Storing qualitative and quantitative data

First, you will want to select an electronic storage system wherein all of the information/data and examples of student work are filed. The most sustainable electronic storage system is one that your faculty already know how to use and are comfortable using. Because assessment is a shared endeavor, consider identifying a method that can be shared by faculty. All of the following have been used successfully by faculty across the campus: BlackBoard Learn, Google Shares, a Shared Drive, SharePoint, Dropbox, and many others.

Whatever methods are used, it is generally a good idea to back up the files onto a departmental drive. Many programs track direct measures by creating electronic databases/ACCESS/Excel spreadsheets, and statistical packages such as SPSS, etc. to store data for later analysis. The database will typically lists all students completing the measure and their performance on the measure. Remember that if you want to link the assessment data to measures in LOUIE, such as when they took certain classes, incoming HSGPA, etc., you will want to collect their STUDENT ID as well.

Example of a program database illustrates how to compile the database of assessment data:

Second, you want to make sure that the data you collect is secured. Because this database will have individual student information, it is very important to ensure it remains secure and that only faculty and staff involved in the assessment activity have access to the contents. As noted in the section about keeping data work secure, student work is protected by The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99). To comply with FERPA regulations, student work should either be maintained in a secure system with access limited to those involved in assessment. Only if it is not possible to maintain the data on a secure system should the unit have all personally identifiable information removed. The moment personally identifiable information is removed, no further analyses can be conducted on the data, as the data can no longer be matched to other data that is maintaining within LOUIE, CIVITAS, or other data collection systems at NAU. This can severely limit the ability to use the data to inform decisions and make changes and improvements within the unit.

Additionally, it is recommended that samples of students’ work be stored to document the assessment process. Generally, for each direct measure, an example at each level of the performance standard should be saved. If possible, scan the student’s work, converting it into an electronic file, as electronic copies of student work can reduce space required for storage and allow the original work to be returned to the students.