8.2.c     Student outcomes: academic and student services

The institution identifies expected outcomes, assesses the extent to which it achieves these outcomes, and provides evidence of seeking improvement based on analysis of the results for academic and student services that support student success.

Non-Compliance

The institutional process for assessing outcomes of academic and student services is the same process used for assessing administrative effectiveness as described in Standards 7.3 and 8.2.a. The institution defines its academic and student support services as those within the areas of Academic Affairs, Enrollment Management, Student Affairs, and University College as well as select units reporting to the president. Three cycles (2015-2016, 2016-2017, and 2017-2018) of administrative assessment plans, reports, and reflections were provided for each of the units engaged in the process. Per the assessment process described in 8.2.a, units complete the planning cycle in “late Spring/Summer into early Fall;” therefore, the 2018-2019 planning cycle was not completed at the time the Compliance Certification was submitted.

The documents for the previous planning cycles outline units’ mission, goals, measures, findings/action plans, and reflections. The institution also provides descriptive evidence of improvements that result from planning for approximately 20 percent of the units; this sample appears to be representative of all academic and student support units. While as in Standard 7.3, a summary table of completion for each stage of the process indicates that participation decreases from the planning step to the reflection step, overall participation in the process is much higher for academic and student support services.

The Student Affairs units identify Student Learning Outcomes to measure and assess, and other units identify Outcomes/Objectives. “Continuous monitoring” was the recommended action for many goals (particularly for the student learning outcomes) with little additional explanation. Because the most current cycle of assessment was not completed at the time the Compliance Certification was submitted, the On-Site Reaffirmation Committee should evaluate the most recent plans during its review to ensure the institution is “seeking improvement based on the analysis of results.”

iNSTITUTION’S rESPONSE

UL Lafayette continues to assess student outcomes for its academic and student services. Three full cycles of assessment for 2015-2016, 2016-2017, and 2017-2018 were provided in the initial compliance report. At the request of the Off-site review committee, the 2018-2019 assessment reports are provided in Table 8.2.c – 1 for the departments and divisions supporting student success in Academic Affairs, Enrollment Management, Student Affairs, and University College.

The Office of Institutional Assessment works with division-wide assessment liaisons to promote best practices, including formulating descriptive improvement plans based on the analysis of results. Within each report, improvement narratives linked to specific goals and criteria are located within the section labeled “Results & Improvements”. When criteria are not met, an improvement must be identified; in those cases where all criterion have been met in a given cycle, departments are still expected to identify at least one improvement based on results of their assessment data. Additional year-end reflection questions provide insight into the assessment process and the analysis of results and improvements; these reflections are available in the section labeled “Reflections”. VP Student Affairs uses a modified assessment template which accounts for all departments within the division reporting against common divisional goals. As such, the improvements and reflections are located in sections labeled “Summary of Improvement Narratives” and “Reflections”, respectively.

Table 8.2.c – 1: Assessment Reports by Academic and Student Services Departments

in Most Recent (2018-2019) Assessment Cycle

Summary

All assessment plans for academic and student support services for the most recently completed 2018-2019 cycle are presented for review by the On-Site Reaffirmation Committee. These plans represent all of the academic and support units across the institution. The “Results & Improvement” and “Reflection” sections provide evidence of units seeking improvement based on the goals and results of assessment data. UL Lafayette continues to support and encourage more detailed and specific reporting of improvements made within units to demonstrate continuous improvement each cycle.