DE Oracle @ UMUC

TaskStream AMS for Facilitating Outcomes Assessment

Daniel McCollum

Senior Outcomes Assessment Associate

Other

Published: March-April 2011

Category: » Online-pedagogy » Teaching-tools

Introduction

At UMUC, we continue to expand and improve learning outcomes assessment. Part of this effort means collaborating with more university stakeholders in the process. To facilitate university-wide discussion and review of student learning, UMUC recently purchased a software-for-service from TaskStream called the Accountability Management System (AMS). AMS streamlines the management of content, resources, and communication related to continuous improvement projects such as outcomes assessment. This article briefly examines learning outcomes assessment, its role at UMUC, and how TaskSteam AMS will help administer the outcomes assessment process.

What is Learning Outcomes Assessment?

Although the definitions vary, learning outcomes assessment is a continuous process based on a curricular approach that begins with a well-articulated, expected ending. With learning outcomes established, students know what learning is expected and the evidence needed to demonstrate their learning. Within the overall outcomes assessment process, various curricular elements (e.g., outcomes, measures, and instructional tools) are designed, aligned, re-designed, and re-aligned over time. Learning outcomes assessment is a formative, developmental function whose ongoing goal is to improve student learning.

Because it is focused on student learning, learning outcomes assessment is good practice for any educational institution. It is also a federal mandate for those in higher education: Each regional accreditation body evaluates institutional success in achieving student learning, and an institution's regional accreditation status is linked to federal funding.

Learning Outcomes Assessment at UMUC

Though it may seem new, UMUC has engaged in learning outcomes assessment for over 10 years. Over those years, the outcomes assessment process has resulted in changes in organizational structure, course design, and methods for gathering and reporting on outcomes data. With UMUC approaching its periodic review from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), our regional accreditation body, we are focused again, as we were for our full accreditation review in 2006, on strongly examining our learning outcomes assessment process. As we are moving toward our 2016 full re-accreditation review, we are seeing improved learning outcomes assessment practice at UMUC. Part of the expansion and improvement of learning outcomes assessment at UMUC is bringing people to collaborate in the effort, including much-needed input on student learning from our Europe and Asia divisions.

Facilitating Outcomes Assessment with TaskStream AMS

Outcomes assessment will be a built-in part of our work at UMUC. As our systemic, comprehensive, systematic learning outcomes assessment process emerges, it will be implemented and organized using TaskStream AMS, which will serve as an interactive portal within which learning outcomes assessment planning, implementation, and results will be centrally documented. AMS provides the hub from which all learning outcomes assessment knowledge can be extracted—including internal reports for Academic Program Review (APR) and external reports for organizations such as MSCHE. In time, UMUC’s use of AMS will promote greater inclusion of more internal stakeholders in student learning outcomes assessment and ease the process of meeting the requirements of our various external stakeholders.

To help manage the large-scale, ongoing process, AMS provides a streamlined system from which all assessment planning, documentation, and reporting will be created and tracked. The tasks that can be conducted within AMS include:

For implementing learning outcomes assessment, each program will have its own workspace—a central location for student assessment work, including managing an APR and providing evidence of learning for specialized accreditors. Results on student performance can be followed over time, and the quality of our assessment process (i.e., meta-assessment) can also be assessed. Outcomes/student learning expectations at any level can be tied upward to the next level to create an overall picture of student learning across a program, school, or UMUC as a whole. These reports will be used to inform strategic planning and budgeting decisions. 

Configuration and implementation of AMS began in October 2010. Training of university personnel began in January 2011 and is ongoing, as needed. TaskStream provides UMUC with unlimited training and support.

To stimulate the evolution of our learning outcomes assessment process, UMUC is also engaged in a pilot study of TaskStream’s Learning Achievement Tool (LAT). LAT is an e-portfolio system that tracks assessment at the student level and can be subsequently tied upward. The possibility of using an e-portfolio approach will move us to an outcomes assessment process that is focused at the best possible level—where instructors interact with students—and allow students to show off their best work, which will also be our display of our success in student learning.

As UMUC moves forward with TaskStream, please direct questions to Dr. Dan McCollum in the Office of Evaluation and Assessment, Anna Van Wie in the School of Undergraduate Studies, and Dr. Yan Zhang in the Graduate School.

Resources

TaskStream Web site: http://www.taskstream.com/