Assessment

The General Education Outcomes, based on the DACC Mission Statement, are the "core skills" the college aims to impart to its students.

Communication

Learners express themselves clearly and concisely. 
Performance Indicators:

Organization: Demonstrate organized communication through various modalities

Content: Use evidence to support main idea and use topic related terminology

Mechanics: Use appropriate grammatical structure

Presentation: Use tone, style, and conventions that are appropriate to the audience, context, and purpose

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

Learners evaluate the credibility and significance of information.   
Performance Indicators:

Identification: Define problem, identify relevant information, define terms, and analyze assumptions

Usage: Frame questions, make predictions, and design data collection and analyze strategies

Position or Solution: Form a conclusion based on the evidence and analysis of data, information and/or viewpoints

Technology

Learners apply current and emerging technologies.   
Performance Indicators:

Integration: Select the proper tool to perform the task and troubleshoot any difficulties encountered

Utilization: Apply proper usage of the tool

Evaluation: Analyze the effectiveness of the tool

Cultural Awareness and Social Skills

Learners recognize cultural perspectives, beliefs, and attitudes different from their own.   
Performance Indicators:

Cooperation: Foster a constructive team climate

Professional and Ethical Behavior: Display proper respect and consideration based on the situation

Self-Awareness: Articulate insight into own cultural point of view and biases

Cultural Awareness: Identify and acknowledge cultural perspectives and values different from their own

For questions concerning the DACC assessment process, please contact:   
Dr. Penny McConnell, Assistant Vice President, Academic Affairs 
Dr. Amy Nicely, Assessment Coordinator

For questions concerning DACC institutional assessment and effectiveness, please contact:
Dr. Carl Bridges, Provost and Vice President, Academic and Student Affairs

For division specific questions you may contact the DACC Assessment Champions:   
Business and Technology: Jen Slavik   
Liberal Arts: Ryan Wyckoff   
Math, Sciences and Health Professions: Wendy Brown   
Department of Corrections: Bailey Maxey   
Co-Curricular: Stephanie Loveless

DACC Assessment Videos - The Jag Wire

Assessment Newsletter - Spring 2024

Assessment Newsletter - Fall 2023

Assessment Newsletter - Spring 2023

GENERAL EDUCATION RUBRICS

ASSESSMENT REPORTS

CURRICULUM MAPS

Assessment Rubrics and Reports are submitted to the Division's Champion electronically. For questions concerning your assessments contact your Division's Champions. Champion contact info is listed on the Assessment Home page.

DACC CO-CURRICULAR OUTCOMES

The outcomes align with the General Education Outcomes.

CO-CURRICULAR REPORT AND FORMS

Co-Curricular Report

Download the report and corresponding rubric to begin planning. All reports and rubrics should be submitted together to the Co-curricular champion.

CO-CURRICULAR RUBRICS

CO-CURRICULAR RESOURCES

Outlines the process and how to use the assessment forms for DACC Co-Curricular Assessment.

Additional resources forthcoming...

INTERESTED IN JOINING OUR CO-CURRICULAR GROUPS?

Complete the Questionnaire and email Stephanie at s.loveless@dacc.edu

DACC NON-ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT

Contacts: Thomas Carey | Stacy Ehmen

What is Non-Academic Assessment?

Department/Office Assessment Planning Chart with Examples

Department Assessment Q&A 3-25-2021 Recording

Department/Office Assessment Report

Assessment Tools:

DACC Data

DACC Mission

Strategic Planning @ DACC

LOOKING FOR IDEAS OR TIPS?

These links will help you assess student learning

PROGRAM/DISCIPLINE LEVEL ASSESSMENT

Teaching and Learning Online: Communication, Community and Assessment — Another useful resource published online by the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. This one addresses a particularly thorny assessment issue, at least in part — assessment of online classes. Not as hands on as the other UMass handbooks, at least in the Assessment section, this one at least considers this underexamined issue.

University of Central Florida's Program Assessment Handbook — a "big picture" guide to the program assessment process that explains the why and the what as well as the how.

COURSE LEVEL ASSESSMENT

COURSE-Based Review and Assessment: Methods for Understanding Student Learning A wonderful resource published online by the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. This handbook walks users through the process of thinking out and developing assessments from start to finish, including the reasoning process behind the choices they need to make.

University of Wisconsin - Madison: Assessment Manual— includes a comprehensive variety of departmental and institutional level techniques.

North Carolina State University - Internet Resources for Higher Education Outcomes Assessment— A rich collection of web links that will direct you to solid resources. This information on this site is frequently updated.

Teachervision.com: Creating Rubrics: Inspire Your Students and Foster Critical Thinking — demonstrates how a single rubric can be applied to a variety of subject areas with only modest changes.

SPECIFIC ASSESSMENT LINKS

The Math Forum at Drexel University — Assessment and Testing

The University of Illinois UC - Center for Teaching Excellence - Unit Outcomes Assessment Plans — the individual program assessment plans of different units of the University of Illinois

The University of Maryland University College Program Assessment Plans — detailed plans for each unit of university

Arapahoe Community College — 5 years worth of specific program assessments.

American Psychological Association's (APA) Assessment Cyberguide — detailed information for psychology departments about how to develop program assessments in psychology, looking at topic specific issues as well as considering what types of techniques work best to provide usable assessment data. 

RESOURCES

Several databases offer rich troves of information on student learning assessment. In order to use them effectively, think carefully about the keywords you use. Remember that certain words will appear in almost every citation, so be specific and consider whether today's jargon might have had different "code words" a few years ago. "Rubrics" or "muddiest point" are going to be significantly more useful terms than either "student" or "education". Also, enclose phrases in quotation marks: "classroom assessment techniques". Most databases will then search the terms as a unit rather than as separate words.

The EbscoHost Professional Collection. Ebsco's Academic Search Premier Database is also rich in education-related content. Both are available through the DACC Library's home page

Practical Assessment Research and Evaluation online journal

ERIC Digests — short reports on educational subjects

ERIC — accessible through both EbscoHost and FirstSearch on the Library's Home Page.

DISCUSSION LISTS

Subscribe to discussion lists by sending an email message to the listserver. Make sure to turn off any automatic signature file you may use. In most cases, you will want to leave the subject line blank and put the following text into the body of the message (substituting your own name where appropriate): subscribe list-name your-first-name your-last-name

ASSESS — Listserver: listserv@lsv.uky.edu (University of Kentucky-Lexington). Topic: assessment in higher education.

FYA-List — Listserver: listserv@vm.sc.edu (University of South Carolina). Topic: evaluating students' experiences and success in the first year of college.

ASSESS-W — Listserver: listserv@listserv.louisville.edu (University of Louisville). Topic: assessing writing.

PORTFOLIO-L — Listserver: listserv@henson.cc.kzoo.edu (Kalamazoo College). Topic: portfolio assessment.