Sequential Self Assessments of student competencies validated by preceptors and employers: Moving from partially met to met

During our CEPH site visit in Fall, 2012, our MPH program received a ‘partially met’ on criterion 2.7, with our program lacking adequate assessments that linked our culminating experiences to our program competencies.  Improvements were needed in students’ self-assessments and employer assessments.  To adhere to this criterion, our faculty developed an online (i.e., D2L) ‘portfolio development’ site that now requires students to periodically conduct self-assessments regarding our program competencies at the following time periods: 1) start of the program; 2) completion of year one; 3) completion of all coursework; and 4) completion of the program.  These self-assessments are then validated by using parallel forms of the assessment tool that is completed by internship preceptors and employers.  These sequential self-assessments allow faculty to track student progress, use the data as formative feedback, and guide the students in obtaining additional experiences beyond the classroom in areas students perceive to be weak in.  Our time series analytical procedures indicate significant improvements in attainment of our competencies, with significant and meaningful correlations along with no significant differences between students’ self-assessments and preceptor/employer assessments.  This comparison allows us to validate our student assessments with the feedback we receive from the public health workforce.