A recommended closed-loop assessment of learning outcomes process for hospitality programs

Abstract

Purpose Because of the increasingly higher expectations of accrediting organizations, calls for greater accountability from state governments and students’ demand for an education that prepares them for a career, most hospitality programs are now required to have an effective assessment of learning outcomes process. The increasing popularity of the assessment of learning outcomes process is viewed as highly positive because it can be considered as best-practices in higher education. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach This is Part 2 of a two-part article that provides an overview of the justifications for implementing an assessment of learning outcomes process, the steps that were developed by two hospitality programs, and the experiences of the two programs during implementation. Findings The steps in a closed-loop assessment of learning outcomes process are relatively detailed; however, because of changes in expectations of stakeholders and the requirements of accreditors, they are now mandatory for most hospitality programs. Therefore, the choice is not whether to implement them, but when. From a competitive standpoint, it is to the program’s advantage to begin as soon as possible. Another factor to consider is that the implementation of a closed-loop assessment of learning outcomes process will take several years to complete. Originality/value This paper is presenting a critical view of one of, if not the most important concepts in higher education, the closed-loop assessment of learning outcomes process. Hopefully, the information on the process that is provided and the experiences of the two programs can shorten the learning curve for other hospitality programs.

The IMPORTANCE AND CHALLENGES OF OUTCOME-BASED EDUCATION €“ a CASE STUDY IN a PRIVATE HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION

“…For the fifth step, rubrics were developed to provide standardisation for the measurement and evaluation of students' performance. This is in line with the study carried out by Reich et al (2019b) that suggested a fast and proper evaluation of students' performance can be used for OBE reporting. At this stage, coursework is selected over the final examination, as coursework can be used as a tool to measure knowledge, and assess problem-solving and other essential skills among students.…”

“…Students should be given different roles and assessments to enhance their learning experiences. Consequently, over-assessment of student learning can be avoided (Matthews & Mercer-Mapstone, 2018) as the assessments could be mapped to the intended learning outcomes through formative and summative assessment (Reich, Collins, DeFranco, & Pieper, 2019b).…”

“…These are observed and monitored in the classroom setting. Indirect assessment, such as employers' satisfaction and graduate job placements, is a method to obtain feedback from external stakeholders on the quality of students and/ or graduates to help improve the programme (Djoundourian, 2017;Reich et al, 2019b). Therefore, for assessment common courses such as Community Project (Koh et al, 2014) and Internship were also selected, along with the common core courses taught in the classroom-settings.…”

“…For the fourth step, course learning outcomes for the selected courses were reviewed. This is to ensure that the teaching and learning methodologies, and assessment can be mapped more systematically that could provide evidence on the OBE process and serve as informed teaching and industry feedback (Reich et al, 2019b). In total, there were eleven courses selected, and these were classified to the nine PLOs at the undergraduate level studies in this business school.…”

“…Through these tests, flaws were identified and actions were taken to enhance the analyses of assessment data. As supported by Kim and Helms (2016) and Reich et al (2019b), testing was conducted to ensure that the rubrics developed can serve the grading guide in schools and eliminate bias. Furthermore, it improved the robustness of the analysis by comparing the results across modules in different programmes.…”