Background: In the Fall of 2011, COLD identified “assessment” as a key strategic initiative for the CSU libraries over the next 18 to 24 months. To this end, the Deans voted to approve a new COLD standing committee on “assessment” to provide a tactical plan to move a coherent strategy on assessment of services forward for all CSU libraries. The new committee would carry the acronym CAT, which stands for COLD Assessment Team.
Objective: The objective of CAT’s efforts are twofold: 1) to create infrastructure and documentation for the CSU campus libraries to both collectively and individually examine their impact in student learning and faculty productivity; and 2) to undertake pilot initiatives that examine and document multiple methods of assessment of library programs and services, broadly defined.
Charge: Due to the large nature of the CSU system, there is a real opportunity to contribute to the global conversation on library value. CAT will provide CSU libraries with the tools and opportunities to create assessment methodologies to measure correlations between library instruction, services, collections, and functions with defined outcomes of student and faculty success. This effort is to garner meaningful, verifiable, outcome-driven data, that in aggregate, shows statistical evidence that CSU libraries have an impact on the academic performance of our users and our campus communities.
However, assessment and evaluation take a variety of forms with diverse methodologies. The committee will also harness the interest and energy of individual campuses to focus on new or innovative methodologies in the form of pilot projects that campuses can opt into as early adopters, or can benefit from project results. For instance, piloting and sharing practices around library participation in the WASC accreditation process would be useful to all CSU campuses. The committee will undertake a robust process of project planning and management in order to make the most efficient and effective use of system resources. Additional tasks of CAT are to serve as referral team, create assessment toolkits, keep abreast of emerging best practices, and publicize the work done.
Annual Work Plan: Each year, CAT will evaluate its current work and propose a prioritized list of projects mapped to the objectives above for consideration by the COLD membership.
Members: Beginning in 2015-16, CAT will have eight permanent members, not including the chair and vice chair. Membership will be for a two-year term rotating schedule and will be appointed from nominees from campuses represented by size. It is preferred that members have demonstrated assessment experience. Additional members may be recruited to work on annual projects and subcommittees. CAT will also develop a community of practice via listservRatified: June 2018
Revised: August 2020
Statement of Purpose
In support of student success and continuous improvement, CSU Libraries advance student learning by assessing student information literacy competencies, evaluating library services, aligning student needs with their experience in the library, and leveraging shared analytics to make evidence-based decisions for student benefit and improvement.
Strategic Plan Goals to be Addressed
- Share knowledge to build bridges between strategies and tactics employed by individual campuses in support of Graduation Initiative 2025;
- Review current and cutting-edge research methodologies to identify the most promising approaches;
- Demonstrate how information literacy instruction can positively impact student learning and success and campus accreditation goals in order to develop CSU best practices;
- Collaborate across libraries and with campus institutional research offices to build models to triangulate library data with institutional, programmatic, and course data; and
- Communicate the impact of the CSU Libraries’ services, spaces, collections, and information literacy activities on student success to CSU stakeholders.
Committee Scope
For academic year 2020-2021 the COLD Student Success Committee will focus on the following:
- Review the findings of the 2018-2020 multi-institutional information literacy/student success research project
- What are the practical takeaways from the research project?
- How can CSU libraries leverage the research findings in support of student success?
- Advocacy: how can the CSU libraries best communicate our message about the library’s role in student success?
- Develop additional library/student success information sharing opportunities for CSU libraries
- (e.g., Investigate methods/efficacy of online information literacy instruction)
Members
- Two library deans appointed by COLD who serve as chair and vice chair/chair-elect.
- 8 members from library personnel across the CSU (alternating terms). For 2020-2021 membership will be drawn primarily from the group of Student Success Study participants.
Members will generally serve a term of two years; initial terms will be staggered terms of one or two years so that subsequent committees will have four incoming members each year.