SLO Assessment Journey The Cabrillo Library Experience

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SLO Assessment JourneyThe Cabrillo Library
Experience

• Georg Romero
• Library Director
• Cabrillo College LibraryApril 15, 2010

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Introduction

• Presentation focus is on services
• Free-range audience, hard to capture
• Challenging
• Not on classes or workshops
• Captive audiences
• Easier

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Introduction (contd)

• In 2005
• Almost nothing available on assessing services,
  plenty on assessing classes
• Focus was on starting having SLOs
• This was all new to most of us

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Introduction (contd)

• In 2010
• A little more information available
• Timely SLO survey from 2009 (June Turner, Palo
  Verde)
• Some services covered at some colleges (Cabrillo,
  Cuyamaca, Los Medanos)
• A few sessions like this one
• Focus is now on measurement, actions taken
• Not so new to us

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Getting Started

• So, how did we begin, in 2005?
• Challenge how to attribute specific learning
  outcomes to transaction services?
• Assumption SLOs not intentionally onerous
• Decision we will make this useful for us!

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Getting Started (contd)

• Key campus SLO Coordinator appointed
• Early step creation of campus core
  competencies
• Key decision to measure service operations
  against the core competencies, rather than
  requiring individual SLOs
• Affected Library, Student Services, Learning
  Centers, etc.
• Minimized the fear trepidation

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The Process

• First step what are our services?
• Regular meetings - invited all library staff, not
  just librarians
• Identified all services, both direct indirect
• Correlated each with core competencies
• Identified possible assessment methods, if any

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The Process (contd)

• Some assessment alternatives identified
• Narrative descriptions
• Focus groups
• Post-transaction sampling interviews/surveys
• User surveys
• Selected survey most actionable for the most
  services

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About Those Surveys

• Having students self-assess on core competencies
  is legitimate, for what it is
• More than just a general satisfaction survey
• What are students doing?
• How long have they been here?
• Service trouble-spots
• Change regularly, focus on current issues, look
  for patterns

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The Results

• Key SLO mindset among staff what are we
  teaching our students?
• Key Institutionalized process into program
  planning cycle
• Regular annual library user surveys
• Statistics other data posted on web, so we can
  find share them easily
• Sailed through accreditation, with a
  commendation!

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The Results (contd)

• Looking back would I change anything?
• No the shared voyage of discovery, how we got
  there, almost more important than where we
  arrived.

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Discoveries Actions

• Students do tell us the Library improves their
  learning!

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Discoveries Actions (contd)

• Strong dissatisfaction with aging laptops (we
  got new ones)
• Unhappiness with computer logon requirement (gone
  after initial semester)
• Want more computers (working on it) and word
  processing (have it)
• Newer students less satisfied/impressed with
  library (tried a greeter program)

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Discoveries Actions (contd)

• Focused Circulation more on teaching learning,
  less on punishing
• Increased Technical Services responsiveness to
  specific student needs
• Increased team mindset, across the board

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The Future

• Much left to be done
• Useful survey data not yet acted upon
• How to maintain SLO mindset in spite of staff
  changes, time, budget issues
• Need to update submit campus Assessment forms

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Handy Links

• http//libwww.cabrillo.edu/staff/slo/ - This
  presentation package
• http//libwww.cabrillo.edu/staff/library-numbers.h
  tml - Cabrillos library statistics data web
  page
• http//pro.cabrillo.edu/pro/ - Campus Planning
  Research, with links to SLOs, Accreditation, etc.
• http//pages.paloverde.edu/staff/library/slosurvey
  .doc - CCL-EXEC survey on library SLOs, by Janine
  Turner (Palo Verde College)

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• Thank You!