RVCC 2019 NECHE Self-Study

to ensure students were provided study guides and homework assignments. Following
these changes, exam scores increased and fell more in line with the other course sections.
Another way in which these common assignments in A&P I and A&P II has been useful in
assessing outcomes is by providing a way for the Program Director to recognize gaps in
student knowledge. On the final case studies there is a set of expected answers. If there
is an answer to a question that varies considerably from the expectations of the
instructors, it provides a clue that there is a gap in teaching of particular content. In A&P
II, reviewing problem areas on exams has led to improvements in teaching of specific
concepts (blood typing and transfusions) as well as improving the way in which A&P I and
A&P II concepts are related including: greater emphasis on second messenger systems
and organic compounds; greater emphasis on cell respiration and organelle function;
greater emphasis on hormones, and greater emphasis on adrenergic receptors and effects.
The most widespread data collection that shows course outcomes are reflected in the data
collected as part of the Math Co-Requisite Project described in Standard Five. Prior to
implementation of the Co-Requisite Project, students in developmental math courses had
only a 21% likelihood of passing a college-level mathematics course within two years. The
pass rate for Spring 2018 was 94%. These results are significantly higher than the pass
rates for students who begin in developmental mathematics, and are at or above the pass
rates of students who meet the prerequisites for college-level mathematics.
Most of the Allied Health programs including Nursing, as well as the Early Childhood
Education and Social Science programs, have additional assessments of job readiness by
requiring their students to participate in off-campus learning experiences. These clinical
rotations, affiliations, practicums, internships and fieldworks provide direct, hands-on
learning in the field of study. These courses are assessed through multiple avenues which
include both direct observation of the student by RVCC faculty as well as via informal
(phone or in-person conversations) and formal (completion of provided grading rubrics)
assessments by the non-faculty professionals in the field who are hosting and supervising
the RVCC students. Data related to outcome measures for these experiences is kept by
each Clinical Coordinator or Program Director. For example, the Physical Therapist
Director of Clinical Education provides a summation of the outcomes of the assessment
tool completed by the Clinical Preceptors working with RVCC students to the other faculty
in the PTA program upon completion of the clinical courses. For the Spring of 2018 cohort
(senior level clinical affiliation), the expectation at the end is that the students are rated at
“entry-level” meaning they are considered by their preceptor to be ready to step into clinic
work with only minimal supervision. The DCE provided the following summation of student
assessment: “All students were rated as entry level by their clinical instructor after their
clinical affiliation. The number of patients seen varied greatly between settings and
individual clinics. Some students saw a maximum of 5 patients a day and some saw 10.
The complexity of the patients varied greatly among the settings as well. Overall, the
clinicians supervising the students agree that they are entry level PTAs after their senior
affiliation.”
Many of the Allied Health programs have student learning outcomes related to professional
behaviors. Professionalism in the Allied Health fields has been an area highlighted by
advisory committees in recent years, and in response, programs have implemented course
objectives or program objectives which are reflective of professional behaviors expected in
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