UNMC’s student learning objectives now will be rooted in the organization’s ITEACH values.
Earlier this year, the UNMC Office of Accreditation and Assessment (Academic Affairs) and the UNMC Assessment Committee adapted the six ITEACH core values — innovation, teamwork, excellence, accountability, courage and healing — as Institutional Learning Objectives (ILO) for student learning.
The ILOs are a student-focused version of the ITEACH values, which provide a holistic view of the types of learning (academic, professional, personal growth) students achieve at UNMC. They also are a key component for UNMC’s assessment of student learning and state the knowledge, skills, attitudes and critical reasoning that students are expected to acquire and develop at UNMC.
“As we discussed ILOs, we realized our organizational values aligned well with what we were seeking, and reflected the academic, interpersonal and intrapersonal student development goals most important to the institution,” said Kendra Schmid, Ph.D., campus director of assessment, academic affairs, and assistant dean of graduate studies. “Adapting our ITEACH values seemed like the perfect solution. We already are reflecting our ITEACH values in how our institution operates and executes its strategic plan. The ILOs provide a new tool for UNMC to validate how our mission also is reflected in our colleges’ curriculum and the personal successes of each student.”
Student achievement is not limited to an exam score, and Dr. Schmid said the ILOs provide another way to measure where UNMC students are successful. Faculty have begun mapping ILOs to current course-, program- and college-level learning objectives, as well as student learning assessments.
“Aligning our UNMC institutional core values of ITEACH to the Institutional Learning Objectives of our students will ensure that we are walking the walk in training and graduating students who model what UNMC stands for long after they have left us,” said Dele Davies, M.D., senior vice chancellor for academic affairs. “This ensures that UNMC continues to build a culture of assessing what we profess, enabling us to remain on the leading edge of being the most learner-focused health science center in the nation.”
The next goal, Dr. Schmid said, is to utilize AEFIS, a centralized, web-based assessment management platform, which will help facilitate the collection and application of real-time assessment data. AEFIS (Assessment, Evaluation, Feedback and Intervention System) also includes an ILO mapping feature and offers such modules as a student portfolio, evaluation and surveys, and accreditation management. As UNMC begins collecting ILO assessment data, outcomes can be directly linked to UNMC’s mission and institutional values.
AEFIS training dates are being planned and the system is expected to go live this fall. When that happens, you’ll likely hear how “ITEACH in the classroom” or “ITEACH for education” is better connecting levels of learning and improving educational quality across campus.
Learn more about the ILOs and AEFIS on the Office of Accreditation/Assessment website.