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Special Section On Electronic Portfolio and Student Learning Outcomes Assessment
Tools and Resources in Higher Education
A Brief Overview of Student Learning Outcomes Assessment in Higher Education

George Lorenzo & John Ittelson, Ph.D.
March 2010

There has been an upsurge in reports and press coverage concerning accountability issues and student learning outcomes assessment (SLOA) in higher education. This paper is a brief overview of that upsurge, citing and synthesizing some of the most recent information published about accountability and SLOA.
Vendors

Education Software Vendors That Provide Features & Functions Related to Student Learning Outcomes Management:

Blackboard Outcomes Assessment

Datatel

StudentVoice

Desire2Learn

iRubric

Moodlerooms

Sakai

Timecruiser

WeaveOnline


ePortfolio Software Providers:

Adobe Acrobat Pro 9
Gives users the ability to create PDF documents that contain rich interactive media, such as video, audio and Flash applications, with all these functions fully operational even when the user is offline.

Avenet eFolio
A Web-based portfolio management system that enables students, professionals, educators and others to organize, manage and display career and educational information to advance educational and career objectives.

Chalk & Wire
A developer and provider of digital applications and software that monitor and verify learning. Provides just-in-time consulting  "at no charge to you" to help you customize and deploy your comprehensive performance-based assessment system.

Digication
Founded by faculty at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI. In an effort to bring educators a simple way to create e-Portfolios and communicate with their students, the founders of Digication designed a learning community utilizing the latest developments in web 2.0 technology.

The Epsilen Environment
A hosted solution with a robust, scalable architecture supports millions of users in a cost-effective Software-as-a Service (SaaS) model based on student FTE.

Folio by ePortaro
An enterprise level electronic portfolio software system designed to support reflection, growth, accomplishment and collaboration.

FolioTek
Created by Lanit Consulting, designs a custom-fit application to manage portfolio and assessment processes.

LiveText
The LiveText Accreditation Management System™ provides institutions with web-based tools for developing, assessing, and measuring student learning.

Nuventive
An electronic portfolio management system that helps individuals organize and archive work materials – ranging from text documents and presentations to graphics files, sound clips, video footage, and just about any other document or media format imaginable.

PebblePad
An ePortfolio system designed to support any learner; learning at any level. It is being used in schools, colleges and universities for both formal and informal learning.

TaskStream
Delivers on-demand tools and supporting services for standards-based instruction, competency assessment and electronic portfolios for demonstrating learning achievement.

TK20
Provider of campus-wide assessment management and reporting solutions for higher education.

Waypoint Outcomes
Colleges of education, engineering, business, the health sciences, and liberal arts use Waypoint Outcomes to create and publish interactive rubrics and surveys, then aggregate and disaggregate the resulting data on student learning.

Notable Activities

Initiatives & Organizations:

Association for Authentic, Experiential and Evidence-Based Learning (AAEEBL)
An academic association working toward new designs in learning and assessment, increasing connections among the portfolio community, and building the new learning enterprise.

Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP)
The standardized, nationally normed assessment program from ACT that enables postsecondary institutions to assess, evaluate, and enhance student learning outcomes and general education program outcomes.

Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE)
Provides information on student engagement, a key indicator of learning and, therefore, of the quality of community colleges.

Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA)
Offers an authentic approach to the
improvement of teaching and learning in higher education through a continuous
improvement model, and recognizes faculty as central actors in educational
improvement efforts.

EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative ePortfolio Website

ELI is no longer actively pursuing this topic. This website is provided as an historical resource; it is not being updated or actively managed; therefore, some of the links may be broken.


EifEl (European Institute for e-Learning on ePortfolios)
An independent, not-for-profit European professional association whose mission is to support organisations, communities and individuals in building a knowledge economy and a learning society through innovative and reflective practice, continuing professional development and the use of knowledge, information and learning technologies.


Electronic Portfolios Action and Communication (EPAC)
A leading resource on electronic portfolios since October 2002.

Essential Learning Outcomes
The Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP) campaign is organized around this robust set of learning outcomes, all of which are best developed by a contemporary liberal education.

ePortfolio California
Fosters and supports the development of  life-long learning through innovative technology and collaborative education. 

Helen Barrett’s Electronic Portfolios and Digital Storytelling for Lifelong and Life Wide Learning

Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) Planning and Institutional Improvement
Includes the Vice Chancellor’s immediate staff, the IUPUI Economic Model Office (EMOD), the Office of Information Management and Institutional Research (IMIR), the Office of Institutional Effectiveness (OIE), and the Testing Center (TC).

The Inter/National Coalition for Electronic Portfolio Research
Convenes research/practitioners to study the impact of ePortfolios on student learning and educational outcomes.


Measure of Academic Proficiency and Progress (MAPP)
The name of this test was recently changed to the ETS® Proficiency Profile. It assesses four core skill areas — critical thinking, reading, writing and mathematics — in a single test.

National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA)
Assists institutions and others in discovering and adopting promising practices in the assessment of college student learning outcomes.

National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)
Obtains, on an annual basis, information from hundreds of four-year colleges and universities nationwide about student participation in programs and activities that institutions provide for their learning and personal development.

New Leadership Alliance for Student Learning and Accountability
Aims to improve student learning through voluntary and cooperative professional efforts to significantly improve assessment of, and accountability for, student learning outcomes.

Transparency by Design
Assists adult learners in becoming educated consumers of distance education.

University and College Accountability Network (U-CAN)
Designed to give, in a common format, prospective students and their families concise, Web-based consumer-friendly information on the nation's nonprofit, private colleges and universities.

VALUE: Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education
Campuses selected by AAC&U in recognition of their work on e-portfolios and assessment.

Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA)
An initiative by public 4-year universities to supply basic, comparable information on the undergraduate student experience to important constituencies through a common web report – the College Portrait.

Resources

Reports and Articles:

Some Papers:

Office of Educational Technology, U.S. Department of Education (2010).
"National Educational Technology Plan 2010 - Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology."

American Association of State Colleges and Universities State Relations and Policy Analysis Research Team (2010). "Policy Matters: Top 10 Higher Education State Policy Issues for 2010.”

Chad Aldeman and Andrew P. Kelley (2010). “False Fronts? Behind Higher Education’s Voluntary Accountability Systems.” Published by the Education Sector and the American Enterprise Institute.

Jane V. Wellman (2010). “Connecting the Dots Between Learning and Resources.”  National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment.

George Ku and Stanley Ikenberry (2009). “More Than You Think, Less Than We Need: Learning Outcomes Assessment in American Higher Education.”  National Institute for Learning Outcomes

Judith S. Eaton (2009). “Accountability: An Old Issue In A New Era.” Inside Accreditation, Volume 5, Number 4, June 2, 2009.

Peter T. Ewell (2009). “Assessment, Accountability, and Improvement: Revisiting the Tension.”  National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment. 

Trudy W. Banta, Merilee Griffin, Teresa L. Flateby, and Susan Kahn (2009). "Three Promising Alternatives for Assessing College Students’ Knowledge and Skills.” National Institute for Learning Outcomes.

Stephen R. Porter (2009). “Do College Survey Have Any Validity?” Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Iowa State University.

Catherine M. Millett, David G. Payne, Carol A. Dwyer, Leslie M. Stickler, and Jon J. Alexiou (2008). “A Culture of Evidence: An Evidenced-Centered Approach to Accountability for Student Learning Outcomes.”  Educational Testing Service.

C. Edward Watson and Joshua D. Baron (2007). "E-Portfolio for Assessment, Student Learning, and Career Development: Open Source Portfolio Applications." EDUCAUSE Annual Conference 2007.

George Lorenzo and John Ittelson (2005). "An Overview of E-Portfolios." The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative.

George Lorenzo and John Ittelson (2005). "An Overview of Institutional E-Portfolios." The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative.

George Lorenzo and John Ittelson (2005). "Demonstrating and Assessing Student Learning with E-Portfolios." The EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative.

State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) National Commission on Accountability in Higher Education (2005). “Accountability for Better Results: A National Imperative for Higher Education.”

Business- Higher Education Forum (2004). “Public Accountability for Student Learning in Higher Education: Issues and Options.” American Council on Education.

Association of American Colleges and Universities (2002). “Greater Expectations: A New Vision for Learning as the Nation Goes to College.” 

Some Articles:

Kevn Carey (2010). “That Old College Lie.” Democracy: A Journal of Ideas, Issue #15, Winter 2010. 

Gilbert Cruz (2010) “Holding Colleges Accountable: Is Success Measurable?” TIME, January 7, 2010.

Doug Lederman (2010). “Assessment Disconnect.” Insider Higher Ed, January 27, 2010.

Doug Lederman (2010). “Imperfect Accountability.” Inside Higher Ed, March 2, 2010.

Scott Jaschik (2009). “Engaged or Confused?” Inside Higher Ed, November 9, 2009.

Gary A. Olson (2010). “Run Your Campus: Holding Ourselves Accountable.” The Chronicle of Higher Education, February, 23, 2010.

Trent Batson (2008). "ePortfolios: Hot Once Again." Campus Technology, April 16, 2008.

George Lorenzo (2008). Special Issue with ePortfolio Case Studies from Chalk and Wire, Digication, LiveText and Taskstream. Educational Pathways.

Gabriella Minnes Brandes and Natasha Boskic (2008). "Eportfolios: From Description to Analysis." The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, Vol 9, No 2, 2008.

Barbara B. Meyers and Nancy Latham (2008)., "Implementing Electronic Portfolios: Benefits, Challenges, and Suggestions." EDUCAUSE Quarterly, February 13, 2008.

John K. Waters (2008). "Unleashing the Power of Web 2.0: What's Next on the ePortfolio Horizon?" Campus Technology, June 2008.

Trudy W. Banta (2007)."A Warning on Measuring Learning Outcomes." Inside Higher Ed, January 26, 2007.

Trent Batson (2007). "The ePortfolio Hijacked." Campus Technology, December 12, 2007.

George Lorenzo (2007).  "Providing Blog, Wiki, Podcasting and ePortfolio Applications to Students, Faculty and Staff Through a Common Interface." Educational Pathways, Fall-Winter 07-08.

George Lorenzo (2007). "ePortfolio Tool Delivers Efficient Performance Assessment System."
Educational Pathways, July 2007.

John K. Waters (2007). "ePortfolios Meet Social Software." Campus Technology, October 2007.

George Lorenzo (2006). "ePortfolio Adoption in Teacher Credentialing Program Brings Positive Results." Educational Pathways, July-August 2006.

George Lorenzo (2006). “Learning Outcomes Transparency And What It Could Mean For Distance Education Providers.” Educational Pathways, July-August 2006.

Matt Villano (2006). "Electronic Student Assessment: The Power of the Portfolio." Campus Technology, August 29, 2006.

Stephen R. Acker (2005). "Overcoming Obstacles to ePortfolio Assessment." Campus Technology, 3/14/2005.

George Lorenzo (2005), "ePortfolios Still Hot."  Educational Pathways, May 2005.

Martha Wicker (2004). "ePortfolios: Assessing Student Learning and Program Outcomes." Campus Technology, 7/30/2004.

George Lorenzo (2003). "ePortfolios: Who is Doing What?," Educational Pathways, entire May 2003 issue.

George Lorenzo (2002), "CalStateTEACH Statewide Program Getting Teachers Credentialed," Educational Pathways, February 2002.

Rebecca Grossfield, "ePortfolios: Portals to New Worlds," American Council on Education.

Mary Beth Lakin. "Multipurpose ePortfolios: Catalysts for Lifelong Learning Ownership." American Council on Education.

Mary Beth Lakin. "ePortfolis, Part 2: New Tools, New Possibilities." American Council on Education.