The current study assesses the utility of the University Belongingness Questionnaire (UBQ) in community college settings. Utilizing item response theory (IRT), the UBQ was evaluated with a sample of 1155 community college students at one large community college on the west coast. In addition, other constructs were measured to ascertain the…

Since the George Floyd murder in 2020 and Black Lives Matter campaign, there has been increased interest among evaluators and PIs in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in their projects and evaluations. Our previous research showed a lack of clarity in understanding the distinction between the terms in practice and desire to engage with these…

Replication is a foundation of the development of a knowledge base in an evidence-based field such as education. This study includes two direct replications of Hosp, Hensley, Huddle, and Ford which found evidence of criterion-related validity of curriculum-based measurement (CBM) for reading and mathematics with postsecondary students with…

This article illustrates how organizational theory can be used to support the development of authentic assessment practice among community college faculty, as well as guide research on implementation of assessment efforts. While many factors make implementing assessment difficult, the link between accreditation and assessment is a key element in…

Because the process of faculty evaluation in the community college gives rise to ethical concerns about what is evaluated, who is involved in the process, and how data are collected and used, the purpose of this paper is to provide a meaningful ethical perspective for conducting faculty evaluation. The authors discuss ethical issues that arise in…

College completion rates in the U.S. are stubbornly low despite the large and rising returns to a college degree. Efforts to increase student success in college have largely ignored a potentially key factor: the instruction that students receive in the sequence of courses that add up to a college education. Improving the quality of instruction may…

In 2010, HCM Strategists received support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to engage academic researchers in identifying and discussing the best currently available ways to account for differences in college "inputs"--students, resources, and fixed characteristics--when evaluating postsecondary outcomes. The project, Context…

Surveys and benchmarks continue to grow in importance for community colleges in response to several factors. One is the press for accountability, that is, for colleges to report the outcomes of their programs and services to demonstrate their quality and prudent use of resources, primarily to external constituents and governing boards at the state…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) SLO-Based Grading Makes Assessment an Integral Part of Teaching (Nagy N. Bengiamin and Christina Leimer); (2) Editor's Notes: Assessing Assessment's ROI (Trudy W. Banta); (3) Assessment Plans: A Tool for Sanity (Shannon M. Sexton); and (4) Lessons from…

A survey instrument was developed to measure community college faculty and administrator views on the faculty evaluation process. Responses were then compared based on demographic characteristics such as primary area of instruction, supervisory responsibility, years of experience, and gender. Open-ended survey questions asked respondents to…

This study compared the impact of proctoring on the final course grades of community college students enrolled in distance education mathematics courses. The goal was to determine whether distance education students who are evaluated entirely online, in environments that are not proctored, receive grades that differ from distance education…

Action research can play an important role in institutional research endeavors to improve the quality of organizational performance in higher education. This article outlines how the action research perspective informed a research design that integrated fragmented and isolated student success initiatives at a large urban two-year institution where…

This article presents the results of a factor analysis on the distance education surveys "Is Online Learning Right for Me?" and "What Technical Skills Do I Need?" Both surveys are 15-question, forced response, self-scoring guides that have face validity for individual traits and skills believed to contribute to potential success in an…

This report presents findings from a study conducted by the Community College Research Center (CCRC) on how well prepared today's community colleges are in moving toward the greater use of data and research to improve student success. Data for the study were drawn from two major sources: first, an e-mail survey of college administrators…

When a college or university needs an assessment instrument, it has two choices: select an existing instrument or develop a new one. Since the cost of instrument development in both time and human resources is often prohibitive, many assessment programs rely on existing instruments. The challenge then becomes choosing one that provides the best…