Invitation 

to Join

 

Assessment Council 

 

 and/or

 

Success Skills Learning Community 

 

Are you a motivated individual who wants to help make Hocking College a better institution for all involved, especially our students? Please contact Victor Maxson (ext. 7110) to get involved.
Volume 3, Issue 1January 2015

A Message from the Director ... Fishing Assessment
Vic with a brown trout caught on the Yellowstone River near Livingston MT (2014)

 

One of my fondest memories as a child was going fishing with my father. I vividly remember sitting on a dock of a small pond outside of Athens. I couldn't have been more than four or five years old. My father sat beside me teaching me to bait the hook and cast the worm and bobber into the pond. Before long I noticed my bobber being pulled under the water. Again with the guidance of my father I set the hook and began to reel in the fish. I was elated with the thrill of success at catching my first fish and so was my father.

 

As I grew, so did our fishing expeditions. Next came the joys and struggles of fishing on the Cranberry River in West Virginia. In retrospect, I understand that there was joy in the time being with and learning from my father and obviously in catching fish. My struggles included losing lures and bird nests in my open-faced reel. I sometimes used my struggles as an excuse to swim, much to my father's dismay, as I interrupted his fishing and my struggles became his struggles. He was a great father though because in the joys we celebrated, and in the struggles he helped me assess the situation and grow. His lessons have lasted a lifetime. He is still my favorite fishing buddy and it is something we enjoy together to this day.

 

Why should you care about my time fishing with my father? What does that have to do with assessment? As educators we are actively involved with the assessment cycle (instruction, assessment and improvement) of our students at the course level, much like my father was actively involved in my fishing education. He sat beside me through the process and was able to instruct, assess, and help me improve (though I venture to say he learned a few things along the way too.) I started this column by telling you this story from my childhood because, like my father who sat beside me, I hope to sit beside you in this process we call assessment.

 

I am thankful, excited and a bit anxious to begin my new position as the Director of Assessment. I look forward to working with each of you to improve the quality education we provide our students. My goals are to help you document the wonderful things you are doing and to help you evaluate the reasons for the struggles, so that together we can complete course, program and institutional assessment ensuring that our students may receive the very best we have to offer.

 

   Vic             
Assessment Council News

"Nothing in a classroom is done in isolation; everything is connected. Strategic planning like this keeps us focused and enables students to see the relationship between the content they must learn, the assessment that will be conducted and the intended outcomes, which speak with meaning for their life outside the classroom walls." 

(Ruth Stiehl, Outcomes Primer, pg. 38) 

 

 

We are in the process of reforming the assessment council to guide Hocking College's assessment efforts. As quoted above, this strategic planning will allow our students to make the connections between what they will need to know, "out there" and what they learn, "in here." The assessment council will be an integral part of this strategic planning. The focuses of the council are to:

  • Evaluate Hocking College's current model of assessment
  • Create guidelines for assessment planning and implementation that reflect student learning at the program, department and institutional level
  • Study and provide recommendations regarding future college implementation of best practices in the assessment of student achievement of both technical and general program outcomes
  • Assist the Director of Assessment in developing an assessment model that blends program assessment of student academic achievement in both technical and general education outcomes with assessment of program effectiveness using consistent performance measures within academic units
  • Promote, increase and create a shared understanding of assessment campus wide
  • Facilitate sharing of assessment strategies and ways to improve student learning
  • Review annual assessment documents submitted by programs and provide feedback for improvement purposes
  • Provide guidance to the Director of Assessment regarding future practices in electronic reporting and gathering of artifacts from students
  • Explore professional development opportunities for the college regarding assessment
  • Provide guidance, structures and support for the assessment of student learning throughout the institution

Please contact Victor Maxson at ext. 7110 or maxsonv@hocking.edu if you are interested in becoming a part of the council.

Success Skills Learning Community News

The Success Skills are the general education outcomes identified by Hocking College which enable our students to develop knowledge and abilities which are needed on the job and in life. These behaviors, attitudes, work and life skills are integrated throughout every program and curriculum. Hocking College's success skills are:

  • Communicates Effectively
  • Demonstrates Math Skills
  • Demonstrates Learning Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills
  • Maintains Professional Skills and Attitudes
  • Practices Human Relations Skills
  • Knowledge of Science and the Environment
  • Maintains a Code of Ethics
  • Community Cultural and Global Awareness

The current charge of the Success Skills Learning Community (SSLC) will be to review the success skills and their indicators to assure their current relevance and propose changes if necessary. Additionally SSLC will support the complete integration of the success skills at the course-level and within programs to aid in the assessment of general education outcomes.

 

Please contact Victor Maxson at ext. 7110 or maxsonv@hocking.edu if you are interested in becoming a part of the SSLC.
Hocking College logoHocking College Mission Statement
Hocking College provides a unique, innovative, and quality education in a supportive experience-based learning environment, preparing students for employment and transfer education opportunities, while teaching the value of lifelong learning, promoting diversity and developing citizens who are engaged in their local and global communities.
Victor A. Maxson
Director of Assessment
Office of Academic Affairs - OAK 210B
Hocking College
3301 Hocking Parkway
Nelsonville, OH 45764
740.753.7110
Fax:  740.753.7074