Assessment of Student Learning

The assessment of student learning directly relates to the mission of Red Rocks Community College: “To develop and support lifelong learners so they may live fuller lives and add value to the communities in which they live and work.” This mission focuses on the development of learning and learners. We see effective assessment as a means to determine whether students achieve the desired outcomes.

At Red Rocks Community College, the purpose of assessment is to gather data on student outcomes/achievement and to use that information to improve instructional strategies and student learning. One of the College’s assumptions about assessment is that it leads to institutional renewal and improvement. Only through this revitalization will RRCC survive in our competitive and constantly changing environment. Only through a focus on student achievement and the measurement of that achievement can we develop the lifelong learners promised by our mission. To produce these learners, we must discover which learning strategies work and which do not, and whether certain learners do better with certain strategies. Routine and constant assessment is the major way Red Rocks can determine whether we are helping students become lifelong learners, learners whose attitudes and skills lead them to continuous learning on the job and in life tasks.

The Assessment Committee is responsible for coordinating the activities associated with the assessment of student learning and providing faculty and staff with the resources they need to more effectively accomplish the College's mission. The Assessment Committee employs the following strategies to facilitate the assessment of student learning:

• Assisting all discipline and program areas in the collection, analysis, and practical application of their data,
• Conducting and/or scheduling professional development workshops,
• Examining the effectiveness of past practices and procedures,
• Exploring and communicating more effective assessment strategies and ways to apply assessment findings,
• Developing strategies for enhancing administrative and faculty ownership of assessment,
• Developing strategies for accelerating the development of a "culture of assessment," and
• Presenting our findings to college, community, and professional stakeholders.

Content:

Assessment Plan (word format)

Assessment Plan (html format)

Assessment Links

Taking Assessment Beyond Philosophy and Into Practice (PowerPoint file)

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