Assessing Current Institutional Practices: The ALFI Toolkit

PLA with a Purpose SymposiumColumbus, OhioApril 29, 2014

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Serving Adult Learners

Adult-Learning Focused Institutions (ALFI) Project Origins

CAEL’s 1999 Benchmarking Study of six high-performing, adult-serving colleges and universities

Best Practices in Adult Learning, a CAEL book

Study findings distilled into Principles of Effectiveness for Serving Adult Learners

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CAEL’s ALFI ProjectCAEL’s Principles of Effectiveness for

Serving Adult Learners

1. Outreach2. Life & Career Planning3. Financing4. Assessment of Learning Outcomes5. Teaching-Learning Process6. Student Support Systems7. Technology8. Strategic Partnerships9. Transitions

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All of the Principles

The Principles of Effectiveness are:

Integrated – they work together

Indivisible – they form a whole

Imperative – not just “a good idea”

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The ALFI Assessment Toolkit

The ALFI Assessment Tools(2 surveys)

Institutional Self-Assessment Survey (CAEL & NCHEMS) is for adult degree program administrators and faculty.

Adult Learner Inventory (CAEL & Noel-Levitz) is an adult student survey based on ALFI.

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ISAS

Institutional Self-Assessment Survey (ISAS)

The ISAS is a survey that is completed by administrators, faculty, and staff and offers an opportunity for dialogue across departments about adult learners.

It provides the framework to

reflectively examine how resources, structures, and practices impact the success of adult learners.

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ISAS Survey Categories

Institutional Background Mission, Leadership, and

Organizational Structure Tuition and Financial Aid Teaching and Learning Faculty Recruitment and

Development Student Services Key Constituencies

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Completing the ISAS

Approximately 50 items One survey is submitted;

completed by an institutional team

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ISAS Items

The ISAS: The Institutional Self-Assessment Survey

Sample Item: To what extent does your institution partner

with other organizations (community-based organizations, employers, other post-secondary providers) to deliver student support services: Not at all Not very much Somewhat A great deal Almost always (provide examples on

supplementary page)

Survey to capture the experience of adult students in undergraduate programs

Developed through a partnership between CAEL and Noel-Levitz

ALI focuses on eight of the nine CAEL ALFI Principles (Strategic Partnerships principle is not covered because students are unlikely to know about this area)

Version for four-year institutions and a version for two-year community colleges; same items with text adjustments

Structure of the instrument follows the Noel-Levitz model with students indicating both the level of importance and the level of satisfaction for each item

Items rated on a 1-7 scale (1 is low; 7 is high)10

The ALI

47 items rated for importance and satisfaction

10 optional items defined by the institution, rated for importance and satisfaction

2 summary items – overall satisfaction and likelihood student will recommend to other adult students

18 standard demographic items (gender, age, employment, class load, etc.)

2 optional demographic items (one major/program and one other11

ALI Items

Importance scores How important is it for your program

to meet this expectation? Satisfaction scores

How satisfied are you that your program is meeting this expectation?

Performance gap scores The discrepancy between the

expectation (importance score) and the reality (satisfaction score).

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ALI Scores

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The ALFI Report Provides:

Comparative data: External: Your team’s and your

students’ ratings vs. students and teams at other institutions that have used the ALFI Assessment Tools

Internal: The institution’s perspective vs. adult learner perspective for each scale

An evaluation of performance based on an external evaluator’s “grades”

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ALFI Is Not:

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Using the Tools

How Institutions Have Used the Tools

Identifying and marketing strengths Setting priorities for strategic

planning Preparation for accreditation review Internal program review Development of strategic plans Aligning resources to best meet the

needs of adult learners

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Using the Tools

How Institutions Have Used the Tools

(cont’d.)

Baseline data for future assessments Including data in annual report Creating recruitment messages Facilitating discussion & debate Helping with market niche reporting

Focusing attention on adult learner needs and issues

http://www.cael.org/Whom-We-Serve/Colleges-and-Universities/Adult-Student-Services/ALFI-Assessment-Tools

www.cael.org

http://www.cael.org/pdfs/21_ToolsforTwoYearColleges

To Learn More about Using ALFI

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Questions?