77-000
                                                                                      BOT 08-30-12

                    ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT (POLICY)

The Board of Trustees and constituencies of Oglala Lakota College are committed to 
continuous improvement of student academic achievement.  To further this goal, 
academic departments will conduct regular activities to assess the knowledge, attitudes, 
and/or abilities students are acquiring while attending classes at OLC.  

Results of assessment activities will be used to plan and budget for continual 
improvement of college operations.

Purposes of assessing student academic achievement:
    1.	To provide information to students and faculty about individual progress;
    2.	To inform faculty and other professionals so they may develop appropriate 
        learning programs and curriculum;
    3.	To provide information to people who make decisions about the allocation of 
        resources for curriculum, pedagogy, college organization, and other educational 
        goals;
    4.	To provide information to the public regarding the institution’s performance;

Who will be assessed:
    1.	Entering freshmen
    2.	Students in basic skills courses (General Education).
    3.	Students completing an Associates and Bachelor’s Degree and/or complete a 
        designated number of credit hours during their first two years of college. 
    4.	Students in academic and vocational degree programs as determined by their 
        respective department.  

What will be assessed:  
All students will be assessed in basic skills subjects and the college core, including but 
not limited to Reading, Writing, Mathematics, and Lakota cultural awareness.  

In addition to college wide assessment in core subjects, students’ learning will also be 
assessed in their general education, majors and in specific courses as determined by 
the respective academic departments.

Assessment process:
Assessment will use a number of direct and indirect measures to determine learning.  
Direct measures may be criterion-based and/or norm-referenced.  Students will be 
assessed at different points during the student’s academic program.  

Reporting of results:
    1.	The chair of each academic department and/or the director of each instructional 
        site are responsible for forwarding assessment results to the Institutional 
        Assessment and Research Office as outlined in the procedures below.
    2.	Summary Reports of assessment results in Basic Skills/Core will be prepared by 
        the Institutional Assessment and Research Office on a semester and /or annual 
        basis. 
    3.	Each academic department will prepare a report of assessments carried out with 
        a copy of each report to be lodged in the Institutional Assessment and Research 
        Office.

Assessment Committee:
Oglala Lakota College will have a permanent assessment committee whose members 
broadly represent the college’s academic departments.  In addition, members may also 
be drawn from support services and students.   

The duties of the assessment committee are:
    1.	Develop, distribute and monitor a schedule pertaining to assessment (i.e. an 
        assessment calendar)
    2.	Review assessment results from the Office of Institutional Research and 
        Assessment and from the academic units.
    3.	Recommend assessment activities and processes and their modification.
    4.	Review and approve a semester and annual report prepared by the Office of 
        Institutional Research and Assessment, which describes the semester’s and 
        year’s outcomes of the assessment of student academic achievement. 
 
Planning and budgeting:
Assessment results and assessment reports will be distributed to OLC’s Administration 
and Departments for use in planning and budgeting for continual improvement of student 
learning. 

Responsibilities:

Oglala Lakota College affirms that assessment is a process independent of decisions 
concerning personnel matters, such as retention, rehire, or dismissal.  Assessment 
outcomes will not be used for such purposes and every effort will be made to safeguard 
against the use of assessment results for matters related to these areas.    

    1.	All tests to be used for assessing student academic achievement will be reviewed by 
        the assessment committee and copies will be lodged in the Office of Institutional 
        Research and Assessment.
    2.	Directors of instructional sites or other designated faculty or staff are responsible for 
        forwarding results of all diagnostic/placement tests to the Office of Institutional 
        Research and Assessment office no later than the first week of classes in the Fall 
        and Spring semester.
    3.	Designated faculty from relevant academic departments will forward the results of 
        any post tests conducted in pre-college level classes and/or other classes 
        designated for post tests by the department involved no later than the due date for 
        final grades each semester.
    4.	Based on the assessment activities carried out by each academic department and as 
        outlined in the department’s assessment plan(s), the assessment committee will 
        publish an assessment calendar each semester.
    5.	Academic departments will provide the Office of Institutional Research and 
        Assessment with a report that summarizes the department’s assessment activities 
        and assessment results as they relate to departmental programs, courses, and/or 
        disciplines.  The assessment report, separate from the department report, will be due 
        at the end of the department chairs’ contract year.

    6.	Based on the timely submission of reports and data from academic departments and 
        instructional sites, the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment will furnish a 
        semester report by the middle of the following semester and an annual report by the 
        end of the academic year.  The annual assessment report will be reviewed by the 
        assessment committee at the beginning of the following academic year and contain 
        recommendations from the Assessment Committee for improving the academic 
        achievement of OLC’s students.

I.   ANNUAL ASSESSMENT CALENDAR

The Office of Institutional Research and Assessment will furnish an annual assessment 
report based on the direct measures listed by the end of the academic year. The 
Assessment Committee will review the report at the beginning of the following academic 
year. The report will contain recommendations for improving student academic 
achievement. 

Oglala Lakota College
Annual Assessment Calendar



YEARLY

August

Department Assessment Day - First Thursday faculty report for academic year  
Placement testing Fall Semester (Foundational Studies, Center Counselors)

September

Summary of Placement testing forwarded to assessment office (Foundational Studies)
Assessment Committee reviews Institutional assessment report.  Departments and 
assessment office make recommendations for planning and budgeting.

October

Assessment presentation Board of Trustees retreat (Assessment Office)
Employer survey (Center Directors) (every odd numbered year)
Community needs assessment (Center Directors) (every year ending in 2, 5 and 9)

November

Praxis Exam (Education Department)
Weeks 12-14 for course evaluations (SIR II) (College Center Staff)
Weeks 12-14 college center evaluations (Assessment Office)
Information Literacy exit exam (Information Technology Personnel)

December

Summary of Post-Placement testing forwarded to assessment office (fall courses) 
(Foundational Studies)
Drop out Students (Data Manager)
Student Attendance (Data Manager)
AKIS report (Assessment Office)

January

Department Assessment Day - First Thursday faculty report after break 
Placement testing spring semester (Foundational Studies, Center Counselors)
Fall General Education assessments forwarded to assessment office (Academic 
Departments)

February

Summary of Placement testing forwarded to assessment office (Foundational Studies)

March 

Student Satisfaction (NSSE) survey (freshman and seniors) (Assessment Office) (every 
even numbered year)

April

Praxis Exam (Education Department)
Weeks 12-14 for course evaluations (SIR II) (College Center Staff)
Weeks 12-14 College center evaluations (Assessment Office)
Information Literacy exit exam (Information Technology Personnel)
Proficiency Profile (PP) proctored to those graduating with an Associates and Bachelor’s 
degree (Assessment Office)

May

Academic Major assessments (Academic Departments)
Summary of Post-Placement testing forwarded to assessment office (spring courses)
Department assessment reports forwarded to assessment office (Due no later than May 
31 or last working day in the month) (Academic Departments)
Lakota Studies Exam for those graduating with an Associates and Bachelor’s degree 
(Lakota Studies Department)
Alumni Survey (Center Directors)
Drop out Students (Data Manager)
Student Attendance (Data Manager)

June

Summary of Post-Placement testing forwarded to assessment office (spring courses) 
(Foundational Studies)
Spring General Education assessments forwarded to assessment office (Academic 
Departments)

July

Institutional assessment report finalized for the past academic year (Assessment Office)


	Assessment		Population 		Responsibility		Schedule
				Assessed

  Foundational Studies		First year 		Foundational 		Each semester
  Placement Test		entering 		Results to 		prior to completion
  (Accuplacer)(Pre & Post	students/		Director of		of the first
  Test)				Students testing 	Assessment		registration; each
				out of 						semester at 
				Foundational 					completion of 
				Studies						Foundational
										Studies courses


  Core Curriculum		Graduating 		Center			Spring Semester
  (Proficiency Profile)		students with an	Counselors		last two weeks of
D	 			Associate		Director of		April and first
I		 		and/or 			Assessment		week of May
R	 			Bachelor's 
E				Degree
C
T  Lakota Language		Students ready		Lakota Studies		Last two weeks of
  				to graduate with 	Department		each semester
M				Associates or		Results to
E				Bachelor's		Director of
A				degree			Assessment
S
U Praxis			Education 		Education 		April and 
R				students		Department 		November
E							Results to
S							Director of
							Assessment

  Information/Computer		Students upon		Information 		Close of each
  Literacy			completion of		Technology		semester
				MIS 113			Department 
							Results to
							Director of
							Assessment

  Core Curriculum 		Students 		Academic		Each Semester
				enrolled in the 	Departments
				pre-determined
				courses on a 		Results to 
				semester basis		Direcotr of
							Assessment

  Academic Majors		Students in		Department		Annually, prior to
				Senior year as		Personnel		May 15th
				determined by		Results to
				department		Director of
							Assessment

  Non-teaching Units		Services		Unit teams		Annually, end of 
				provided - how		Results to		the fiscal year
				effective are		Director of
				they?			Assessment


  Alumni Survey			Graduates of 		Center			Annually, near
				the previous		Directors		close of spring
I				academic year		Results to		semester
N							Director of
D							Assessment
I
R  Employer Survey		OLC graduates		Director of		Every odd
E				employers		Assessment		numbered year, fall
C										semester
T
   Community Needs 		District		Center			Every third year,
M  Assessment			population		Directors		fall semester
E  							Results to
A							Director of
S							Assessment
U
R Drop out Students		Drop out		Data Manager		Every semester
E				students		Results to 
S							Director of
							Assessment

  Student Attendance		All Students		Data Manager		Every semester
							Results to 
							Director of
							Assessment

  Student Satisfaction		Students (400		Director of 		Every two years
  (NSSE)			random)			Assessment		

  Course Evaluations		All Students		Director of 		During weeks 12-
  (SIR II)						Assessment		14 each semester

  College Center		All Students 		Director of 		During weeks 12-
  Evaluations						Assessment		14 of each
										Semester