Like any program that focuses on the assessment of a program and its students, the overarching goal of this proposal is to provide information to an audience that not only has benefited the school but also the student. In addition, with the model used in our School of Management, we also impact society: those we reach, and those who reach out to us. In addition, creating a sense of belonging for our students is at the forefront of what we do, and that is assisted by providing projects as well as academics that measure what a person contributes to the finished product. That is an academic program that transcends the walls of the school and reaches society as a whole.
Assessment in higher education has been embedded in courses and programs for decades. Its importance can be seen in the tracking of student degree completion, the creation and revision of student learning outcomes and courses, and the overall success of an academic program. At the program level, assessment has come to imply aggregating individual measures for the purpose of discovering group strengths and weaknesses that can guide improvement actions.
Beginning in the fall of 2022, all graduate and undergraduate programs in the Jindal School of Management at UT Dallas began using a modified electronic template for capturing assessment data that stresses not only societal impact strategies but how those strategies capture diversity and equity initiatives as well as external examples of lifelong learning. The creation of this template modification was needed by the Jindal School to illustrate what we already knew but needed to document. That being: our programs were already contributing to the creation of a stronger society both in and outside of the classroom, but needed a better technological method to document the data. This documentation and use of data ultimately leads to better course mapping for both faculty and students. The added template, modeled after the 2020 Standards set forth by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), allows all programs to describe the specific activity used in or outside the classroom by entering data into specific columns.
The societal impact assessment template, modeled after the 2020 Standards set forth by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB, 2020), was added as a requirement for all academic programs in the Fall of 2022. It enables programs to describe the specific activity or focus area used in or outside the classroom by entering data into specific columns. We knew many of our programs were creating sustainable education models; the issue was documenting and explaining them as they related to our overall needs as strategies as an institution.
This template gauges specific areas of interest in each program, including outcomes related to societal impact, curriculum-related outcomes to a course and or a program outcome, scholarship (published works) aimed at promoting societal improvement, as well as outreach projects involving program and student organizations. The Jindal School just finished our second cycle of program-level assessment using this template, and has been able to document societal impact in the specific areas; curriculum-based, student-organization-based, and program/competition-based (outside the classroom but still academic in nature). It will be necessary to share some cases as we all can benefit from viewing aspects of the program that can be duplicated at all levels of education for the benefit of lifelong learning. The examples will allow other viewers to identify and replicate our successes with programs they already have, or can easily implement.
Learning Objectives: -
Upon completion, participants will be able to:
Areas Covered in the Session:-
Background:-
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the most talked about phrases in higher education. In this session, we will explain why the need for indirect measures is more important now than ever. The impact of using this approach inside the classroom, as well as your college in general, can be felt for years to come and can help shape policy decisions that impact all educational stakeholders. In addition, we will also examine how AI and indirect measures can be used to assist student organizations in gaining a better understanding of the needs of the communities in which they live, work, and serve.
The session will conclude by sharing ideas on how to create and use data visualizations to document and tell the assessment story.
Why Should You Attend?
Combining AI and indirect measures is relatively new, but can impact assessment for years to come. From the classroom to outside organizations, the connection can be seen. In this session, the audience will understand why the need for indirect measures is more important now than ever.
Participants who attend this session will be able to:
We as leaders in higher education are more than administrators and faculty. We are stewards in education, and as such have a responsibility to understand the quality of the tools we use. As leaders, what we can learn by using AI in assessment, and how can it benefit students is one important question we need to address.
Who will Benefit?
Also, Program Directors are in charge of reporting said data.