Submitted by the Learning Assessment Committee

It’s finally here! The HLC visit is less than two weeks away! Are you ready?

Harper’s HLC Assurance Argument addresses lots of topics across the institution—from mission to planning, and finances to persistence. But did you know it also addresses student learning? Learn more below, and don’t forget to tell your story during the HLC visit! Consider what you do to improve your students’ learning, and share it in the sessions you attend!

  • Learning Outcomes
    • Harper’s General Education Learning Outcomes include skills in communication, information literacy, critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, and diverse perspectives and cultures. Courses are mapped to these outcomes to illustrate the extent to which these outcomes are addressed across the College.
    • Program outcomes for AAS degrees are listed in the online catalog. The programs also have curriculum maps that identify the courses in which the program learning outcomes are introduced, reinforced, practiced, or not relevant.
    • All courses also include student learning outcomes on official course outlines and syllabi, which allows for direct communication with students and increases their awareness of their own learning.
  • Learning Assessment
    • General education outcomes assessment is conducted annually by the Learning Assessment Committee and its work groups, as well as various faculty members who measure the outcomes within randomly selected course sections. At least one general education learning outcome is assessed each year, through a work group dedicated to that outcome.
    • Program-level and course-level assessment, and assessment of administrative and student support departments, are conducted annually based on the Nichols Model, which encourages using assessment results to make improvements.
  • Improving Student Learning
    • Work groups gather campus-wide feedback on General Education assessment results, and then use the results and the feedback to create student learning improvement plans. These plans are communicated through means best suited to Harper faculty including workshops, internal College communications, and the employee portal.
    • As part of the annual program and course assessment processes, programs and departments define how they will use results for improvement.

Think you already know everything there is to know?

 Want to know more?

Questions? Please contact Faon Grandinetti, ext. 6356 or Julie Ellefson, ext. 6694.