Campus teams from the 33 members of CIC’s Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) Consortium shared their progress in using the CLA to document student learning during a meeting on August 6–7 in Washington, DC. Participants at this third annual meeting compared notes on sharing CLA results with faculty members and key administrators, explored ways to improve teaching and learning, and discovered a new resource for using the CLA in classroom settings.

Comparing Score Results. The meeting began with participants reviewing the CLA score reports from 2006–2007 for their campuses. Results were discussed by campus teams, comparing this year’s report with prior reports, and comparing results with other campus assessment activities. Participants then shared important discoveries and raised probing questions with other attendees.

Developed by the Council for Aid to Education (CAE), the CLA assesses the “value-added” contribution of an institution to gains in students’ higher order skills, such as critical thinking, analytic reasoning, problem solving, and written communication. Two types of scores are provided. An actual score shows how students performed relative to their ability—at, above, or below expected—for samples of first-year and senior students. The “value-added” score indicates how the first-year to senior gains on these higher order skills compare with other institutions.

Sharing Institutional Practices. A significant portion of the meeting was devoted to sharing institutional practices in using the CLA for positive change. Terrence Grimes, vice president for academic affairs, described how Barton College (NC), which has shared CLA results even with prospective students and their parents, is using CLA results as hard evidence—not simply anecdotal accounts—to continue to press for improvements in student writing and critical thinking skills. “We’re using the CLA to change campus culture,” Grimes said. Marian Sherwood, director of institutional research at Allegheny College (PA), detailed campus efforts to compare CLA results with data from other assessment efforts.

Additional sessions addressed other campus strategies to use the CLA to improve student learning. Jeffrey Babetz, director of institutional effectiveness at Charleston Southern University (SC), and Linda Webster, interim associate dean of the faculty and director of assessment at Westminster College (MO), discussed approaches to sharing the institutions’ CLA reports with key campus constituents. Strategies for engaging members of the faculty were shared by Joel Frederickson, assistant dean of institutional assessment at Bethel University (MN), and Brandon Claycomb, chair of the arts and humanities division at Marian College (WI). Comparing CLA results with data from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) was the topic of a discussion led by Charlie McCormick, dean for academic affairs, and Chad May, director of institutional research and analysis, both at Cabrini College (PA).

CLA in the Classroom. A new resource for using CLA in classroom settings was unveiled at the meeting. This tool was developed by CAE in response to requests from members of the CIC/CLA Consortium. Marc Chun, director of the CLA in the Classroom initiative, and Esther Hong, program manager at CAE, demonstrated the resource using a mock version of CLA results and engaged participants in a simulation. Representatives from Cabrini College, including McCormick, May, and Lisa Ratmansky, director of the center for teaching and learning, described their experience as the first campus to pilot this new tool. The CLA in the Classroom promises to have a marked impact on engaging faculty members, incorporating other sources of evidence, and ultimately fostering an environment on campus in which assessment is taken seriously.

Additional Perspectives. Participants also heard from two noted assessment experts. “The Erosion of Faith in Higher Education” was the topic of a presentation by Richard Hersh, co-director of the CLA and former president of Trinity College (CT) and of Hobart and William Smith Colleges (NY). He argued that American higher education can no longer accept by “faith” that it produces liberally educated graduates but instead must provide solid evidence of such outcomes. “We have to be better diagnosticians when it comes to teaching and learning,” Hersh said, “and that’s where assessment becomes a powerful way of teaching.”

Donna Heiland, vice president of the Teagle Foundation, provided observations on assessing student learning gleaned from the numerous projects supported by Teagle. These efforts, Heiland claimed, are raising a new level of awareness and engagement with evidenced-based efforts to improve student learning and faculty instruction. The Teagle Foundation is generously supporting the work of the CIC/CLA Consortium.

Going Deeper. Participants also learned additional strategies for using the CLA at a deeper level to improve student learning. Harold V. Hartley III, vice president for research and evaluation at CIC, along with CAE’s Chun, presented preliminary findings from their analysis of CLA and NSSE data from Consortium institutions, suggesting connections participants might explore on their own campuses. Methods for conducting between-group comparisons using in-depth sampling were detailed by Alex Nemeth, program manager at CAE. Finally, an introduction to designing course-level performance tasks was presented by CAE’s Chun and Hong.

Key Lessons. Two key lessons have emerged from the consortial experience. First, engagement of faculty members in assessment is essential to improve student learning. Second, CLA results are best interpreted when used in conjunction with other assessment measures, such as NSSE and portfolio analyses. Taken together, these lessons point to an even larger agenda—that of creating a campus culture of assessment that is based on evidence.

Next Phase. Thanks to a substantial recent grant from the Teagle Foundation, the CIC/CLA Consortium will extend its work with a new phase running from 2008 through 2011. Participants were given details about this opportunity, which will continue to feature annual summer meetings of Consortium member institutions. Campuses selected to participate in the next phase of the Consortium will be asked to adopt broad assessment strategies that will feature the CLA as one of several sources of evidence of student learning.

Institutions participating in the CLA Consortium’s summer meeting included Alaska Pacific University, Allegheny College (PA), Aurora University (IL), Averett University (VA), Barton College (NC), Bethel University (MN), Cabrini College (PA), Charleston Southern University (SC), Franklin Pierce University (NH), Heritage University (WA), Indiana Wesleyan University, Loyola University New Orleans (LA), Lynchburg College (VA), Marian College (WI), Pace University (NY), Seton Hill University (PA), Southwestern University (TX), Stonehill College (MA), Texas Lutheran University, University of Charleston (WV), University of Evansville (IN), University of Great Falls (MT), Ursinus College (PA), Ursuline College (OH), Wagner College (NY), Wartburg College (IA), Westminster College (MO), Westminster College (UT), and William Woods University (MO).

Additional information is available here or by contacting Harold V. Hartley III, CIC’s vice president for research and evaluation, at hhartley@cic.nche.edu or (202) 466-7230.