The Impact of Student Learning Outcomes Assessment on Technical and Professional Communication Programs

Abstract

Because of accreditation, budget, and accountability pressures at the institutional and program levels, technical and professional communication faculty are more than ever involved in assessment-based activities. Using assessment to identify a program's strengths and weaknesses allows faculty to work toward continuous improvement based on their articulation of learning and behavioral goals and outcomes for their graduates. This article describes the processes of program assessment based on pedagogical goals, pointing out options and opportunities that will lead to a meaningful and manageable experience for technical communication faculty, and concludes with a view of how the larger academic body of technical communication programs can benefit from such work. As ATTW members take a careful look at the state of the profession from the academic perspective, we can use assessment to further direct our programs to meet professional expectations and, far more importantly, to help us meet the needs of the well-educated technical communicator.If there is a single hot topic in higher education these days, one that readily embraces so many other competing hot topics, it may well be assessment. In many ways, the assessment movement in American higher education has moved beyond its infancy and at least toward adolescence, if not maturity, in our educational environment (Ewell). The potential impact on our programs in technical and professional communication is significant. Although sometimes resisted, assessment has also proven to be powerfully effective for planning, designing, and promoting distinctive programs and then recruiting desirable students and faculty, as evidenced by the nationally recognized work at of assessment to help with quality initiatives, as well as institutional image and even donor relations, is equally attractive to those who understand, manage, and support quality assessment initiatives and, more important, quality education. As ATTW and its members take a closer look at the role of academics and effective planning, individual programs can also benefit from systematic self-examination of the current state of the curriculum as a means of planning for the future based on data gathered about the student experience and learning outcomes.Most institutions now have assessment work underway, whether that work was imposed by the state, accrediting bodies, or their own administration. The best scenario of all, of course, occurs when assessment arises from the genuine curiosity of the faculty as a simple question: "Does what we do matter?" In fact, the critical power of assessment depends directly on the faculty's taking charge of assessment's processes and opportunities. As an exclusively designed top-down mandate, assessment rarely has a chance to succeed beyond the immediate applications imposed by accreditation (or other mandates). As challenging as assessment may be-given faculty loads and other demands-it is far preferable, in most cases, to the experiences of other countries (and even a few states in t...

Assessing Student Learning Outcomes at a Land-Grant Research Institution

“…Brand new programs, programs with no or low enrollments were exempt from this process, which included the development of SLOs by each program and the evaluation of student data or artifacts to report on progress towards the identified SLOs. The second phase entails a systematic assessment of the SLO reports (Allen, 2004) used to provide feedback reports. Both phases included qualitative and quantitative data used to answer the research question regarding the assessment process.…”

“…Student learning outcomes (SLOs) provide programmatic context and guidance on decision making that promotes engagement and achievement (Allen, 2004). While this is commonly driven by accreditation accountability, SLOs ensure that institutions provide quality education to their entire student body.…”

A Field Wide Snapshot of Student Learning Outcomes in the Technical and Professional Communication Service Course

“…Allen (2004) argued for the need to embed assessment of learning outcomes in programmatic work, to “monitor the ongoing needs” (p. 95) of the program rather than including it as an afterthought. TPC did take Allen's advice to heart and to date the field has a robust body of work that addresses assessment and SLOs (see e.g., Carter et al, 2003; Coppola et al, 2016; Henschel & Melonçon, 2014; St.Amant & Nahrwold, 2007).…”

Beyond Flexibility and Convenience

“…Using learning outcomes as the basis for program assessment makes assessment first and foremost a tool to show the “evidence of impact” that a program curriculum has on student learning. Such outcomes assessment also becomes a “means for continuous improvement” of that curriculum and those approaches that help students learn (Allen, 2004, p. 94). This strategy fits well within our university’s requirements for annual assessment reports focused on student outcomes.…”