).
A general/editable template for planning data collection activities can be accessed
in the Assessment Repositorynew window in Blackboard (Once in the Repository, click on the folder on the main menu to your
left titled “Assessment Resources, Forms, Toolkits, & Templates” and then click on “Assessment Planning Tools.”)
Detailed Descriptions of Yearly Activities
Please see the following pages for a detailed overview of yearly activities associated with the 6-year assessment cycle at Montgomery College:
(Note: activities that are listed correspond to specific types of assessment that may or may not be applicable to a given discipline/program – if you are not sure which assessment activities your discipline should be completing, please contact the Office of Assessment at outcomes@montgomerycollege.edu).
Assessment Schedule Yearly Activities (Detailed)
Planned Data Collection (Gen Ed and/or Program Data)
Interim Data Collection Report
Due: Oct 1st at the end of the cycle year
Student Learning Outcomes Assessment (General Education and/or Program)
- Beginning of Semester – Plan what you are going to assess during the academic year
- End of Fall and Spring Semesters – Report on what you have done:
Drop Down Menus – Fast and Easy
Any Planned Data Collection for Year 1
- The academic year in which the report is being completed
- The types of assessment that were completed (i.e. Gen Education and/or program outcomes assessment)
- All the courses where data collection occurred
- All the campuses where data collection took place
- Which semesters (Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer) that data collection took place
- The number of students that were assessed
Other Activities
- Discussion of past year activities and planned activities for the year to come
A primary contact person for the report
Planned Data Collection (Gen Ed and/or Program Data)
Interim Data Collection Report
General Education Recertification
Due: Oct 1st at the end of the cycle year
- General Education Recertification (if applicable) – General Education Committee will provide instructions
- Student Learning Outcomes Assessment (General Education and/or Program)
-
- Beginning of Semester – Plan what you are going to assess during the academic year
- End of Fall and Spring Semesters – Report on what you have done:
Drop Down Menus – Fast and Easy
Any Planned Data Collection for Year 2
-
-
- The academic year in which the report is being completed
- The types of assessment that were completed (i.e. Gen Education and/or program outcomes assessment)
- All the courses where data collection occurred
- All the campuses where data collection took place
- Which semesters (Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer) that data collection took place
- The number of students that were assessed
-
Other Activities
-
-
- Discussion of past year activities and planned activities for the year to come
-
A primary contact person for the report
*(Gen Ed and/or **Program)
*includes CAR updates **includes program awards/enrollment data
Due: Oct 1st at the end of the cycle year
Integrated General Education and/or Program Outcomes 3-Year Reflection Reports:
- General overview of data collection activities:
- The academic year in which the report is being completed
- All the courses where data collection occurred
- All the campuses where data collection took place
- Which semesters (Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer) that data collection took place
- The overall number of students that were assessed (in total for the last two years)
- Summary of results for each competency within each Gen Ed course and/or each outcome
for Programs
- Summarizing results within and across competencies and/or outcomes and comparing them
with previous assessment results
- Summarizing results within and across competencies and/or outcomes and comparing them
with previous assessment results
- Planned actions to improve student performance/success
- some actions may be continued (if applicable) but new, specific, measurable actions
will also be required for any areas of weakness or to support increasing performance
levels
- some actions may be continued (if applicable) but new, specific, measurable actions
will also be required for any areas of weakness or to support increasing performance
levels
- Discussion of how planned actions are related to discipline and/or program goals,
and to the goals of MC on a larger scale
- Program Viability Updates (enrollment/awards – Programs only)
- Planned actions to address program viability issues (if applicable)
- Planned actions to address program viability issues (if applicable)
- CAR (Collegewide Area Review) Recommendation Updates
- What has been done to accomplish these recommendations over the past 2 years?
- A primary contact person for the report
Planned Data Collection (Gen Ed and/or Program Data)
Interim Data Collection Report
Due: Oct 1st at the end of the cycle year
Student Learning Outcomes Assessment (General Education and/or Program)
- Beginning of Semester – Plan what you are going to assess during the academic year
- End of Fall and Spring Semesters – Report on what you have done:
Drop Down Menus – Fast and Easy
Any Planned Data Collection for Year 4
-
- The academic year in which the report is being completed
- The types of assessment that were completed (i.e. Gen Education and/or program outcomes assessment)
- All the courses where data collection occurred
- All the campuses where data collection took place
- Which semesters (Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer) that data collection took place
- The number of students that were assessed
Other Activities
-
- Discussion of past year activities and planned activities for the year to come
A primary contact person for the report
Planned Data Collection (Gen Ed and/or Program Data)
Interim Data Collection Report
Due: Oct 1st at the end of the cycle year
Student Learning Outcomes Assessment (General Education and/or Program)
- Beginning of Semester – Plan what you are going to assess during the academic year
- End of Fall and Spring Semesters – Report on what you have done:
Drop Down Menus – Fast and Easy
Any Planned Data Collection for Year 5
-
- The academic year in which the report is being completed
- The types of assessment that were completed (i.e. Gen Education and/or program outcomes assessment)
- All the courses where data collection occurred
- All the campuses where data collection took place
- Which semesters (Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer) that data collection took place
- The number of students that were assessed
Other Activities
-
- Discussion of past year activities and planned activities for the year to come
A primary contact person for the report
Due: Oct 1st at the end of the cycle year
The College Area Review (CAR)
**The CAR Report represents the planning stage for initiating each 5-year integrated assessment cycle.
This report provides an overview of the current alignment and relevance of a program’s curriculum and success with retaining and matriculating students. Disciplines who do not have a certificate or degree program are also required to complete a modified version of the CAR Report. Similarly, a modified “Administrative Review” is completed to review an administrative area’s success with achieving outcomes and institutional priorities.
Depending on the program, discipline, or administrative unit, this collegewide report will consist of some (or all) of the following components (as may be applicable):
- General Information on the degree program, discipline, or administrative unit
- Overview and mission
- Discussion of curriculum, outcomes, institutional priorities, and alignment with professional standards
- Last Accreditation report (if applicable)
- Advisory Board (if applicable)
- Size and scope of the program, discipline, or area completing the review
- Assessment plan & results
- Outcomes and assessment (summary of changes for improvement, )
- Student feedback (if applicable)
- Educational/Career growth opportunities
- External Reviewer (optional or required for programs)
- SOAR analysis
- Updates on previous CAR recommendations
- New Recommendations for moving forward