Archived Assessment Report
| Program | Paralegal Studies AAS Degree |
| Assessment Reporter | [email protected] |
| Theme | Practicing Community |
| Review Year | 2024-2025 - Final Report |
| Learning Outcome (or Gen Ed Essential Skill) | Focus Area |
|---|---|
| 5. Master effective communication skills: oral, interpersonal, and written. | How well will students be able to effectively and efficiently communicate with clients, lawyers and judges? |
| Learning Outcome (or Gen Ed Essential Skill) | Description of Assessment Tool | Population or Courses Assessed | Hypothetical Analysis/Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5. Master effective communication skills: oral, interpersonal, and written. | MindTap assessment tool with quiz. | PL 2160 | Students will meet the required grade of 80%, 100% of the time. |
| Learning Outcome (or Gen Ed Essential Skill) | Summary of Results | Reflection on Focus Area | Intepretation of Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5. Master effective communication skills: oral, interpersonal, and written. | All students who took this assessment passed with an 80%. Seven students received 100%, one student received an 80%, and one student did not complete the assignment and dropped the course soon after. | Students did well and the results support the original focus area. | This shows us that students are understanding the importance of communication in the legal profession. |
| 5. Master effective communication skills: oral, interpersonal, and written. | |
|---|---|
| Describe the change that was implemented. | We are going to create an assignment in addition to the original assessment. This assignment will have specific scenarios that will require critical thinking skills to produce a thoughtful response and solution to the problem. |
| Type of Change | |
| Change in Assessment Approach or Tools? | This assignment will be created and will not come from the MindTap learning platform. |
| What data motivated the change? | Our data numbers were met, however students might benefit from more challenging and complex scenarios. |
| Hypothesis about the effect the change will have? | The interactive scenarios are basic and broad. This assignment will put them into a real situation where they need to provide an immediate answer and solution when communicating on the phone with legal professionals. These scenarios will be real world situations that have happened to working paralegals and will be timed. |
| Learning Outcome (or Gen Ed Essential Skill) | Description of Assessment Tool | Population of Courses Assessed |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Master effective communication skills: oral, interpersonal, and written. | Timed communication quiz (not in MindTap) | PL 2160 |
| Learning Outcome (or Gen Ed Essential Skill) | Summary of Second Round Results | Intepretation of Results, Pre- and Post-Change | Follow up questions, possible next steps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5. Master effective communication skills: oral, interpersonal, and written. | Students gained a deeper understanding of the importance of accountability and responsibility in their professional conduct. The assignment encouraged them to consider the client’s perspective, highlighting how a lack of communication can negatively impact those they serve. It also introduced them to the reality of frequent interactions with the legal community, emphasizing the need to be prepared and professional. Students responded thoughtfully and took the assignment seriously. Constructive feedback was provided to help them enhance their communication skills with legal professionals and their communication skills overall. | As a follow-up, our program plans to retain both assignments. The original assignment will be introduced first to establish foundational communication skills, followed by the new assignment to provide more in-depth practice and reinforce the importance of consistent, professional communication. |
Describe any change in student achievement observed as part of this assessment process, and what led to those changes.
Students demonstrated increased awareness of their role within the legal community and responded with seriousness and professionalism. This progression reflects meaningful growth in their ability to practice community through respectful, responsible, and consistent interaction with legal professionals.
Describe long-term changes in the program(s) that the assessment process led to, and what motivated those changes?
Because our program is fully online, we recognize the importance of fostering meaningful communication and interaction among paralegal students. To support this, we are incorporating court visits and student activities that provide opportunities to engage directly with attorneys, paralegals, and judges. These experiences help students gain a deeper understanding of the professional environment they are preparing to enter and strengthen their sense of connection to the legal community.
What did you learn about the teaching and learning of "Practicing Community" in your programs?
Through this assessment cycle, we gained valuable insights into how students engage with the theme of Practicing Community within the context of legal education. The revised assignment, which emphasizes communication and accountability, helped students recognize the impact of their actions on clients and the broader legal community. It reinforced the idea that effective communication is not just a skill but a professional responsibility that directly affects others.
Describe any external factors affecting the program or affecting assessment of the program.
At this time, our program has not experienced any significant external factors that have impacted the program, nor have any affected the assessment process during this cycle.