The Office of the Provost has announced the 2020 awardees of WSU Program Assessment Grants. The grants were established in 2018 to promote best practices in program-level assessment of student learning outcomes. This year, four collaborative projects were selected from schools, colleges and student services units across campus for funding that will assist in the piloting, creation or significant revision of a program’s assessment process.
“The selected projects stood out for their clear focus on student learning through improvement to core program assessment practices; broad engagement of stakeholders; and high potential for significant impact on students, faculty and staff,” Provost Keith Whitfield said in a campus-wide email.
The grant program is one way that Wayne State encourages members of the campus community to engage in an effective, sustainable process of continuous program improvement to support student learning. It also represents the positive trajectory of assessment efforts over the last several years.
“This year’s projects reflect the growing maturity of learning outcomes assessment on our campus,” said Director of Assessment Cathy Barrette. “The recipients are using the grant to enhance their existing assessment practices, which will give them better information to support their students. It’s exciting to see their dedication to students’ success put into action through assessment.”
The recipients of the 2020 WSU Program Assessment Grant are:
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences – Latino/a and Latin American Studies
- Project title: Un Arroz Con Pollo: Assessing Mixed and Multidisciplinary Learning Modalities in an Ethnic Studies Curriculum
- Project description: Participants will obtain professional development and consult with a disciplinary expert to redesign their program learning outcomes and assessments.
- Awardees: Melissa Miranda Morse, Tamara Serrano Chandler, Jorge Chinea, Victor Figueroa
Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences – Pathologists’ Assistant Program
- Project title: Bone Saw Skill Assessment in Clinical Practice
- Project description: Faculty will develop and pilot two new assessments to meet an accreditation requirement related to the psychomotor skills learning outcome.
- Awardees: VeraLucia Mendes-Kramer, Dongping Shi
Student Services – Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
- Project title: Using Feedback Informed Therapy to Strengthen Program Assessment at CAPS: A Pilot Study
- Project description: CAPS staff and clients will pilot FIT, a validated tool that provides continuous feedback about client progress and counselor effectiveness on an ongoing basis.
- Awardees: Ellen Barrett-Becker, Jeff Kuentzel, Charisse Ormanian, Kristie Van de Laar, Tanya Vines, ShaCha Geronimo
Student Services – Career Services
- Project title: Assessing Staff Acquisition of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Competency Knowledge for WSU Career Services
- Project description: Staff will undertake professional development to integrate and assess their professional standard related to diversity, equity and inclusion into presentations for students.
- Awardee: Padmaja Rao