Faculty Guide to High Impact Practices Assessment

To understand how well students are meeting performance outcomes set for high impact courses and in order to gauge the overall quality of high impact offerings at Ball State University, ongoing assessment will be conducted.

HIPs Assessment Process

Step One: Add HIP Banner attribute to your course.
When the HIP course is added to Banner, it should be tagged with appropriate attribute. This helps students find a HIP course and is the mechanism for counting HIPs participation and getting the HIPs assessment instruments to faculty. The scheduling specialist in your department/college will be able to do this for you. You will know if the correct attribute is on your class if you look up your course in Banner. An attribute can be added at any point, so even if the course has already started, you can (and should!) still ask your scheduling specialist to correct the listing.

Step Two: Add HIP SLOs to your course syllabus.
Faculty should list the two HIP Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) for their course type on their syllabus or other course materials. These should not replace existing SLOs for the course; they are to be added to the existing list. Faculty are encouraged to discuss the learning goals for the course, including SLOs, with the students throughout the semester.

Diverse Perspectives SLOs

  1. Students will explain (a) new or different perspective(s) as a result of learning from or with diverse communities or cultures.
  2. Students will create conclusions by combining examples, facts, or theories from more than one field of study or perspective.

Immersive Learning SLOs

  1. Students will create a constructive collaborative climate.
  2. Students will apply previous knowledge or skills to demonstrate comprehension and performance in novel situations.

Study Abroad & Study Away SLOs

  1. Students will explain (a) new or different perspective(s) as a result of learning from or with diverse communities or cultures.
  2. Students will apply previous knowledge or skills to demonstrate comprehension and performance in novel situations.

Undergraduate Research SLOs

  1. Students will explain relevant issues within the context of the course or project.
  2. Students will apply high-impact skill sets to their field of study.

Step Three: Decide what artifact(s) to use for course assessment.
Assessment items can be exam questions (objective or open-ended), written assignments, portfolios, papers, reflection papers, performance and creative endeavors, multi-media projects, or oral presentations. Obviously, the item(s) selected should align with the HIP SLOs. When possible and appropriate, faculty should collaborate to develop assessment protocols for the course. Suggestions for each student learning outcome are provided on the HIPs SLO Crosswalk.

Step Four: Watch your email and complete the assessment instrument on Qualtrics.
Towards the end of an assessment semester, the faculty member teaching a high impact course will receive an email with a link to complete the assessment. The assessment instrument will ask you to assign each student a rating from 1 to 4 (see below for more guidance) for each HIP SLOs. The instrument will also ask faculty to reflect on their HIP teaching practices. Most faculty say it takes them about 10-20 minutes to complete the assessment.

Assessment Schedule: Two-Year Cycle

Faculty from all sections designated in Banner as a “core four” high impact practice in a given semester will be invited to participate in assessment on the following schedule:

  • Diverse Perspectives: Spring in Odd Years
  • Study Away/Abroad: Spring & Summer in Odd Years
  • Undergraduate Research: Spring in Even Years
  • Immersive Learning: Spring in Even Years

An assessment report will be written and submitted by the Director of High Impact Practices each fall to the Director of Assessment and Accreditation.

Assessment Instrument: Qualtrics Survey Link Sent Via Email

In an assessment semester, faculty are informed at the beginning and again in the middle of the semester that they will be asked to complete the assessment instrument at the end of the term. The instrument is open to them for four or more weeks; they receive several reminders to participate.

Part One: Student Learning Outcomes
4-point scale (Accomplished, Competent, Developing, Beginning)

Faculty are asked to rank their students’ performance on the SLOs for their course Using this four-point rubric:

  1. Students who do not meet course expectations are Beginning (1). This means that the student rarely or never achieves mastery of the cognitive skill. The student’s performance does not meet expectations for that criterion.
    • student rarely or never achieves mastery of the learning outcome
    • student performance does not meet expectations

  2. Students who fall in between Beginning and Competent are Developing (2). This means that the student occasionally demonstrates mastery of the cognitive skill. The student’s performance on assessment activities does not fully meet the expectations for that criterion but is not “off base” either. Performance is incomplete in meeting expectations for that criterion.
    • student occasionally demonstrates mastery of the learning outcome
    • student performance does not fully meet the expectations for that criterion

  3. Students who meet course expectations are Competent (3). This means that the student usually demonstrates mastery of the cognitive skill. Students may be categorized as competent if they meet the expectations of the course for that cognitive skill.
    • student usually demonstrates mastery of the learning outcome
    • student meets the expectations of the course for the learning outcome

  4. The occasional student who “exceeds expectations” is Accomplished (4). This means that the student ALWAYS achieves mastery of the cognitive skill in every way. Students may be categorized as accomplished on written/oral assignments if they exceed the expectations of the course for that criterion. “Accomplished” level should be used ONLY in cases where the student clearly goes above and beyond the expectation. It is NOT just “A” work. Note: Accomplished may not be used for objective assessment activities.
    • student ALWAYS achieves mastery of the learning outcome in every way
    • student exceeds the expectations of the course for the learning outcome

Part Two: HIPs Quality Conditions
Likert Scale [Strongly Agree >>> Strongly Disagree, N/A]

  1. Performance expectations were set at appropriately high levels.
  2. There was a significant investment of time and effort by students over an extended period of time.
  3. Students had opportunities for interactions with faculty and peers about substantive matters.
  4. Students were exposed to and contended with people and circumstances that differ from those with which they were familiar.
  5. Students received frequent, timely and constructive feedback.
  6. Students were offered periodic, structured opportunities to reflect and integrate learning.
  7. Students were given opportunities to discover relevance of learning through real-world applications.
  8. Students were able to publicly demonstrate their competence.

Part Three: Faculty Reflections [Optional]
Open-Ended Responses

  1. Reflecting on students’ performance in this course, describe any meaningful changes or improvements that you will make to this course in the future.
  2. What teaching strategies did you employ to foster an inclusive and equitable environment?
  3. How would you say this HIP course engaged students in innovative experiences that prepare them for fulfilling careers and meaningful lives?
  4. How did teaching this course impact your professional and/or personal well-being?
  5. Any other thoughts or comments you’d like to share about teaching high impact practice courses at Ball State?

Do you have questions about the assessment process for High Impact classes? Please reach out to Dr. Jackie Grutsch McKinney, Director of Immersive Learning and High Impact Practices.