Assurance of Learning
Assurance of Learning Processes
The AOL process enables the regular and meaningful reporting of the direct assessment measures of all degree programs offered in the colleges. The AOL process is characterized by a highly rigorous mechanism and a comprehensive system of procedures. The AOL committee regularly audits all courses subject to assessment and validates the aptness appropriateness of the assessment methods for the courses subject to assessment in the upcoming semester. Following the establishment of the learning competencies and objectives of the Colleges of Business and Finance, there are five steps involved in the implementation of the AOL process.
Step 1: Aligning curriculum with program Learning competencies
A curriculum that matches the learning competencies is established and periodically monitored to check for its compatibility with learning competencies. A list of courses subject to assessment must be submitted for each program in each department every five years. Each learning competency and objective must be assessed at least twice within a period of five years.
Step 2: Constructing assessment methods aligned with each rubric
Faculty members are encouraged to conduct assessments through direct measures such as student presentation, a final report, or written exams and indirect measures such as employer evaluation, competition, and certifications. Faculty members subject to the assessment must present the course assessment methods to the AOL committee at the beginning of the semester, and the committee determines whether the assessment methods reflect the learning competencies.
Step 3: Collecting data
Faculty members gather data in the form of direct and indirect assessments. The data are collected through a variety of assignments, such as written case analyses, project reports, oral presentations, final examinations, degree theses, third-party evaluations, and surveys. All the supportive materials collected should comply with the learning competencies and objectives. Instructors compile and calculate student assessment results obtained in the course to evaluate students’ learning outcomes.
Step 4: Analyzing learning outcomes
Faculty members can determine whether students have met the target learning competencies and objectives after they carry out a statistical analysis of the gathered data. The assessment reports created by faculty members are reviewed by the department curriculum committee to ensure that they are an adequate reflection of students’ academic achievements.
Step 5: Taking action to improve the curriculum by “closing the loop”
All assessment reports are submitted to the AOL committee for an overall review. The committee determines whether the faculty members’ action plans can be concretely actualized. Improvement actions include student counseling, adjustment to current teaching methods, additional tutorial sessions, etc. A plan for continuous improvement should be fully described for each course subject including student assessment, and the assurance of learning loop should be completed.
Continuous Improvement of AOL
(1) Increased indirect assessments
In order to assess student performance indirectly, we not only conduct ongoing employer surveys for internship students, but also add a parental opinion survey for graduates. This survey will assesses the teaching satisfaction with teaching of among parents of graduates from the current academic year, and the results will be are provided to each department for continuous improvement in course planning. In aAdditionally, some course instructors encourage students to participate in internal and external competitions, and incorporate the evaluation of student performance judged by external industry professionals and companies into the assessment of course learning outcomes. Some course instructors also use external professional certification exams as a basis for evaluating student learning outcomes at the end of the semester, depending on the nature of the course.
(2) Emphasis on feedback from enrolled students
COB/COF conducts both formative and summative teaching evaluations during mid-term and final exams each semester. We require students to provide feedback on the effectiveness of their teachers’ teaching, which is used as a reference for the subsequent improvement of teaching methods and course arrangements. In addition, each semester, the departments and colleges hold teacher–student forums where students can provide feedback on their class experience and suggestions.
(3) Renewal of the AOL timeline for each department and program
To align with the development goals of COB/COF, every five years, we will revise the schedule of the courses to be assessed. The curriculum committees of each department and the AOL curriculum committee at the college level will review the core and innovative courses proposed by each department to be included in the assessment, which will be are assessed at least twice over in the next subsequent five years.
(4) Comparison of student learning outcomes between earlier and later stages
To achieve continuous improvement, each subject to be assessed is evaluated at least twice within a five-year period. In addition, teachers must compare the assessment results with the previous evaluation and propose improvement plans to continually enhance teaching effectiveness. Improvement plans must be specific and feasible; for the second assessment, student performance is evaluated and compared using a form to confirm the improvement status of student learning outcomes after implementing the response measures.
(5) Revision of the Learning competency and assessment methods of fundamental courses
Our college’s development goals have been adjusted to align with the overall goals of the university, resulting in corresponding modifications to student learning competencies and skill development. In recent years, the school has emphasized the cultivation of students’ abilities to participate in the upgrading and transformation of social industries for sustainable development. As a result, our college places special emphasis on the development of students’ cross-disciplinary abilities. We have incorporated the assessment of Learning Competency D, which focuses on problem-solving skills, into our cross-disciplinary evaluation criteria. In addition, all learning competencies are evaluated for capstone courses using a range of different assessment approaches. In the evaluation of the learning outcomes of fundamental courses, we have included competition as a means of judging students’ abilities. The competition is held in collaboration with industry partners who provide the topics and scoring. Students must apply the statistical methods they have learned in class to analyze accounting data and industry economic data and then propose management implications for planning strategies. Therefore, the competition serves as an indirect assessment and reflects students’ final learning outcomes.
Degree Equivalency
All degree programs offered by COB/COF strictly adhere to the regulations of the Degree Conferral Act established by the Ministry of Education. The accumulation of credits and completion of coursework must comply with the rigorous standards set forth by this act, ensuring that our curricula align with those of other universities. In addition, surveys measuring student satisfaction and teaching effectiveness have shown that online courses are equally effective as in-person instruction. For three consecutive years, COB/COF has been selected as one of the top 10 universities preferred by enterprises in a survey conducted by Global Views Monthly Magazine. This demonstrates that our graduates are highly sought after by employers.
Stackable Microlearning Credentials
In order to cultivate talents required by the industry and align with our university’s vision, our college has established many micro-courses, including legal and economic, actuarial science, quantitative finance, cross-strait and ASEAN trade, enterprise digitization, big data analysis and practical applications, and sustainable development credit programs. Compared to departmental courses, micro-courses have more concise learning content and flexible learning methods, which can help improve student learning outcomes and enable students to learn other interdisciplinary skills. In addition to our full-time faculty members, who serve as instructors, we also invite industry professionals to co-teach. Our college strictly controls the quality of micro-courses in terms of course goals, learner participation, and learning outcome assessment. All courses are assessed based on our college’s learning competencies to evaluate students’ learning performance. Furthermore, we incorporate indirect assessment methods, such as the sustainable development credit program, where students need to form groups to prepare a final project report, with the topic provided and evaluated by industry professionals, to ensure that students acquire the skills necessary to meet industry requirements. For example, the course ESG Sustainability Report Review Practice requires students to take relevant certification exams.
Non-Degree Executive Education
We do not have any non-degree executive education programs in our college.