Reports
History
In 1989, anticipating the general public's demand for
educational accountability, an Assessment Committee of three English faculty
members submitted a
Report from
the Committee on Assessment which included a proposal for a three year pilot
Assessment Program. Their
Final Report
requested administrative financial support, which was approved, and the pilot
process for assessment was established. Initially, the department
concentrated on
ENG101
/ ESL107, the course taken by the most students.
After the
three year pilot, upon the
recommendations of the pilot assessment committee, the department voted to
institutionalize the assessment process. Since 1989, we have developed an
English
101 common assignment packet on a timely topic each year. The
resulting essays, their strengths and shortcomings, provide the basis for an
assessment day each semester. Holistic scoring sessions, workshops,
and panels comprise the 4-6 hour assessment days.
An assessment committee produces the
common
assignment and organizes the
assessment days with input from the faculty at large. Two full-time
faculty and one adjunct form the committee. One person rotates off
the committee every three years encouraging both continuity and new blood.
Departmental assessment grew to include the courses
ENG
071/ESL 077 and
ENG
102 / ENG 108. A common final for ENG071/ESL077 and an ENG102
pretest/posttest were developed and are in use.
Instructors are required to use one of these assessment measures or to devise
and implement their own once a year.
Assessment efforts expanded to include
course by
course assessment, as well as
program
assessment in these areas: