Assessment Scholars

In spring 2007, the Office of Assessment issued a call for three Assessment Scholars to collect and analyze evidence of student learning that goes beyond "student perceptions" of their learning. The program seeks to promote scholarship of assessment among faculty at SIUE; assess SIUE University-wide student-learning initiatives/goals, including New Freshman Seminar; promote scholarship of assessment among faculty at SIUE; and keep SIUE on the cutting-edge of assessment scholarship.

Three Assessment Scholar projects were selected for funding for the 2007-08 year. They include:

• Denise DeGarmo of Political Science is researching faculty and University expectations of global competency. She will then use multiple devices to measure and assess global competency of SIUE students. 
  
• Julia Hansen and Lydia Jackson of Library and Information Services are assessing the information literacy skills of new freshmen at SIUE. In addition, they plan to work with faculty to establish information competency standards for students, improve library instruction at SIUE, and promote campus-wide discussions of information literacy.
  
• E. Duff Wrobbel of Speech Communication, who is assessing SIUE’s New Freshman Seminar. He is evaluating how well students in NFS courses are achieving the three main goals of the program: to assist freshmen in making the transition to college-level work and expectations, to orient new freshmen to the services and culture of SIUE, and to engage students in an intellectual community of students and faculty.

Assessment Scholars received $1,000 in equipment per project, and will receive up to $1,000 for direct costs of implantation of their projects. They will also receive $750 after submitting their findings, and $750 in additional funds following submission of manuscripts to scholarly, relevant, peer-reviewed journals. Additionally, travel expenses to present their research at a conference in the United States will be reimbursed.

This is the second time Assessment Scholars have been utilized at the University; during the 2001-2002 academic year, three faculty members conducted separate studies of student writing utilizing portfolios of student material collected by the Office of Undergraduate Assessment and Program Review. Ellen Lavelle of Educational Leadership studied the quality of student writing at SIUE from freshman through senior years; Lesa Stern of Speech Communication evaluated the structure and format of instructors’ written comments on students’ papers; and Robert Ware of Philosophy compared writing programs across various SIUE curriculums with that of other institutions.