OPA Monthly Blog on the OPA Website

Last term we announced the beginning of OPA Blogs, where we provide you with timely and quick-to-read articles each month to help you grow in your assessment knowledge. Since then we have created five total blogs which lay out important assessment information for you! Click the names of the blogs below to view them on our website!

• • • June 2020
      • Comparing 2017-2018 Assessment Results to 2018-2019 Assessment Results
    • July 2020
      • Assessment Expectations for October 1, 2020
    • August 2020
      • Preparing Follow-Ups For Your 2019-2020 Assessment Report
    • September 2020
      • 3 Tips for Completing Your 2019 - 2020 Assessment Report
    • October 2020
      • Assessment of TTU's Core Curriculum

OPA 1-Minute Videos

Assessment Innovation Grant Award Winners

Dr.  Marcus Tanner 
University Studies

Dr. Tanner's application focused on the challenges of assessing an interdisciplinary degree program. Specifically, Dr. Tanner discussed how the assessment plan for University Studies is “relatively new” and faculty need to be “familiar with the plan, the methods for collecting assessment data, and review individual course SLOs for alignment.” Dr. Tanner's AIG funds will be allocated toward faculty engagement.

Dr. Raychel Vasseur 
Spanish

Dr. Vasseur's application explained the need for TTU Spanish majors and minors to use “Spanish post-graduation in an increasingly globalized world.” Dr. Vasseur highlighted how AIG funds will be used to assess students' language proficiency skills by funding a certified American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) tester. Having a local tester will allow students to demonstrate that they have “certified” language skills.

Dr. Sarah Victor, Dr. Jason Van Allen, and Dr. Andrew Littlefield 
Psychological Sciences

Drs. Victor, Van Allen, and Littlefield shared the need to assess program alumni due to their program's continued accreditation by the American Psychological Association (APA). Incentivizing alumni to participate in a focus group is certainly challenging, so AIG funds will be used to recruit participants and “provide support to the faculty coordinator who will design the survey, administer the focus group(s), and compile and disseminate the assessment results.”

Dr. Jeong-Hee Kim, Dr. Mihwa Park, and Dr. Aaron Zimmerman
Curriculum & Instruction

Drs. Kim, Park, and Zimmerman are launching a new Assessment & Evaluation Committee in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction during the 2020-2021 academic year. This committee will be tasked with the “creation of a department-wide formative assessment plan, which will be used to improve our doctoral programs, and to provide guidelines for formative assessment.” AIG funds will be used to purchase materials (specifically, books and resources focused on best practices in assessment and evaluation).

Ms. Lydia Kloiber and Dr. Nik Dhurandhar
Nutritional Sciences

Ms. Kloiber and Dr. Dhurandhar are using AIG funds to comprehensively assess the department's new online MS program in Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics. Kloiber and Dhurandhar will be designing and administering a Qualtrics survey to assess “1) which aspects of the current program meet the needs of students, and which need modification and 2) which additional courses will enhance our program offerings.” A student teaching assistant will be hired to support the assessment of this degree program.

Helpful Training Resources

The Office of Planning and Assessment is pleased to offer numerous online training resources related to Nuventive Improve for academic and non-academic assessment reporting. These resources are located on the OPA webpage under “Nuventive Improve” and include brief training videos, a Nuventive Improve Instruction Manual, and a Program-Level Student Learning Outcomes Handbook. The below training videos are currently available: