Assessment and evaluation activities are an essential and ongoing part of the campus culture at Bates. A variety of activities, both quantitative and qualitative, take place at many levels, and across the College. The complexity of the liberal arts mission of Bates College means that no program or curriculum can be evaluated by a single test or measure.
Different approaches to evaluation are appropriate for different areas. Analytical activities may take place for at the institutional level, or internally within a department to help improve the effectiveness of its programs.
The outcomes of a Bates education cannot and should not be reduced to a simple set of statistics, and many positive outcomes cannot be quantified in a meaningful or comparable way. Stories, testimonials, and examples of student work are often the best indicators that real learning has taken place.
The examples that follow offer a representative, but not certainly not exhaustive, inventory of some of the types of activities that are ongoing at Bates College. (Note that not all of the items mentioned are available on the web or to the public.)
Some Examples of Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment Activities:
Student outcomes examples:
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Senior Thesis or project is completed by about 90% of all students. Many, but not all, departments require a one or two semester thesis or project. It is an academic capstone experience that allows students to demonstrate what they have learned in their major area.
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The Honors Program consists of the writing of a substantial senior thesis and an oral examination on the thesis and the major field.
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The Mt. David Summit is the annual campus-wide celebration of student academic achievement, highlighting undergraduate research; student creative work in art, dance, theater, music and film/video; projects conducting in the context of academic courses; and service-learning.
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Certain majors (such as French or English with a focus on creative writing) require students to complete a portfolio of their work.
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Art majors concentrating in Studio Art are required to complete a two-term senior thesis or project.
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Education students preparing for teacher certification must take the
Praxis I tests in reading, writing, and mathematics. The pass rate for Bates completers in 2001 was 100%, compared to 91% in the state of Maine. See the department's
Student Teaching Evaluation Rubric for guidelines on evaluation of student teachers.
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American Cultural Studies majors must complete a field work course involving at least six to eight hours per week of work in a community setting.
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Biological Chemistry majors are required to present at least one seminar during their senior year.
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Environmental Studies majors must complete a 200-hour internship in an environmentally-oriented organization off the Bates campus,as well as a two-term senior thesis.
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Geology majors are required to complete a two-term thesis or project involving original field research and/or laboratory work.
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Career Services offers multiple
self-assessment opportunities for students, with tests such as: the Strong Interest Inventory, the Campbell Interest and Skills Survey, the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, Choices Online, and a variety of other tests or inventories.
Evaluation and Improvement of Academic Programs:
Periodic Surveys:
- The College Board Admitted Student Questionnaire (conducted annually since 1988)
- The CIRP-HERI Freshman Survey (national survey conducted each year since the mid-1960s)
- The CORE Alcohol and Drug Survey (administered to first-year students annually)
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Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium Senior Survey (conducted every other year)
- Human Resources Staff Opinion Surveys (annual, since 2001)
- Alumni outcomes studies, including interviews, survey results, and mining the alumni database (Factbook)
Occasional Surveys, etc.:
- Off-Campus Study Experiences Survey (2004) (in cooperation with Bowdoin, Colby, Smith, and Amherst) as part of a grant administered by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and the Mellon Foundation.
- Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium Alumni Survey (2003) (periodic surveys of selected alumni classes)
- UCLA-HERI's Your First College Year Survey (2003)
- Library LibQual+ Survey (2003) (national library survey)
- First Year Seminar Evaluation and Focus Groups (2002-03)
- Reunion Class Surveys (by Development Office)
- The George Mitchell Institute Survey of Maine Students (2002)
- Consortium on High Achievement and Success survey of students of color (2003)
- Senior Thesis Program Evaluation and Survey (1999)
- Institutional Self-Study Survey (1999)
Opportunities for alumni input: (from Career Services):
Links to Department or Program Alumni Outcomes pages: (updated by the departments as time permits)
Benchmarking and Comparative Analysis:
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Strategic Indicators: Annual compilation of core internal and comparative indicators for planning purposes. Contains a set of "dashboard indicators", more detailed trends of Bates statistics, and peer group data compiled from public sources. (Limited distribution)
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Core Indicators of Fiscal Stability: Trends in critical financial, investment, and enrollment ratios. (Limited distribution)
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Annual (internal) peer analyses using data from:
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Committees with significant Institutional Effectiveness, Evaluation, or Assessment roles:
Did you know?
- About 60% of Bates entering students considered Bates as their first-choice among the schools to which they applied, and over 80% consider Bates to be their first or second choice.
- Nearly half of Bates students applied to six or more other institutions, and about half of them were accepted by five or more institutions.
- 89% of 2003 first-year students completed a First-Year Seminar.
- 93% of 2002 first-year students returned in 2003 for their sophomore year.
- 89% of the cohort entering in 1997 graduated within six years.
