Case Study Description
You serve as a recently hired Director at Teal State
University, a mid-sized public university in the Southeastern United
States. The university has seen consistent growth in enrollment and
academic programs in recent decades which has resulted in increased
attention from donors and other stakeholders. With this attention, your
Dean has asked all directors to develop an assessment and evaluation
plan for their areas. Although there have been past assessments
completed for the departments, individual areas have not had specific
assessment and evaluation plans developed or implemented. You are tasked
with developing a robust assessment and evaluation plan for your area.
Your Dean has also stated:
Program areas should have three to five clear
learning outcomes (developed by you) that align with the values and
mission of the department and University.
All stakeholders should be identified and the types of information they would require from the assessment discussed.
Any survey instruments or protocols will need to be developed in-house (no budget for existing instruments).
Assessment Plans will include:
An Executive Summary of the plan highlighting key points (350-word max).
Introduction. Provide a brief overview of the
purpose of the document and area of focus (map out the remainder of the
document).
A discussion on your approach and view of
assessment. Which epistemological view do you take? Discuss the purpose
and key components of assessment and evaluation plans (in general). Cite
several sources for this section.
A brief description of the University and department and their mission and values.
A description of your area and the learning
outcomes you developed (how they relate to the University/department
mission and values).
Identify stakeholders, their needs related to assessment, and how you plan to address those needs.
Describe your assessment plan. Be sure to
include the type(s) of assessment you will use, the population you will
assess, how you will conduct the assessment, how you will organize the
data, how you will analyze the data, and the timeframe for the project.
Include a copy of surveys and/or protocols for qualitative assessments.
You should specifically discuss issues of equity and inclusion and how
you address them in your plan.
Discuss budget implications. How much staff
time will need to be devoted to the assessment? Are other items needed
(e.g., incentives, lunches, software)? Exact amounts are not needed but
reasonable estimates should be made.
Discuss limitations of your plan including a discussion of your positionality and biases.
Describe your evaluation plan. What approach
will you use? What questions will you want to answer? Discuss three or
more benchmarks you would want to be met that would indicate the program
was successful and should be continued. Include which comparisons you
will be using.
You oversee as a director a Living Learning Community called SOAR for
students from rural North Carolina counties, first-generation students,
and marginalized communities. Your Dean is very supportive of the center
but wants to ensure that students are succeeding to their full
potential in the LLC. You have been asked to develop a detailed
assessment and evaluation plan for your LLC. Please develop 3-5 learning
outcomes to answer the following: 1) how students are being supported
by the LLC; 2) how they are engaging with center activities; and 3) how
their experience compares to non-LLC students from similar backgrounds
(i.e. rural North Carolina counties, first-generation college students,
and students with marginalized identities (Black, Indigenous, and people
of color)). The Dean is also interested in learning how you support the
wellbeing of center staff. LLC staff need to be available outside
regular working hours. Thus, the Dean wants additional information how
you support work-life balance for employees in this situation.
Assessment Plans will include:
Cover page (do not use a Running head for this paper).
An Executive Summary of the plan highlighting key points (400-word max).
This will follow your cover page and be its own
section (the body of your work will start on a new page following the
Exec Summary)
Introduction (very brief).
Provide a brief overview of the plan and your area of focus
Map out the remainder of the document
Approach to Assessment:
A discussion on your approach and view of assessment. Which epistemological view do you take?
Discuss the purpose and key components of assessment and evaluation plans (in general). Cite several sources for this section.
A brief description of the University’s mission and values (use/cite UNCW website and other related sources).
A description of your department/area and the program/student learning outcomes
you developed (how they relate to the University/department mission and
values) (use links in Case Study to your mirror area at UNCW).
You should include 3 to 5 learning outcomes for your area
Identify stakeholders, their needs related to assessment, and how you plan to address those needs.
Describe your assessment plan [this will be the bulk of your paper]
Be sure to include the type(s) of assessment
you will use, the population you will assess, how you will conduct the
assessment, how you will organize the data, how you will analyze the
data, and the timeframe for the project.
Include a copy of surveys and/or protocols for
qualitative assessments (your plan should include a mixed methods
approach, but it does not have to be equally split between quant and
qual).
You should specifically discuss issues of equity and inclusion and how you address them in your plan.
Discuss budget implications.
How much staff time will need to be devoted to the assessment? Are other items needed (e.g., incentives, lunches, software)?
Identify at least two components of your plan
that could be eliminated or significantly altered if the budget is not
100% approved. How will this impact your plan?
Include some dollar amounts. Exact amounts are not needed but reasonable estimates should be made.
Discuss limitations of your plan including ethical considerations, a discussion of your positionality and biases.
Describe your evaluation plan (once you have
the data, how will you decide if the program should continue/need
improvement/has worked and is efficient?).
What approach will you use?
What questions will you want to answer?
Discuss three or more benchmarks you would want
to be met that would indicate the program was successful and should be
continued. Include which comparisons you will be using (e.g., other
institutions (name them), CAS standards)
