Introduction

Minutes

Members

November 10, 2002

Dear Occupational Program Director:

Thank you for submitting your program’s evaluation matrix for measuring program outcomes.  Enclosed you will find other occupational program matrices that can be referred to as you add to your program’s protocol for assessing outcomes.  For easy reference, I have also included a summary table indicating Phoenix College Occupational Program’s assessment methods.

You might be wondering what do I do with this information and what next?

Please peruse the materials and review what other programs are doing to measure how students are being prepared for the workforce.  If you see an evaluation method that is of interest to you, or one that might be useful to your program, call the Director and inquire about it.  It is important to learn from one another.  Equally important is updating your matrix yearly.  We will be asking for an updated version of this matrix, sent electronically, in April.  I’d like to suggest adding one evaluation method yearly.  And finally, look at the data at the bottom of the matrix that describes the changes made in the program as a result of the methodologies used.  Feedback and changes in program content is valuable information to successful program outcomes. 

I was impressed with the variety of methods that our programs are using.  Many programs are using both direct and indirect methods, which Accreditation encourages and recommends.  Direct assessment tools:  national boards, exams, portfolios and capstone courses, are a direct measurement of student’s skills in an area.  Indirect measures:  employer surveys, graduate surveys, patient satisfaction surveys and number of certificates or degree, suggest or imply that a student has developed the outcome.  In the future, try to include at least one of each.

What’s next?  We need to establish a second outcome statement.  Do you have an idea?  If so please contact me and I will be happy to come to your office and talk about it.

Thank you again.

Sincerely,

Kristin Anderson, Occupational Assessment Chair