Student Learning Outcomes
The mission, goals, and core commitments of Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC) all focus on teaching, learning, and student success. Successful learning means more than memorizing facts; it requires students to apply knowledge to solve problems, demonstrate skills, and think critically about what they have learned. Therefore, measuring student learning is about more than course completion rates and grades; we must reflect on how students learn and how each component of the College contributes to the learning process. The Institutional Assessment Guide (IAG) sets forth the assessment philosophy and plans for the College.
LAVC Assessment Process
Since 2004, LAVC has assessed courses, programs, and services in cycles and tied assessment to other campus processes such as Program Review and planning. The Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Cycle (SLOAC) is how we make our expectations explicit and public, set appropriate criteria and standards, and use information to document, explain, and improve performance. SLOAC timelines are approved by the College’s participatory governance groups and published on the OAC SharePoint.
The goal of assessment is the continuous improvement of academic courses, programs, and services, and is strongly linked to the College goal of institutional effectiveness. Assessment is an ongoing process, hence the name SLO Assessment Cycle (SLOAC). Faculty and staff define outcomes, assess outcomes, analyze the results, and institute improvements; then the cycle begins again.
In this process for instructional areas, evidence is gathered, analyzed, and interpreted to determine how well student performance matches faculty-defined expectations and standards. The results are used to improve teaching and learning. For non-instructional areas, evidence is gathered, interpreted, and analyzed to determine how well the area meets staff-defined expectations and standards. The results are used to improve institutional effectiveness.
All approved credit course outlines are located in eLumen. For public access, a listing of Course SLOs has been extracted from eLumen.
LAVC Program Assessment
In 2020, Los Angeles Valley College established program-specific outcomes for every degree and certificate, and moved away from the previous program pathways model. With the support of the SLO coordinators, departments developed three to five program outcomes (PSLOs) for each of the following:
- Associate of Arts Degree (AA)
- Associate of Science Degree (AS)
- Associate of Arts for Transfer (AA-T)
- Associate of Science for Transfer (AS-T)
In addition, two to four PSLOs were developed for Certificates of Achievement (CA). Approved PSLOs can be found in the LAVC Program Mapper or in eLumen.
All degrees (AA, AS, AA-T, AS-T) and Certificates of Achievement are assessed within the SLOAC with data from eLumen. The PSLO data in eLumen is based on the accumulation of course data in each program. Questions in program review require departments to analyze data from each program and reflect on student achievement as well as steps to improve student learning and bridge equity gaps. An opportunity to request resources for SLO assessment is included.