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GEAR News
GEAR Distributes "Tips" and Review Forms for Campus Closing the Loop (CTL) Reports
On Monday, January 7, GEAR distributed to campus chief academic officers two documents intended to assist in the development of Closing the Loop (CTL) reports, as called for in GEAR's October 18 memo to institutions (see item below entitled "GEAR Sends Out Call for Triennial Updates..."). One of the documents includes "GEAR Tips" in response to FAQs about the reports, while the second document is the actual form GEAR members will use in examining
campuses' CTL reports.
Interested individuals can access the "GEAR Tips" by clicking here and the review form by clicking here.
Campuses Notified of Rubrics Funding for 2007-08/NSSE/ACT CAAP
During the week of October 15, 2007, University Provost Risa Palm notified campuses scheduled to administer the rubrics for Mathematics, Critical Thinking [Reasoning], and/or Basic Communication [Written] during 2007-08 as part of Strengthened Campus-Based Assessment that the funding for this purpose was ready for allocation. The communication from Provost Palm also confirmed details for the allocation of this funding. Overall, 30 campuses - including three doctoral institutions, five comprehensive colleges, two colleges of technology, and twenty community colleges - received this notification, with the total funding exceeding $103,000.
As other developments related to the 2007-08 assessment of general education, all 26 SUNY state-operated undergraduate institutions, in addition to the Fashion Institute of Technology, are registered to administer the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) in Spring 2008. In addition, 19 institutions will administer the ACT CAAP test for Critical Thinking and/or Basic Communication [Written] during this academic year.
GEAR Sends Out Call for Triennial Updates of GE Assessment Plans
On October 18, 2007, GEAR Co-Chairs Patricia Francis, Tina Good, and Melanie Vainder sent to campuses a memorandum calling for updates to existing campus-based General Education plans along with reports on closing-the-loop activities. This communication points out that, while GEAR's official charge includes the review of plan updates on a biennial basis, the group decided that it makes more sense to conduct such reviews every three years since most campuses complete one round of General Education assessment every year three years. This recommendation was supported by the University Faculty Senate and the Faculty Council of Community Colleges and ultimately approved by University Provost Risa Palm.
Campuses for which an update is due during a particular academic year must submit that update to Provost Palm no later than March 1 of that year. Reminders will be send to campuses in January prior to their due date.
Interested individuals can access the memo from the GEAR Co-Chairs by clicking here.
To quickly access other GEAR-related news, scroll down or use the following links:
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SCBA Rubrics Workshops Held February 2007
During February 2007, eight regional workshops were held for SUNY faculty and staff focusing on the administration and scoring of the rubrics developed by discipline-specific panels for the General Education outcomes for Mathematics, Critical Thinking [Reasoning], and Basic Communication [Written]. The workshops consisted of three concurrent sessions, each centering on one of the student learning outcome areas. Sessions were planned and delivered by SUNY faculty, with most either GEAR members or members of the panel that developed the rubrics. In December 2006, campuses received an invitation on behalf of the GEAR Group inviting them to send representatives to these workshops, particularly those faculty and staff members involved in the implementation of Strengthened Campus-Based Assessment. Campus response to this invitation was overwhelming, with more than 350 faculty and staff registering to attend!
Electronic surveys conducted after the workshops revealed that participants generally viewed the workshops in a highly positive fashion. As just a few examples of the survey results:
- 78% of respondents indicated they were very satisfied or satisfied with the facilitator-led sessions with respect to their ability to use the rubrics
- 71% of respondents indicated they were very satisfied or satisfied with the facilitator-led sessions
with respect to their ability to teach others on their campus to use the rubrics
- 86% of respondents indicated they were very satisfied or satisfied with the overall quality of the facilitator-led sessions
- 86% of respondents indicated they were very satisfied or satisfied with the overall quality of the workshop
SCBA Implementation Updates
Strengthened Campus-Based Assessment (SCBA) Funding Announcement
On July 21, 2006, University Provost Peter D. Salins sent to campus presidents a memo describing System Administration's plans for funding Strengthened Campus-Based Assessment, beginning in Fall 2006. Provost Salins' memo can be accessed by clicking here.
Status of Campuses' SCBA Plans
As of the third week in July 2006, the GEAR Group had recommended approval to Provost Salins of 45 SCBA plans. Eight plans were approved as submitted, while 37 were approved pending relatively minor revisions to the plans by the campuses. System Administration continues to work with the remaining campuses to ensure that plans from all 57 SUNY campuses with general education programs can be approved early in the Fall 2006 semester.
Other GEAR Activities
Since Fall 2004, the GEAR Group has assisted in the implementation of SCBA. Important materials and resources developed by GEAR are as follows:
Communications from Provost Salins to Campuses Regarding SCBA
During 2005, Provost Salins sent a number of communications to campus presidents updating them on developments related to the implementation of Strengthened Campus-Based Assessment. These communications may be accessed through the following links:
Rubrics Approved by Faculty Council of Community Colleges and University Faculty Senate
On October 22, 2005 the Faculty Council of Community Colleges at its fall plenary approved the standards and rubrics developed by the three discipline-based panels for assessing the SUNY general education outcomes in Basic Communication [Written], Mathematics, and Critical Thinking. On October 27, 2005, the Executive Committee of the University Faculty Senate passed a resolution approving the standards and rubrics. Approval by both of these bodies was a necessary step in adoption of the rubrics by campuses.
Individuals interested in reviewing or downloading the rubrics can access them by going to the Web page for the
Writing Panel, the Critical Thinking Panel, and the Mathematics Panel.
ACT Assessments for Writing and Critical Thinking Now Available for Review
The ACT Web site now contains a SUNY-specific site that describes SCBA-appropriate assessments for Critical Thinking and Basic Communication [Written]. As University Provost Peter D. Salins stated in a recent letter to campuses, these instruments developed by ACT "meet criteria established by System Administration and provided to testing companies for Strengthened Campus-Based Assessment (i.e., inclusion of items that map to the individual learning outcomes and provision of sub-scores for each outcome, ability to administer the tests in the context of a class session)." As Provost Salins also discussed in that letter, SUNY System Administration continues its efforts to identify similar instruments appropriate for assessing the Mathematics General Education student learning outcomes, and System Administration will notifty campuses once such an instrument has been identified.
The ACT Web site may be accessed at this link.
Assessment Reporting Task Force Recommendations - Implications for 2005-06 Reports
On July 19, 2006, Provost Salins sent to campus presidents and chief academic officers a memo summarizing his actions in response to the final report and recommendations of the Advisory Task Force on Assessment Reporting, submitted in May 2006. That memo can be accessed by clicking here. Other relevant documents are as follows:
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