Rock Valley College faculty and staff are very serious when it comes to the quality of education students receive at RVC. For that reason, they understand the need to continually assess what and how students are learning in and out of the classroom. To recognize excellence in assessment, RVC recently honored several faculty and staff members with inaugural assessment awards.

Under the leadership of Dr. Lisa Mehlig, RVC’s Executive Director of Outcomes Assessment, RVC addresses assessment for student learning across the college through academic assessment, co-curricular assessment, program assessment, course assessment, event/activity assessment, and classroom assessment.

The Inaugural Assessment Awards recognized those that provide excellent models of assessment best practice. In addition, the individuals honored demonstrate consistency in valuing, documenting, and continuing their own professional development in continuous teaching and student learning improvement.

Members of the Curricular and Co-curricular Assessment Committees, as well as college Deans, submitted nominations for the Inaugural Assessment Awards. From these nominations, members of the HLC Assessment Academy Team ranked nominees. These rankings were used to identify winners for each award. Recipients receive an award and an honorarium.

Assessment Awards

• Excellence in Curricular Assessment: Cheryl Rinker, Faculty - Reading
• Excellence in Co-curricular Assessment: Athletics

These awards recognized a department or individual in curricular and co-curricular assessment that provides the exemplar of an effective, comprehensive assessment practitioner and embodiment of the RVC Guidelines for Assessment for Student Learning.

Cheryl Rinker and RVC Athletics were recognized for multi-year consistency in documentation that illustrates assessment efforts from measures to actions and changes in teaching and learning to foster student success. Furthermore, this award recognizes the recipients’ regular participation in assessment events, for motivating and engaging others in assessment efforts, and for advancing the sharing of continuous improvement of learning stories (SCILS).

 

• Curricular Assessment Champion:  Suzanne Miller, Faculty - Sociology
• Co-curricular Assessment Champion:  Jerry LaBuy, Faculty - Mass Communication & Valley Forge Advisor

These awards recognized individuals in curricular and co-curricular assessment who demonstrate effective leadership for improving teaching and learning through assessment. Suzanne Miller (Curricular) and Jerry LaBuy (Co-curricular) have multiple years in assessment leadership and continually demonstrate the RVC Guidelines for Assessment for Student Learning in their work.

In addition, Suzanne and Jerry are leaders in comprehensive documentation that illustrate assessment efforts from measures to actions and changes in teaching and learning to foster student success. They regularly participate in the development of assessment events and often serve as leaders of such events. They motivate and engage others in assessment efforts and advance the sharing of continuous improvement of learning stories (SCILS) by sharing their own and encouraging others to do so.

 

• Emerging Curricular Assessment Star: Megan Pease, Faculty - Biology
• Emerging Co-Curricular Assessment Star: Luevinus Muhammad, Director of Student Life & Intercultural Support Services

These awards recognize an individual in curricular or co-curricular assessment that demonstrates professional engagement and growth in improving teaching and learning through assessment. The award recognizes efforts to improve courses, teaching, and learning through assessment for student learning as supported by the RVC Guidelines for Assessment for Student Learning

Megan Pease and Luevinus Muhammad have demonstrated an improvement in the documentation of assessment, participated in assessment professional development events to enhance their understanding and practice of assessment, and they used what they have learned to share continuous improvement of learning stories (SCILS) to improve teaching and learning in their own courses or discipline/program.

 

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