University Writing Project Faculty Feedback

2011-2012

Was this your first time participating in the University Writing Project?

20%

80%

N=10Yes No

How did your students perform?

75%

25%

N=8Above instructor expectation Met instructor expectationBelow instructor expectation

Does the report provide sufficient detail to indicate your students’ areas of need?

63%

38%

N=8Yes No

Based on UWP results, what actions, if any, do you plan to take?

• I continue to send students to the Writing Center. If they attend sessions prepared with a written document, there is a significant difference in the quality of work.

• More specific rubrics for the writing and more focus on content area writing.

• More focused emphasis on areas that are not up to par. I would like to take part again and see if results are consistent.

Will your program use these results for program improvement?

57%

14%

29%

N=7Yes, we plan to use the results No, we do not plan to use the resultsI am unsure

How do you interpret the data on student writing abilities you have received from the UWP?

• I look at two aspects of the report for students in our major: I look at the distribution of scores for our students alone to see if there are any identifiable components that we can work on in the class (which I teach). I also compare the scores of students in our major to those of students in comparable majors to see if our students scores are notably different. If students in other majors are scoring higher, this possibly indicates that we can target aspects of our students' writing to improve it.

• We use the results to gauge how our students are performing in the various areas in relation to other programs at NIU. If changes are warranted, we make them!

What action, if any, have you taken, or do you plan to take, based on the results of the UWP Assessment?

• We constantly make changes in the program to strengthen the writing component! This assists us.

• I have shared the results with my area coordinators/assessment committee. We talked briefly. We are in a program review year. If anything the result indicate the need for more assessment in this area. As such, I will propose such action.

• While there were relatively few writing projects evaluated for 2011-12, causing there to be no statistically significant differences within our group of majors, we nevertheless observe that the modal score is 4 and that there are very few student scores below that level. Our goal is to improve the writing of students in the modal group and thereby increase the frequency of students scoring at level 5 and 6.

If you have taken any actions, what are the results of those actions?

• In most cases, we are increasing the type of writing that the students are doing, and provide then with more details on what is expected!

• The action is typically taken by the program teams as they are much more involved day to day with the students. I see my role as Chair as one of helping to facilitate and encourage involvement in the writing project since faculty have identified writing skills as important to their programs of study.

Please rate your experience with the University writing project

43%

57%

N=7Very Positive Positive NeutralNegative Very Negative

Will you participate in the University Writing Project again?

86%

14%

N=7Yes No

Strengths of the University Writing project, data collection and dissemination.

• Detailed information about data analysis.

• It provides data that compares with my course, our department and our college with departments, colleges and courses throughout the university.

• It is very easy and provides interesting results.

• It is good to see how the students in different disciplines compare.

Recommended changes in the University Writing project, data collection, or dissemination

• I would like to see how students in my course are rated on each criteria.

• Examine the seven criteria to ensure they are providing the best possible data that can be used for programmatic improvement.

• Providing access to electronic submission (via Blackboard).

Closing The Loop

• Based on the feedback received

The Office of Assessment is working with the Department of English regarding the scoring rubric.

THANK YOU!

• Thank you for viewing the University Writing Project feedback results!

• If you have any comments please email us at: assess@niu.edu

• You can additionally provide feedback through the OAS Satisfaction Survey at www.niu.edu/assessment