Paper Authors

Abstract

NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract

Session 3650

Resources, Organizational Change and Data Systems: Issues and Problems in the Implementation of Outcomes Assessment

Linda A. Tolan, and James J. Hurny Rochester Institute of Technology, College of Applied Science and Technology

Abstract As academic units face the challenge of outcomes assessment (OA), the focus has been on the development and clear articulation of program and course outcomes, development of measures, and ‘closing the loop’ with result analysis and curricular modifications. However, the ‘elephant on the table’ that no one wants to talk about is the decisions and systems change that must accompany implementation, and the deep cultural change that must occur in the organization to sustain outcomes assessment. This paper will take a case study approach to discuss systems and business model changes necessary for outcomes assessment implementation. Using real examples the authors will examine the parallel business decisions that must occur during the academic analysis process, discuss implementation problems, and offer action-based approaches to resource, data, and organizational change issues

Introduction A man was held in a high-security prison and closely watched. His wife sent him a letter in which she asked, ‘Should I plant the potatoes in the garden now?' He replied, ‘Do not plant anything in the garden. That is where I hide the guns.” A little while later, he received another letter from his wife saying ‘Many policemen came to our house. They dug up the whole garden, but they did not find anything.’ He wrote back, ‘Now it is time to plant the potatoes.’ (Sloane, MacHale, & Dispezio, 2002) The Ultimate Lateral and Critical thinking Puzzle Book

One thing is certain, just like the man in the story, outcomes assessment (OA) requires creative approaches and lateral thinking to get the job done. The ‘elephant on the table’ that no one wants to talk about is the decisions and systems change that must accompany implementation, and the deep cultural change that must occur in the organization to sustain outcomes assessment. OA leads to change throughout the organization as it sets standards and overtly states academic expectations. Implementation cuts through all levels and across functions of the institution and its impact is felt across multiple dimensions: infrastructure, legacy systems, standard operating processes, and people. What at first is a highly focused academic analysis and continuous improvement effort becomes a driver of deep systemic change that requires functional support, incremental increases and/or the re-allocation of resources, and buy-in across the university from operational as well as academic divisions.

“Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference and Exposition Copyright©2004, American Sociaety for Engineering Education”

• Citation

• Format
  • APA
  • APA - LaTeX bibitem
  • MLA
  • MLA - LaTeX bibitem
  • Bibtex
  • EndNote - RIS

Tolan, L., & Hurny, J. (2004, June), Resources, Organizational Change, And Data Systems: Issues And Problems In The Implementation Of Outcome Assessment Paper presented at 2004 Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--13259