In this article, Julia So discusses the purpose of program assessment, four common missteps of program assessment and reporting, and how to prevent them. The four common missteps of program assessment and reporting she has observed are: (1) unclear or ambiguous program goals; (2) measurement error of program goals and outcomes; (3) incorrect unit…

Two-year colleges provide access and opportunity for students with various academic backgrounds to pursue a post-secondary education. While two-year colleges take pride in admitting any student with a high school diploma or equivalent, in recent years colleges have been under scrutiny for low completion and graduation rates. Particular attention…

The statewide program review process for Illinois community colleges required by the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) is scheduled on a five-year cycle, however, the value of program review is lost without regular opportunities for engagement and reflection on what has been learned through the process (Eggleston, 2020). Furthermore, one of…

According to the authors, to infuse equity truly in assessment requires that students be actively involved in the process of assessing their own learning. Equitable assessment argues that students can demonstrate attainment of learning outcomes in many ways, and in any particular instance of assessment, students can be offered multiple ways to…

How do students perceive alternative approaches to grading? Do those perceptions change over time? This mixed methods study addressed these questions for three alternative grading approaches - democratic contract grading, specifications grading, and "ungrading" - in a community college context. While alternative grading models in higher…

This study used an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach to compare student experience and academic performance in an asynchronous online community college course delivered in three formats: accelerated (5-week) cohort, accelerated (5-week) non-cohort, and non-accelerated (16-week) non-cohort. Quantitative results showed no significant…

Postsecondary institutions, and particularly community colleges, are positioned well to train more and more of the nation's entry- and middle-skill workers. The New World of Work (NWoW), a program that promoted teaching and learning soft skills, was designed in 2012 and operated briefly in over 75 community colleges in California. The program…

Open educational resources (OERs) are an alternative textbook to publisher materials used by colleges and universities. OER materials have a cost advantage for students; many are published as free or cost-reduced textbooks for students. The authors developed and piloted an OER textbook for Business Law I in the Management program of the School of…

Remedial courses have been part of the college landscape in the United States since at least the 1800s when nearly 250,000 students were placed into remedial courses. Traditionally, students who enrolled in remedial courses were placed into that course solely based on one test score. Students who enrolled in traditional remedial courses were more…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine how faculty chairs at a large, Midwestern community college understand and engage with the assessment of student learning outcomes within academic programs. This study was informed by two conceptual paradigms of assessment: accountability and improvement. Sensemaking was used as a…

This brief describes the participatory action research by the Office of Community College Research and Leadership (OCCRL)--built on the findings of an initial evaluation study of the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) program review process--toward the development of an equity-centered rubric to advance learning and support for the state's…

This report from the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Research Network Lead team provides final results from an evaluability assessment of CTE programs that feasibly could be evaluated using a rigorous experimental design. Evaluability assessments (also called feasibility studies) are used in education and other fields, such as international…

Since the George Floyd murder in 2020 and Black Lives Matter campaign, there has been increased interest among evaluators and PIs in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in their projects and evaluations. Our previous research showed a lack of clarity in understanding the distinction between the terms in practice and desire to engage with these…

Purpose: Data literacy empowers college students, equipping them with essential skills necessary for their personal lives and careers in today's data-driven world. This study aims to explore how community college students evaluate their data literacy and further examine demographic and educational/career advancement disparities in their…

This research brief provides community college educators who are facilitating program review with tips, suggestions, and resources to ensure a high-quality review that advances equitable student outcomes.