| Session Title: Policy and Practice Implications of a Multi-faceted Approach to Building Evaluation Capacity in Community Colleges |
| Multipaper Session 506 to be held in Capitol Ballroom Section 3 on Friday, Nov 7, 9:15 AM to 10:45 AM |
| Sponsored by the Assessment in Higher Education TIG |
| Chair(s): |
| William Rickards, Alverno College, william.rickards@alverno.edu |
| Discussant(s): |
| Mary Williams, Lumina Foundation, mwilliams@luminafoundation.org |
| Peggy Valdez-Fergason, Independent Consultant, pvaldezfergason@comcast.net |
| Abstract: This session brings together two independently developed approaches that are now coming together to create a complementary assessment strategy for community colleges. The strategy leverages both the organized and self-organizing system dynamics within community colleges. One approach focuses on the use of college-wide multiple data sources to identify college-wide issues about student learning and success that need to be addressed. The second approach uses a strategy of building Communities of Learning, Inquiry, and Practice (CLIPs). CLIPs are a structure for self-selected groups of faculty and staff to collaboratively investigate questions about their work. They undertake a three step evaluative inquiry process. The two processes work together to build a college-wide culture of inquiry. These papers address issues of policy and practice based on over three years of experience and research about the assessment and inquiry processes discussed in the papers. |
| Using Institutional Databases to Improve Student Achievement: The Role of Data Facilitators |
| Richard Voorhees, Voorhees Group LLC, rick@voorheesgroup.org |
| Over 80 community colleges nation-wide are involved in developing strategies to ensure student success through the 'Achieving the Dream' initiative of the Lumina Foundation. A vital part of the initiative is providing a 'data facilitator' for each college. The data facilitator plays a key role in helping a team (composed of many different stakeholders) analyze institutional level data to serve as the basis for policy and practice decisions about instructional and other changes to support student success. This paper describes lessons learned by a data facilitator as he helped colleges build their capacity to use data to make institutional level decisions. The paper addresses the broad policy issues both for colleges and for funders and leaders of large scale national initiatives. The paper looks at the complementary nature of the use of institutional level data with the use of self-organizing groups such as Communities of Learning, Inquiry, and Practice (CLIPs). |
| Faculty Engagement Through Communities of Learning, Inquiry, and Practice (CLIPs) |
| Beverly Parsons, InSites, beverlyaparsons@aol.com |
| Communities of Learning, Inquiry and Practice (CLIPs) are self-selected groups of faculty and staff who collaboratively investigate questions about their work. They undertake a three step evaluative inquiry process and operate under a set of Guiding Principles that integrate research on complex adaptive systems, inquiry processes, learning theory, communities of practice, appreciative inquiry, and change processes. The testing of the CLIP process at a California community college under a National Science Foundation grant showed that the process 1) builds collaborative relationships, 2) enhances evaluative inquiry skills, and 3) leads to changes in professional practice. This paper provides the theoretical basis for the CLIPs and the key findings from a three year action research study. It looks at how the CLIP process complements a more structured analysis of institutional level data to build a sustainable culture of inquiry and evidence based decision making. |