January 17, 2007

8:00 a.m.
Livingston Lord Library 120D

Present: Jean Sando, chair; Ellen Hill, Mike McCord, Brian Smith

Absent: Ellen Brisch, Tim Decker, Rajiv Kalra, Margaret Sankey, Stacy Voeller (sabbatical)

Minutes:  McCord moved. Smith seconded to approve the minutes of December 6, 2006. The motion was approved unanimously.

Committee Charge: Sando reviewed the discussion notes of December 20, 2006, between the Joint Administration-Faculty Association Committee Work Group, Ellen Brisch, Dean Jeppson, and herself. The discussion centered on the charges of the Dragon Core Committee and the Dragon Core Assessment Committee. Sando reported that President Barden and FA President Cindy Phillips met on January 5, 2007, for further discussion. The two committee charges are on the Meet & Confer agenda for January 18, 2007. Sando noted that the FA position is that faculty participation in assessment should be voluntary and that faculty should not be required to use any common assignment, test or project.

Discussion on the difficulty of comparing artifacts from different disciplines ensued. Discussion of academic freedom followed.

The DCAC agreed to suggest the following changes to the charge under review (additions are in underline and deletions are in strikethrough):

• Item 2: Consults with faculty and administration about design and implementation of the data collection and analysis. Responds to requests for assessment data and /or interpretation from the Dragon Core Committee.

• Item 4: Oversees the collection, analysis, and summarization and/or interpretation of data which is then presented to the Dragon Core Committee for evaluation.

Policy Draft: The most recent draft was reviewed. The general climate of assessment at MSUM and within the Minnesota State system was discussed. Discussion of faculty workload issues ensued. It was noted that MSUM does not have a history of direct assessment. Assessment has been indirect and qualitative in the past. 

Artifact Collection from Fall 2006: Sando reported that a viable number of Critical and Multicultural Thinking assignments have been submitted and the issue of protecting student privacy has been addressed. Hill reported that exams from all sections of MATH 102 have been collected and 50 percent of the projects have been submitted. McCord reported that the English artifacts are ready for processing by Sando.

Announcements:

• Registration for the Higher Learning Commission Assessment Workshop scheduled for March is closed. There may be another workshop in July.

• Sarah Kyllo, a graduate student, has been hired to work with Sando on assessment and with Veronica Michael on various projects.

• An initiative to hire a graduate student for AY2007-08 has been submitted.

Next Meeting: Wednesday, January 24, 2007, at 8:00 a.m. in LI 120D.

The meeting adjourned at 8:53 a.m.

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