The Watermark suite of software products will help Lane faculty, staff and administrators excel at teamwork behind the scenes, which will support student success and ensure Lane provides a high quality teaching and learning environment.
What is Watermark software?
Watermark provides software to higher education institutions to help them collect and use data to gain insights into how the institution and programs can be improved to support student success.
We will use it to help facilitate accreditation, strategic planning, program review, as well as meaningful continuous improvement activities like programmatic and student learning assessment, our first priority.
Watermark will help Lane by empowering faculty, staff and administrators to make data-based decisions about teaching and learning. By using this software we will help cultivate a culture of continuous improvement.
Examples of how Watermark may be used
Example 1: Watermark can be used to support non-instructional program review. For example, the program review team will use the software to input their self-study report and action plan. Then, they will be able to list and track outcomes as well as progress toward achieving those outcomes. Automated workflows and email communications will be used so that program review teams, managers, and leadership will be able to view the status and progress of program review teamwork. Administrators will be able to use the system to sign off on actions, to allocate resources, and communicate with program review teams. At the end of a program review cycle, the program review teams will be able to assess how well the changes they’ve made impacted student achievement.
We will use the Watermark suite of software products to enhance transparency and communication between program review teams, managers and leadership as well as make data-informed decisions about programmatic changes.
Example 2: Faculty can report student learning achievement on Institutional Learning Outcomes in different courses and easily review reports that aggregate/disaggregate data according to a variety of student characteristics to promote equity, identify gaps in curriculum, and simplify Academic Program Review self-study.
Why we are using Watermark
Over the last few years a number of concerns have arisen around institutional accreditation, assessment, program review, and strategic planning from a variety of sources including our institutional accreditor and internal stakeholders. To address these concerns Lane has contracted with Watermark, an integrated, cloud-based software solution suite. A few of the many reasons we are using this integrated software include to:
Streamline and simplify reporting requirements for accreditation in general and those related to program review, assessment (student learning, programmatic, institutional), and strategic planning
Support faculty and staff by providing tools for continuous improvement efforts such as program review
Help create a data system that will support student success in teaching and learning
Watermark software supports a holistic approach to learning and development that will help us to gain key insights into data and information to make strategic improvements.
Make it easy for faculty to use assessment results
Streamline data collection, simplify reporting and reduce reporting burdens
Increase transparency around plans, goals, outcomes, and results
Enhance communication between program review teams, managers and leadership
Support a reflective and continuous improvement culture
More easily assess learning wherever it happens (classroom, clinical placements, co-curricular activities)
Support integrated planning college wide
Who will use the software?
Typical users of the Student Learning and Licensure module dealing with assessment of student learning outcomes will include the Faculty Assessment Coordinator, Assessment Liaisons, Dean of Curriculum, Assessment and Grants Management as well as the Watermark Project Manager. In the mid- and long-term, additional users will have the opportunity to use the system, as described below. Employees who are interested in using the system sooner than later should contact us.
Faculty
Are faculty expected to use the software? Yes, but the level and depth of use will depend on the specific faculty member’s role and the choices made by a given program (it could be as simple as placing a module into a Moodle Course).
How will faculty use the software? Faculty will use the software for assessment of student learning. Collection of student artifacts will happen in Watermark, and program assessment plans and progress will be tracked there. Faculty who lead program reviews will also be able to use the software to submit reports and track programmatic outcomes. Later on, faculty will have the opportunity to track their accomplishments and list their credentials in the system using the Faculty Success module.
Classified Staff
Are classified staff expected to use the software? Some but not all staff will use the software. Over time most divisions/departments will select personnel who will use the system.
How will classified staff use the software? Staff may assist managers in creating reports, tracking data and information as well as helping to maintain workflows specific to their areas.
Administrators
Most administrators will likely use the software to view data, and for strategic planning, assessment (student learning, programmatic, institutional), program review, curriculum management and catalog functions.
Timeline
The suite of software solutions will be rolled out over two years starting with the student learning assessment module, “Learning and Licensure” in Fall 2021. Please check back to view the timeline because changes will be made, as needed.
Estimated Timeline for Watermark Software Suite Implementation
Watermark Software Suite
The Watermark suite of software products will help Lane faculty, staff and administrators excel at teamwork behind the scenes, which will support student success and ensure Lane provides a high quality teaching and learning environment.