Closing the loop: Engaging community college faculty and staff leaders through professional development

In higher education, and in community colleges in particular, there is a need to engage faculty and staff in closing the loop – using evidence for assessment, planning, and decision-making. Connect to Learning, a Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE) funded grant project brings together 26 colleges and universities to work as a hybrid ePortfolio-based community of practice. Participating campus project leaders were struggling with the process of closing the loop; while they were beginning to gather evidence, participants were not systematically using that evidence for assessment, planning, and decision-making. The purpose of this study was to implement a professional development process focused on improving community college faculty and staff leaders' ability in and attitude towards closing the loop. Working collaboratively in an online discussion forum and campus team ePortfolios, participants used evidence they gathered to plan and identify next steps and decisions for their ePortfolio projects. As an action research study, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed. The findings suggested that this professional development activity was successful in helping community college faculty and staff leaders learn about closing the loop. Participants learned about the use of an evaluation narrative, ways to share their findings with stakeholders, and the importance of and need for gathering both quantitative and qualitative evidence. The intervention also reinforced or improved participant attitudes and perceptions towards this work. The implications of the findings suggested a follow-up study to investigate the long-term impact of this activity. Further investigation about the impact of professional development on participant attitudes and perceptions, and additional research on assessment-related communities of practice are recommended.