Spreading the Word about ORU's Learning Outcomes

All ORU alumni are apprised of the ePortfolio process and assessment results of student learning through periodic mailings. One key alumni source for information about the University is Excellence magazine, published quarterly by the ORU Alumni Association. That magazine includes articles about ORU’s success with student learning, especially as it relates to ePortfolio. For an example from the Fall 2004, edition, entitled “From Snapshot to Surround Sound,” click_here. University Business magazine has also featured ORU’s ePortfolio system in a positive way.

The Public Relations Department conveys to the general public ORU’s strong emphasis on student learning. A press release dated April 13, 2004, introduced the ORU University-wide comprehensive assessment ePortfolio system. It quoted Geoff Irvine, president of Chalk & Wire as saying,” Oral Roberts University is the first higher education institution in the world to use ePortfolio and RubricMarker to collect performance data across the entire university.” Articles regularly appear on the ORU website regarding comprehensive assessment.

When reporting to internal and external constituencies, all six schools within the University supplement student learning data with other evidence of the soundness of operation and overall effectiveness of their programs. These data include graduation rates; professional certification pass rates; field test results; job placement rates; expenditure per credit hour, per student FTE, and per faculty FTE; student/faculty ratios; diversity data; community service hours; and employer survey results conducted by sources other than ORU. For example, the most recent survey of Tulsa-area employees commissioned by the Tulsa Metro Chamber of Commerce ranked ORU first in quality of graduates among more than 15 post-secondary institutions in the region.

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