BETTER COMMUNICATION

FOR BETTER ASSESSMENT

Warning:

Don’t yell at people

right in front of you.
Disclaimer:

This probably is
not the best way
to indicate you
are listening.
THE PLAN
Lame Introduction
Communication Theory
Written Communication
Oral Communication
Application possibilities
Lame Conclusion
BEHAVIORISM
 B.F. Skinner
 Always focused on positive reinforcement
 Behavior is extinguished by lack of
reinforcement
 Silence is okay, but uncomfortable.
 Best negotiating tool!

 Dogs…
 It works in my experience.
THE POWER OF THE RIGHT
COMPLIMENT (REINFORCER)

I'd love to hear someone say

1. Link your compliment to
that I make things easier, that
something you genuinely feel.
they're happy I exist, they don't
know what they'd do with out 2. Think about why you
me, I'm strong, that they hope appreciate that quality.
we never lose each other, that 3. Be authentic and specific, not
they're proud of me, that I have hyperbolic.
something to offer.

The right words can be your best reinforcer. Relationships are important in our line of work.
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
Emails Reports
EMPATHY—OR KNOW YOUR
AUDIENCE
 Consider with whom you’re
communicating with (the
“audience” for your email).
 How many emails do you get each
day?
What about a chair?
What about a dean?
What about a VP—or their admin?

 Think about ways of keeping

things short based on where you
are in a discussion.
Someone spent 4 hours making the broth for your pho’.
TIFFANY…

Would anyone mind offering suggestions of external/third-party surveys for selecting a QEP
topic?
WOULD ANYONE MIND OFFERING SUGGESTIONS OF EXTERNAL/THIRD-PARTY SURVEYS FOR
SELECTING A QEP TOPIC?

SACSCOC VP (ret.) named “Maury”:

I would start internal by looking at goals in your
existing strategic/academic planning initiatives. I.e, [sic]
things that have already been identified as important to
the institution. There are significant differences in the
QEP language since 10 years ago. The Resource
Manual offers some detail of the linkage between
standards 7.1 and 7.2. 
 WOULD ANYONE MIND OFFERING SUGGESTIONS OF EXTERNAL/THIRD-PARTY SURVEYS FOR SELECTING A QEP TOPIC?

From a Texan who may be attending…

Tiffany,
Definitely I echo Maury’s statement that the QEP ought to proceed in some way out of the 7.1
strategic planning process. While a specific survey may be indicated as part of the strategic
objectives, those ought to provide some context to determine what the general options are for
learning outcome improvement or student success. 
If there are some types of learning outcomes identified through your normal assessment process that
are not only weak yet also likely to require interventions ‘beyond’ ‘only’ the classroom, that might
be one placed [sic] to look (and would indicate one set of surveys perhaps – as Carley said ETS). On
the other hand, if student success is indicated in the strategic / comprehensive planning process as an
area to improve, then I agree with Carley about CCSSE.
 WOULD ANYONE MIND OFFERING SUGGESTIONS OF EXTERNAL/THIRD-PARTY
SURVEYS FOR SELECTING A QEP TOPIC?

ANOTHER SACSCOC VP (ret.) named “Mitch”:

I'm going to add my fervent support to Maury’s comments. There was an intentional effort to link the QEP
to the institutional planning process on the part of the last Principles Review Committee, and it's possible
that the current one that is just beginning its work may make that link even more explicit. I have always
encouraged institutions to begin with their own student learning assessment data; this virtually assures that
the topic will be "identified through (the institution's) ongoing, comprehensive planning and evaluation
processes." You'll also make the On-Site Reaffirmation Committee's job much easier if the connection
between your topic and your assessment data/analysis is clear and linear. Finally, that sort of process might
help you remain very focused on an important student learning or student success issue. QEPs are still
getting recommendations for being too broad/complex and not being obviously related to student learning
and/or student success.
WOULD ANYONE MIND OFFERING SUGGESTIONS OF EXTERNAL/THIRD-PARTY
SURVEYS FOR SELECTING A QEP TOPIC?

A VENDOR named “Donny”:

I concur with Mitch & Maury’s previous comments. I have attached the QEP “Survey Instrument & Analysis of Survey Results” that I created in support of the
narrowing down of our QEP topic that was borne out of our Strategic Planning process around Student Success, which as a longtime CCSSE college focused on
improving the student learning environment for At-Risk Students (see attached Executive Summary):
Selecting the focus of the QEP was a campus-wide effort that included full-time and part-time faculty, staff, students, and community advisory committee members.
Initial discussions began with a review of institutional and survey data collected via a campus-wide survey conducted in April 2013. Institutional data indicated that only
18.1% {Higher Education Coordinating Board Accountability System) of the FY2011 cohort of first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students graduated within three
years. In FY2013, the percentage declined to 16.3% of first time, full-time, credential-seeking students graduated, however, when ethnic subgroups are examined, the
data indicates that first time, full-time Caucasian students graduate at a rate of twice that of first time, full-time African-American students for the same time-period.

---------------------------------
I just wish we had an Integrated Strategic Planning product like the software the company I now work for, Frank’s Operational Relational Databases (FORD), created to
manage the Strategic Planning process at institutions of Higher Education.

Pleas call me if I can be of further assistance? [sic]

Love,
Donny
 WOULD ANYONE MIND OFFERING SUGGESTIONS OF EXTERNAL/THIRD-PARTY SURVEYS FOR SELECTING A QEP TOPIC?

Carley Dear:

For our QEP, we saw an institutional desire and need for professionalism in clinical learning environments (which we expanded to include all experiential
learning environments including laboratories), so the surveys we are using are more geared to the topic of professional behavior, identity, and virtues.
If you already have a general idea of areas where your institutional data is already highlighting a need, then we can suggest specific surveys to help you
confirm your thoughts or clarify your institution’s needs.
If you want a broad look at your institution to begin the narrowing down process, I have used:

 National Community College Benchmark Project (NCCBP) – nccbp.org (I especially like the cost and productivity benchmarks!)
 Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) – www.ccsse.org
 ETS Proficiency Profile -- https://www.ets.org/proficiencyprofile/about (if you are thinking something along the lines of student learning outcomes)

--And, I would love to continue the conversation at MAIR this week if you are coming!!

Collaboratively,
Carley
KATRINA LOUIS HENLEY
 UNREGULATED “HINTS”
REGARDING EMAILS
Keep subject lines descriptive and short Other, Related Ideas for Your
Keep your tone professional (informal)
Consideration:
Choose your email salutation carefully

Use proper punctuation, fonts, formatting

Shorten your URLs or Hyperlink
Practice good grammar

Leave the right impression with your email

Use Bcc appropriately
sign-off Use 'Reply all' sparingly
Remove that 'Sent from my phone' caveat Think before forwarding
Call out attachments
Set informative out-of-office replies
SALUTATIONS
 Dear [Name]
 Hi
 Hello
 Hi everyone
 Hi team
 Hi [department name] team
 Salutations
 Greetings
 To whom it may concern (bad)
 DISCUSSION/ACTIVITY: SIGN-
OFFS
What’s important is the discussion, not
the piece of paper.

Any elementary- Conferences are about networking.

types here?
You have more in common with these
people than almost anyone.
 AVOID SENDING EMAILS IN
ANGER!
 Read your email as a disinterested person.
 Read the email as the receiver.
 Recognize and address negative words or tone.
 Recognize any language that is not professional.
 Create two drafts.
 Write it & delete it.
 Use MS Word to compose the email (not Outlook).
 Write it, print it out, & get a second reader.
 Walk away & come back to it.
 Reply All is a career killer.
SENDING A DIFFICULT EMAIL
Composition-Voicing Structure

Be direct (but not curt) Say something friendly

Be polite Point out something positive
Words to avoid: Perhaps show appreciation for effort
No Walk through changes you require
Sorry, but… Give Reasons (or results)
Actually, Solicit questions (be specific)
Fine Show empathy
Swear words
MODEL DIFFICULT EMAIL
Dear [Name],

Thanks again for your [thoughts/ work on] [project/the attached].

You definitely got the heart of the issue./ Your hard work is evident here./This is a great start./ I
particularly like focus on specific student R scores.

I made some changes for clarity/better direction/accuracy/the off-site reader’s mindset, which I’d like to
explain. [Specific example of change and how it will yield a positive result. Repeated for other changes.]

Please let me know if you have any questions [regarding the new approach, etc.].

Best,
pth
REPORT WRITING—ALSO
APPLIES TO EMAILS
If written in typical fashion. If written using bullet points &
formatting.
AGAIN, REMEMBER YOUR
AUDIENCE!
 Who is receiving the report?

 A colleague
 A program coordinator
 A chair
 A dean
 A VP
 A college president
 A member of Congress/Legislature
 An off-site member
 An on-site member
 A SACSCOC VP
 The SACSCOC Board
 TOOL: GUNNING-FOG INDEX
 Readability test
 Straightforward calculation
 Wide Audience: 12 or less
 Universal: 8 or less
 Readability, but for paragraphs
 ONE EXAMPLE
We the People of the United
States, in Order to form a more
perfect Union, establish Justice,
insure domestic Tranquility,
provide for the common
defence, promote the general
Welfare, and secure the
Blessings of Liberty to
ourselves and our Posterity, do
ordain and establish this
Constitution for the United
States of America.
We the People ordain and
establish this Constitution for the
United States of America. We do
this for the following reasons:
to form a more perfect Union
to establish Justice
to insure domestic Tranquility
to provide for the common defence
to promote the general Welfare
to secure the Blessings of Liberty to
ourselves and our Posterity
APPLICATION OPPORTUNITY
Traditional institutional arrangements
characteristic of regulated capitalist economies
are under intense strain due to new market
pressures and the ascendance of neoliberal
theory. Such pressures translate into a
challenge for governmental agencies.
For environments that have
many devices that generate
network flow data and many
interfaces for which
administrators want to
collect data, careful planning
of NTA traffic analysis task
management is essential.
When in the Course of human events, it becomes
necessary for one people to dissolve the political
bands which have connected them with another,
and to assume among the powers of the earth, the
separate and equal station to which the Laws of
Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent
respect to the opinions of mankind requires that
they should declare the causes which impel them to
the separation.
GUESS THE GFI SCORE!
Assessing Student Learning and Success Abstract Students begin their higher education interacting with student
success offices including financial aid, admissions, etc.), and continue to build relationships that support them through
graduation with offices such as advising, disability services, and student life. Many high impact practices (HIPs) such as
experiential learning and extracurricular activities are facilitated through student services, moreover, HIPs such as
learning communities are collaborative efforts between student success services and academics. As a result, SAC
worked to capture this data by expanding assessment beyond academics and partnering with the student success
division to co-create a model of assessment to capture a holistic view of the student learning. Experiential Learning is
paramount in allowing students the opportunity for reflective practice in monitored environments: Rising from the
pandemic, we recognized a need to create additional pathways for students to complete these types of experiences. San
Antonio College launched the Earn On program to facilitate student participation in experiential learning while earning
income, building professional networks, and developing professional showcase resources. Collaboration between the
between the Student Enrichment Center and the Learning Assessment office developed a high impact guided ePortfolio
component to document achievement of marketable skills and provide students with an assessed artifact, tied to SLOs,
at the completion of their experience- Increasing student awareness of marketable skills gained through their
educational experiences beyond classroom learning, helps empower students to direct their learning paths, build self-
efficacy and resiliency and bridge connections between SLOs inside and outside of the classroom with marketable
career skills to articulate those skills.) We will share how we have included student services in our institutional
assessment process to capture student learning throughout their journey, built partnerships and used a cocreation
model to identify assessment champions, and how staff utilized HIPs to interact further with students for successes.
AACU VS. THE GUNNING FOG
INDEX
GFI SCORE OF 31.03
THE KEY TO POSITIVE ORAL
COMMUNICATION
TWO ACTIONS IN ORAL
COMMUNICATION
These are two completely
different people from the
first slide.

Trust me…
FWAY-lahn (Faolan)
ALL OF THIS TO SAY…
WHY ARE YOU LISTENING TO
SOMEONE?
Do you…

 listen to obtain information?

 listen to understand?
 listen for enjoyment?
 listen to learn?
 listen to respond?
 STEPS TO LISTENING FROM A
COMMUNICATION EXPERT
 Step 1: Face the speaker and maintain eye contact.
 Step 2: Be attentive, but relaxed.
 Step 3: Keep an open mind.
 Step 4: Listen to the words and try to picture what the speaker is saying.
 Step 5: Don't interrupt and don't impose your "solutions."
 Step 6: Wait for the speaker to pause to ask clarifying questions.
 Step 7: Ask questions only to ensure understanding.
 Step 8: Try to feel what the speaker is feeling.
 Step 9: Give the speaker regular feedback.
 Step 10: Pay attention to what isn't said—to nonverbal cues.
APPARENTLY, INTERRUPTING
IS BAD…
Interrupting sends a variety of messages:

 "I'm more important than you are."

 "What I have to say is more interesting, accurate or relevant."
 "I don't really care what you think."
 "I don't have time for your opinion."
 "This isn't a conversation, it's a contest, and I'm going to win."
I TALK TOO MUCH. IT’S
LIKELY YOU DO, TOO.
BONUS: NASTY PHONE
CONVERSATION
DIFFICULT CONVERSATION
TOOLS
 Declare or make it safe to talk.
 Listen (see previous)
 Stance: “Yes, and…”
 Recognize your Stories to Separate Impact and Intent
 Start sentences with “I” instead of “You”
 Contribution, not blame
 Take radical responsibility
 IBB
WORST POSSIBLE ANSWER
GAME!
Four steps to this game:

1. Brainstorm bad responses (2 minutes).

2. Discuss others’ ideas (2 minutes).
3. Reach a collaborative decision (1 minute, maybe 90 seconds).
4. Announce to the others (3 hours-ish).
5. Determine the best possible answer/approach next, using the same format.
6. Offer ideas of “typical” approaches.
PRACTICE #1
You are madly in love with your significant other, Skylar/Jessie/Jackie.

You arrive home (or at their place) late from a long day at work.

You walk in to a full-on party.

You realize it is their birthday.

You have no present and no reason to give for your tardiness, but…
PRACTICE #2
You are at a job interview.

You’re asked the standard questions.

One of these is “tell me your biggest weakness.”

(*I’m expecting gooooooood answers here.*)

WITH PROGRAM
COORDINATORS
Art History Program Coordinator

 Turns everything in on time & well-written.

 Improvement objective(s) seem creative, significant, well-planned.
 The PLOs listed on the report are not the PLOs in the bulletin or in previous versions of the
plan.
 She tells you that she updated them to fit better with current trends in Art History.
 How do you communicate, and with whom?
WITH OFFICE MANAGERS &
DIRECTORS (8.2.C)
 The director of the Tigers Teach program has completed his report.
 You notice that none of the improvement objectives from last year were met.
 Two of the three had neither data nor evidence of plan execution.
 None of the objectives were carried over to the new plan.
 This event series has happened for the past two years.
 Do you say anything?
 Determine how you might open a conversation with the Dean about this pattern.
WITH 7.3’S
Your “due date” was 3 weeks ago.

Sally has not answered the phone, nor returned calls.

She has read your emails, but isn’t responding.

You see her at the Chick-fil-A in the Student Center.

What do you do or say?

WITH ADMINISTRATORS
It’s April, and you are awaiting completed IE plans.

There are 92 units that have everything completed and submitted.

There are 14 units remaining on your list of missing assessment reports.

It has been two months of solid nothing from this group. Your best efforts return no results.

Craft an email to a department chair regarding three of the delinquent programs.

WITH “ASSESSMENT
PROFESSIONALS”
1. What does it mean when you refer to yourself as a professional?
2. Where do you see yourself in the hierarchy of things?
A. Are you a beggar?
B. Are you an enforcer?
C. Are you a partner?
3. Who decides what should improve? How do they do that?
4. Does everybody understand your role in the process?
5. Does your office have an improvement plan?
TXAHE MEETING 8/18/2022

Who knew that we, as a group, like to party??

YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE ANY
QUESTIONS!

Thank you for coming to this.

I hope it helped!