Rubric-Based Assessment
Use of Bethel's writing rubric to assess student writing proficiency presumes that there is sufficient evidence that the rubric is reliable and valid. Scheduling of the QEP assessments and the compilation of assessment data is complicated by the differences in scheduling and modes of delivery in the three colleges.
Scheduling
Assessments of student written assignments using the writing rubric will take place in each WE class during each term in the College of Professional Studies (CPS), and each semester in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) and the College of Health Sciences (CHS). In the five-week terms in CPS, the assignment due on the fourth week (of the five-week term) will be assessed. In the other two colleges, a designated writing assignment completed during the last three weeks of each fifteen-week semester will be assessed.
The QEP Director, or a designated representative, will periodically conduct the analysis of the data from all three colleges. Analysis of data from CAS and CHS WE sections will take place shortly after the completion of each semester. For CPS, the analysis will take place at least once during each term (A CPS term lasts about half a year) Details of the analysis are presented in Section \ref{analysisdirect} on page \pageref{analysisdirect}.
Assessment Procedure
Each student's work will be assessed by two faculty members: the instructor of the course section and a second WE certified instructor not teaching that section. Given the wide geographic distribution of Bethel's campuses, and the need to efficiently maintain an integrated database of all QEP assessment data, it was determined that the assessment would be conducted online. It was decided to use the Taskstream's Aqua platform. The following procedure will be used:
- For each WE section, the students are to submit to Aqua, through Canvas, their completed writing assignments designated for QEP assessment.
- The instructor of the class will evaluate, in a timely manner, the completed QEP assignments using the QEP writing rubric. A separate score for each SLO, ranging from 0-4, is recorded on the Aqua class site.
- A second faculty member, not teaching the course and assigned by the university's QEP Director, or other authorized person, will evaluate, again in a timely manner, each student's QEP assignment, recording the scores in the same manner as the instructor.
- In order to carry out analysis of the data gathered, the QEP director, or designated representative, will be able to execute Aqua's analysis tools and will be given access to Bethel's Aqua database.