Meeting Outcomes Assessment: An Opportunity for Partnership

English faculty at Florida State College at Jacksonville were facing increasing frustration in the fight against student plagiarism. The Letters Council began to explore ways to assess student learning outcomes across the college on the topic of plagiarism. It was imperative to reach not only face-to-face students, but also online, and hybrid classes. In the fall of 2015 the library subscribed to the ProQuest Research Companion database which is a one-stop resource for guiding students through the research process. Through short videos organized into nine learning modules covering finding information, evaluating information, and using information, students complete pre and post assessments to evaluate their information literacy skills. Several faculty members were invited to preview the ProQuest Research Companion database and asked to field test it in their classes. When the English faculty began to discuss possible assessments for improving students’ use of sources, those faculty familiar with ProQuest Research invited the librarians to present the product to the Letters Council, the body responsible for writing outcomes and choosing assessment methods for writing faculty. After a presentation by the Executive Dean of the Library Learning Commons to the Letters Council faculty, the decision was made to collaborate to produce an assessment of students’ research skills and responsible uses of sources using Module 8: How Do I Avoid Plagiarism and Find My Own Voice?. This presentation will cover the discussion and collaboration between faculty and librarians regarding the Research Companion assessment and the need to develop an in-house assessment product better suited to faculty needs