ASSESSMENT REPORT
PARALEGAL DEPARTMENT
April 30, 2002

Introduction
This is only our second assessment report. The first one was for the 1997-1998 academic year. The first report was made at a time shortly after our assessment plan was approved.  We did not have any significant amount of data at that time. Since then, we have had the opportunity to use all our assessment measures. The data included with this report was gathered over an extended period of time. Some of the results are from different periods. That is due to the intervals and the manner in which we conducted our surveys.

The four assessment methods we used are: 

• Internships, especially the supervising attorneys’ evaluations

• Employer surveys and ratings

• Graduate surveys and ratings

• Graduating senior assessment surveys

Our original assessment plan included rating forms for certain capstone courses. We began to use them, but quickly determined that they were not particularly useful because they were merely repetitious of individual student grades. We will be revising our assessment plan to delete them, as we already have done so in practice.

The department meets to review the results of our assessments. This is done at regular department meetings and after we’ve compiled all the results. The Paralegal Advisory Board, composed of MSUM faculty and community representatives, will discuss this assessment report, along with the six-year review, at its meeting on May 8, 2002.

Internships
All Paralegal majors are required to complete an internship of at least 4, but not more than 12, credits, with one credit being the equivalent of 40 hours of work at a law office or other suitable environment offering relevant experiences under the supervision of an attorney. 

The department considers the internship to be one of the most important opportunities to assess each student’s development and competency following completion of the majority of the curriculum. We also consider it to be an excellent way to assess the effectiveness of our program.

The student’s performance is assessed by the supervising attorney, using an evaluation form provided by the faculty internship coordinator after the conclusion of the internship.  Attached is a composite of the results from spring 1999 through fall 2001.

The results continue to reaffirm our belief in the importance of the internships. They also tell us that we are doing a good job, in general, of preparing our students for the experience. We have not made any changes in the internship program as a result of the assessment process, nor do we intend to. Based on the students’ self-assessments following their internships, however, it appears that a renewed effort to increase the number of sites may be in order.

Employer surveys
The department periodically sends surveys to employers of our graduates in which they are asked to assess the effectiveness of our curriculum in preparing them for employment. The composite results for summer 1997 through spring 2001 are included with this report.

Employers’ assessments are critical to our mission as a department because, in fact, they are the ones who tell us if we’re accomplishing our mission of preparing our students for their chosen field. These surveys, along with the internship evaluations, are the most direct measures we use for assessment.

Graduate surveys
The department also periodically surveys its recent graduates, asking for their own assessment of their level of preparedness. (These surveys are sent first, asking for the name of the employer, and then the employer surveys discussed above are sent out.) The composite results for summer 1997 through spring 2001 are included with this report.

This is our best opportunity to obtain the perspectives of the graduates after they’ve been out long enough to judge their proficiency. It’s also our best chance to learn more about the many different ways paralegals are utilized in the job market. That information has been helpful to us not so much in changing the curriculum per se but in classroom discussion.

Graduating senior assessment surveys
Each student is asked to complete a survey just prior to their graduation. The composite results for fall 1998 through spring 2001 are included.

This assessment measure is more indirect than the other measures. It asks for an assessment before the student is in the best position to make a full assessment, i.e., the job market. The survey is perhaps more a measure of the student’s confidence level and perception of the academic experience. Nevertheless, this is useful information for us. If the student feels confident based on a good experience in the major, then we have at least met our objectives to that point.

Action taken as a result of assessment
The department has made, or will make, certain changes based on the combination of assessment data. Many of these changes have been made after sharing the data with the Paralegal Advisory Board. These include:

•  Deletion of PARA 360, Law Office Systems

• Increase in writing, drafting, and “hands-on” projects

• Added Academic Service Learning component to Administrative Advocacy

• Added oral presentations in Legal Ethics

• Will add computer applications in more courses

• Seeking an instructional improvement grant to develop more research projects

• Exploring closer integration of Civil Procedure and Litigation Methods

• Exploring periodic special topics courses; market to community practitioners

All of these are based on the narrative comments we’ve received, especially from the employer and graduate surveys. For this reason, the department considers the assessment process to be as much about the ongoing need to revisit curriculum as it is about the competency of individual students. 

Revisions to the assessment plan
As noted earlier, the only change we anticipate is to delete the use of rating forms in the capstone courses. We have not been using them and do not intend to.

The assessment plan will be reviewed by the chairperson over the summer months.  Recommended changes will be presented to the department and the Paralegal Advisory Board during fall semester before submission to the Institutional Assessment Committee.

Links to data
Supervising Attorney Evaluation (PDF)
Employer Survey (PDF)
Graduate Survey (PDF)
Graduating Senior Survey (PDF)

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