A Brief History of the New Mexico Junior College Assessment of Student Learning Plan

In 1995, New Mexico Junior College submitted a plan to the North Central Association for assessment of student academic achievement. The focus of this plan was on testing and placement of students in appropriate courses. In addition, the plan included numerous institutional indirect indicators (ie., graduation follow-up studies, registry results, grading trends, etc.)

In September 1995, an evaluation team of the Commission of Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools recommended that New Mexico Junior College submit a revised and appropriate plan for assessment of student academic achievement by June 30, 1996. An Assessment Committee of Student Academic Achievement consisting of 7 faculty members formulated and presented a plan to the administration in spring 1995. This plan was subsequently submitted to the North Central Association. The focus of this plan was on commitment of the administration and education of faculty. Assessment efforts were made by individual faculty, but no organized campus-wide plan was implemented. Several attempts were made to reactivate assessment on campus; but with changes in faculty and administrative personnel, responsibility for assessment activities remained with individual faculty.

Assessment efforts were rejuvenated in November 2002 with the activation of a new Outcomes Assessment Committee (OAC). Through regular meetings, this faculty led committee first focused on identifying student learning outcomes. By the end of spring 2003, the committee had adopted 7 institutional student learning outcomes (Appendix A), studied different methods of assessing these outcomes, and recommended the hiring of an assessment coordinator.

The New Mexico Junior College Board of Trustees, upon recommendation of the administration, approved the position of Director of Learning and Assessment in April 2003. The Director’s primary responsibilities included

providing leadership for the development and implementation of a college-wide assessment plan in conjunction with college constituencies
designing, planning and initiating professional development and learning activities that enable faculty and staff to facilitate student learning.

During 2003-2004, the OAC developed a statement on assessment and revised the institutional student learning outcomes with the goal of making the outcomes more assessable. The OAC recognizes that the following statement and outcomes will undergo continuous review.

:Statement on Assessment: :Student Learning Outcomes: :Description of the Assessment Plan: :Process for the Departmental Assessment Plan: :Process for Compiling the Institutional Portfolio: :Outcomes Assessment Committee: :Assessment Resources: