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Grants in Higher Education

TEAGLE FOUNDATION GRANTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

GRANTS TO CONSORTIA FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES

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February 2009

Great Lakes College Association (GLCA), Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM), and the Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts at Wabash College
Study Abroad Learning and Cost Alliance
Project Leader: Rick Detweiler

 

 $214,863 over 37 months to support three complementary studies that are focused on the relationship of study abroad experiences and student learning: (1) The Learning from Study Abroad Project which will use the Learning from Study Abroad instrument (LSA) at a large scale (funded by a previous Teagle grant); (2) The Expanded Context for Liberal Arts Learning Project which will modify programming and curricular practices on the basis of data collected from the LSA; and (3) The Costs of Study Abroad Project which will run a cost analysis of study abroad programs.

Southern Education Foundation (SEF)
Accreditation, Quality Enhancement Plans and Documentation of Student Learning Outcomes
Project Leader: Lynn Huntley

 

 $300,000 over 36 months to support SEF member institutions in developing Quality Enhancement Plans (QEPs)—an important accreditation requirement of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools—especially as it relates to assessment and documentation of student learning outcomes.


November 2008

The Association of American Colleges and Universities
The Engaged Department: Building Cross-Departmental Faculty Leadership for Liberal Education Outcomes | Project Website
Project Leader: Terrel Rhodes

 

 $303,969 over 24 months to develop and implement an annual summer institute focused on building faculty leadership within and across departments for the assessment and improvement of student achievement of liberal education outcomes. This project was developed with a planning grant from the Teagle Foundation.


February 2008

The Council of Independent Colleges
Supplemental Funds to Extend the Work of the CIC-Collegiate Learning Assessment Consortium | Project website
Project Leader: Rich Ekman

 

 $120,000 over 34 months. A February 2007 Teagle Foundation grant, supported a three-year extension of the work of the CIC-Collegiate Learning Assessment Consortium to 35 institutions. A request for proposals from CIC to colleges interested in participating in the consortium drew an overwhelming response: 27 of the original 33 members, along with 38 new institutions submitted proposals. All proposals met the criteria for participation, offering credible plans for administering the CLA instrument and using the results to improve student learning. These supplemental funds will allow CIC to offer an additional 12 institutions a place in the consortium, thus bringing the total number to 47.


November 2007

Appalachian College Association
Focusing on Math and Quantitative Literacy at ACA Colleges
Project Leader: Paul Chewning

 

 $300,000 over 24 months. With a 2007 Teagle Foundation planning grant , the Appalachian College Association (ACA) worked with four member colleges to design individualized, campus-based programs that strengthen student learning in mathematics and quantitative literacy. Three of those institutions—Berea College (KY), Bethany College (WV), and Emory & Henry College (VA)—are now prepared to implement their respective programs, and have committed to sustaining their programs after the grant period is over. In addition, the Colleges will share course syllabi, as well as the results of standardized tests (e.g. ACT, COMPASS and CAAP) that they are all using in order to assess student performance at specific points in their college careers. The ACA will provide fiscal and administrative oversight for the grant; assess the work of each college's program as it develops; work with ACT staff to review and understand data from the tests administered; and disseminate results from the three colleges to its 34 other member institutions.

Association of American Colleges & Universities
Planning Grant to Develop a Summer Institute for Assessment of Student Learning at the Departmental Level
Project Leader: Carol Geary Schneider

 

 $100,000 over 12 months. The Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) will embark on a year-long planning process to develop a summer institute for department chairs and faculty, focusing on the development of leadership within and across departments for strengthening and assessing students' liberal learning. More specifically, AAC&U sees the institute as an opportunity to work with faculty and campus leaders to develop ways of assessing the extent to which the work of individual departments / disciplines contributes to students' achievement of the broad goals of liberal education (e.g. critical thinking, writing, analytical reasoning, civic engagement, and intercultural learning). Through this work, AAC&U seeks to create a body of knowledge about the current and ongoing needs of departments in responding to new pressures for student learning and accountability.

The project will proceed in four stages:
  • AAC&U will convene four regional meetings of 20-25 people each, drawn from both private colleges and public universities, to identify what departments can do and where they might benefit from external support to forward student learning, assessment, and accreditation on their campuses.

  • AAC&U will gather regional and professional accreditors for a meeting to discuss current expectations regarding student learning outcomes and assessment evidence for campuses and departments. (This piece of the work will not be funded by the Teagle Foundation but will ultimately feed into this grant.)

  • AAC&U will run a national design charette to present a draft curriculum for the intended summer institute. The charette will effectively be a streamlined pilot institute whose members will provide focused critique of the content and approach, prior to the formal launch of the institute.

  • Lastly, AAC&U will formalize the charette into a summer institute, piloting it in summer 2009. They will also publish print and/or electronic materials for wider dissemination, as well as a "working paper" and an issue of Peer Review on the work of the project.

May 2007

Council for Aid to Education
Research University Consortium
Project Leader: Roger Benjamin

 

 $20,000 over 1 month. With support from the Lumina and Teagle Foundations, the Council for Aid to Education will convene the 40 institutions using the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) under the auspices of a Lumina-sponsored longitudinal study of student learning and some others for a meeting that has as its goal the creation of a Research University Consortium to promote inter-institutional conversation about learning outcomes. Bringing together these research universities using CLA is an important step in further development of the instrument, especially as most of them are members of critical constituencies such as Association of American Universities or the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges. With two years of data collected, the meeting will allow the universities to develop an inventory of best practice responses to CLA results on their campuses and to undertake a series of joint practical research topics such as:
  • The correlation of student learning pedagogies with CLA performance.

  • The correlation of CLA with measures of success after graduation.

  • A comparison of online instruction with on-site instruction using CLA measures.

  • How to assist faculty in developing CLA-like measures.

  • Publishing a handbook of best practice ideas for responses to CLA.

February 2007

Appalachian College Association
Planning grant to investigate the root causes of students' chronic underachievement in mathematics, to develop interventions that will increase their skills, and to measure the impact of the interventions
Project Leader: Alice Brown

 

 $25,000 over 6 months. Under the auspices of a 2004 Teagle Foundation grant, the Appalachian College Association (ACA) worked with seventeen member colleges to collect and analyze data on the impact of primary academic programs on their students' learning. Using the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiencies (CAAP) assessment tool, the ACA colleges determined that while their students performed on par with national averages in most content areas, their scores in mathematics were below the national average. In response, a team of mathematics faculty and academic deans at four ACA colleges—Berea College (KY), Bethany College (WV), Campbellsville University (KY), and Emory and Henry Colleges (VA)—has formed to investigate the root causes of their students chronic underachievement in mathematics and quantitative skills, and to identify and study some of the best practices in these areas. The work to be done in this planning period includes:
  • Confirmation of informational resources available for this project (for example, test scores, student transcripts, and curriculum surveys), and meetings with participants to define roles and responsibilities;

  • Examination of data from previously administered CAAP math tests;

  • Review of some of the nationally recognized programs for mathematics instruction;

  • Convening of discussions with ACA, ACT, professional consultants, and institutional representatives to develop a detailed plan for the implementation phase of the study.
Council of Independent Colleges
Extending the work of the CIC-Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) Consortium | Project website
Project Leader: Rich Ekman

 

 $545,714 over 36 months. With a 2004 Teagle Foundation grant, the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) established a consortium of 33 member colleges that would administer the CLA to first-year and senior students, and then meet annually to share experiences and learn from each other. Through this work, the consortium has developed a body of knowledge, including lessons and best practices, on using the CLA to measure student learning outcomes. Building on the successes of the original consortium, the extended project will:
  • Refine current assessment processes at participating campuses through continued CIC support and increased faculty participation, with the overall goal of creating a culture of assessment on member campuses;

  • Help campuses document their successes in student learning by the use of CLA and other assessment data;

  • Expand the number of institutions that benefit from the consortium's work, not only by increasing the number of campuses directly involved, but also by creating benchmarks and establishing a compendium of best practices to assist other campuses that want to pursue assessment activities;

  • Begin to use CLA results to effect curricular change.

CIC will continue to support consortium members by:
  • Convening the annual meeting to share results, to discuss challenges and successes, and to figure out next steps;

  • Working with the developers of the CLA to reach out to campuses throughout the year through a consortium listserv, through distribution of resource materials and reports, and through occasional web conferences.

CIC also plans to release two publications targeting general audiences. The first will make the case for the importance of assessing student learning based on the experience of the original consortium, while the second will document lessons and best practices established by the extended group.

November 2005

Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM), Associated Colleges of the South (ACS),Great Lakes College Association (GLCA)
Liberal Education and Study Abroad: Assessing Learning Outcomes to Improve Program Quality
Project Leaders: Wayne Anderson (ACS), Richard Detweiler (GLCA), and Christopher Welna (ACM)

 

 $300,000 over 24 months. Developed with the support of the $60,000 planning grant from the Teagle Foundation, this proposal builds on what the consortia have learned about the imbrication of liberal education goals, international education goals, and study abroad goals, as well as about the range of programs in which their students enroll. In 2002-03, 3,958 students were enrolled in 734 separate programs. The consortia have moved forward with categorizing these programs (by provider, region, cumulative enrollment, language of the host country), and are now ready to systematically assess their accomplishments. The work plan involves:
  • Learning more about which program characteristics advance key liberal education outcomes, as they emerge through conversations with students, faculty, and leaders on consortium campuses;

  • Using the results of those conversations to produce trial assessment topics and items, and draft the processes and instruments needed to conduct the assessments;

  • Engaging the partner colleges to pilot test the instruments, refine them based on the results of the pilot tests, and produce assessment instruments all consortium members and others can use.

The work will be led by a steering committee consisting of the president, international programs director (or other designated staff member), and one leader or faculty member from an institution in each consortium. An outside consultant with experience in designing as well as implementing assessment programs and instruments will work with the group.


November 2004

Appalachian College Association
 Proof of Progress: Measuring Academic Achievement in Appalachian Colleges
Project Leader: Alice Brown

 

 $149,650 over 23 months. In 2002, under a grant from the Spencer Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Appalachian College Association (ACA) completed a study of alumni from the member colleges (all small private colleges in central Appalachia) and from a comparison group of public colleges, looking at graduates from five, fifteen and twenty-five years back and measuring the impact of the college experience on the lifestyles of the graduates. In 2005-2006, a new study, funded by Teagle, will focus on the academic gains, through the junior year, of students at 21 of the 35 ACA colleges. The resulting data will enable the colleges to analyze the effects of their primary academic program areas and make comparisons with normative data from across the nation as well as within the participating ACA colleges. Using the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiencies (CAAP), a test that has been available for more than 15 years, the project will allow the colleges to measure student progress in the acquisition of academic skills in general subject domains. Since most ACA students will have taken the ACT prior to entering colleges, the results of the CAAP tests will allow comparisons between pre- and post-college experiences to provide estimates of intellectual gains in the areas of reading, writing, mathematics, science and critical thinking. This project is intended to expand existing knowledge concerning the progress of students in these academic areas, looking at growth in a cross section of the academic domains to gain diagnostic as well as summative information. The results will provide us with a wealth of information, reflecting the progress our students make over time so that the colleges can adapt their academic programs to address areas of weakness.

Associated Colleges of the South (ACS), Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM), and the Great Lakes College Association
 Learning Outcomes and Study Abroad (planning grant)
Project Leaders: Wayne Anderson (ACS), Richard Detweiler (GLCA), and Christopher Welna (ACM)

 

 $60,000 over 12 months. The Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM), Associated Colleges of the South (ACS), and Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA) have received a planning grant from the Teagle Foundation to develop a project to assess varying models of study abroad programs for students at liberal arts colleges and to measure the learning outcomes that result from such programs. Two questions frame the consortia's joint efforts: 1) What are the goals of study abroad experiences, especially as part of the overall experience of acquiring a liberal arts education? and 2) How do we evaluate the effectiveness and the learning outcomes of these experiences?

ACM will develop a framework to analyze the goals of study abroad in the context of the stated educational goals of liberal education. This will include surveying the professional literature, collecting statements from catalogues and academic departments, and assessing goals articulated by students themselves. The parallel and complimentary focus of ACS and GLCA will be to collect information about the types of study abroad programs students use, to determine the varied aims of these programs, and to survey assessment tools currently in use to ascertain which ones are most appropriate for study abroad programs and liberal education. Results of this work will be disseminated to the 42 member colleges of the three consortia and to the broader higher education community and will support more comprehensive future assessment efforts in the study abroad context.

Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)
 Engaging Faculty with the Assessment of Liberal Education Outcomes
Project Leader: Carol Geary Schneider

 

 $150,000 over 18 months. With support from The Teagle Foundation, the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) will provide a program of faculty development to consortia of colleges and universities working on assessment of liberal education outcomes. The self-identified consortial groups, invited to apply for funding from the Foundation, will be offered assistance with planning, implementation, and capacity building as they develop models of value-added and direct assessment of student learning. Included in the resources available will be access to assessment experts, individually tailored on-campus consultations, working meetings to introduce/review important concepts, materials (both printed and web-based), and opportunities for mutual exchange. Among the topics addressed will be the importance of clear learning outcomes as a basis for assessment; the potential of integrative capstone experiences to demonstrate and assess achievement; pathways of learning that include general education and the majors; curricular coherence; and research on how learning occurs and ways to enhance teaching effectiveness. The ultimate goal of AAC&U's facilitative work in this project is to foster faculty responsibility for the totality of undergraduate education and to do so in ways that allow for transparent assessment of important learning outcomes. A related goal is to provide national leadership for the liberal arts community on ways to assess student learning and achievement.

Council for Aid to Education (CAE)
 Collegiate Learning Assessment: Informing Best Educational Practice
Project Leader: Roger Benjamin

 

 $300,000 over 36 months. The aim of the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA): Informing Best Educational Practice project is to respond to the need for systematic measurement of the value added of liberal education and, in the long term, improve student learning outcomes in liberal arts colleges. There have been a number of major impediments to assessing liberal education outcomes. One is the seeming definitional flux of definitions of liberal education. A second is the lack of adequate measures to assess educational outcomes beyond information acquisition and comprehension. A third is the belief that the important effects of a liberal education cannot be measured until far beyond the college years. Finally, there is the belief held by some that liberal education neither can nor need be assessed - so powerful are its inherent virtues and our ability to know it when we see it. We seek to overcome these problems. Our Collegiate Learning Assessment project is focused on assessing a few selected undergraduate student outcomes such as critical thinking analytic reasoning, and writing skills that fall under the rubric of liberal education.

Excellence and quality should be determined by the degree to which an institution develops the abilities of its students. In the literature on higher education, the term "value added" often refers either to the value of having a college degree - in terms of income, job, and life satisfaction - or to the benefits derived from alternative programs, courses of study, and experiences within an institution. The CLA focuses on a third definition, which has to do with the institution as a whole. What difference does the institution make for its students? Is it more effective in making a difference now than in the past? Is it more effective than other similarly situated schools after controlling for the admissions scores and other relevant attributes of its incoming students? Measuring such value requires assessing what students know and can do as they begin college and assessing them again during and after they have had the full benefit of their college education. Value added is the difference a college makes in their education. Value added assessment is the most appropriate means for examining the institutional contribution to the growth of liberal education skills and is the core methodological principle of the CLA project.

Working with the Council for Independent Colleges (CIC) consortium of liberal arts colleges we plan to show the practical benefits of the inter-institutional comparison opportunities afforded by the CLA. This goal is based on the argument that the rationale for creating a value added assessment metric is to help institutions of higher education improve their curricula and pedagogy in order to advance student learning. But the research to develop that assessment metric is a necessary but insufficient condition for such an endeavor. We also have to help institutions develop cultures of learning and cultures of assessment that see measurement of learning as an integral part of teaching and of the life of the institution. Thus, as we gather the results of our outcome measures on these campuses we are interested in investigating, through case studies, those campuses that do especially well (fall above the regression line for predicted student achievement) and those who fall below predictions. From these we will be able to derive those practices that seem to make a difference positively and/or impede student learning. More specifically, we intend to,

  • Identify areas of student learning where improvement is needed (using our measures and other assessments and indexes),

  • Develop strategies that are aimed at making improvements,

  • Help colleges assess whether the strategies they selected are implemented as planned (and if not, why not),

  • Measure the effects of the strategies that were actually implemented.

There are several metrics that we will use to evaluate the results of this project. The most basic metric will be the value added results themselves - how many institutions are found to produce greater than expected results versus how many are found to produce less than expected results? The research design, described above, ensures that the project's progress will be monitored on an annual basis. As has been the case in the past, results of the project will be published in peer-reviewed journals. The results themselves, i.e., the answers to the research questions posed above, will comprise the evaluation of the project's impact in the near term. The outcome metric to be used will be the value added scores produced through the use of the CLA and GRE type assessment instruments. In addition, there are important associated questions to answer that will indicate the level of success of the project. (1) How many institutions, and at what degree of detail, use the CLA and the process we have developed to guide its use, in concert with other measures, to make changes in their curriculum and pedagogy by the end of this project? (2) How many institutions commit to continue to use the CLA, in combination with other measures, after the project ends? In other words, how many institutions embed the CLA and the process of implementing it in their curriculum and pedagogical reform for the long term? (3) In the long run, does the CLA assist liberal arts colleges in adding more value in liberal education to their students?

Dissemination of the research will be undertaken in a number of ways: conference presentations; research journal articles; popular press; web site postings; presentation of results by our researchers on individual campuses.

Council of Independent Colleges (CIC)
 Using CLA (Collegiate Learning Assessment) to Measure Value Added at Liberal Arts Colleges | Report
Project Leader: Rich Ekman

 

 $250,000 over 36 months. The Teagle Foundation has awarded the Council of Independent Colleges a $250,000 grant for use over three years to foster a new way for institutions to measure what students have learned. The grant supports work with a consortium of 32 small and mid-sized private colleges and universities administering the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA), developed by the RAND Corporation's Council for Aid to Education. These institutions are among the earliest adopters of the CLA and have chosen it as their main approach to assessment of student learning. The CLA assesses the "value-added" by a college education in three areas-critical thinking, analytical reasoning, and written communication.

The grant to CIC will enable participating institutions, through meetings and technical assistance, to share strategies for effectively administering the CLA as well as to compare educational practices that lead to significant learning gains. The consortium will administer the CLA to freshmen and seniors. Representatives of the institutions will meet annually in a summer workshop, together with CIC and CAE staff, and other experts, to learn from one another.

In addition, the grant supports consultation by CIC and CAE staff with other colleges and universities that the Foundation is funding in "informal consortia" for assessment projects. Those projects include some based on use of the CLA as well as some taking other approaches to the important matter of value-added learning.

The members of the CIC/CLA Consortium are: