Streamlining Digital Assessment at Pacific Northwest College

The Challenge

Pacific Northwest College (PNC), a mid-sized liberal arts institution with approximately 5,000 students, faced significant challenges with their assessment processes across departments. Faculty were spending excessive time on grading, feedback delivery was inconsistent, and students were frustrated by long waits for grades and limited commentary on their work.

Specific issues included:

• Time-intensive manual grading: Faculty spent 15-20 hours per week on assessment-related tasks
• Inconsistent rubric application: Variation in assessment standards between course sections
• Delayed feedback: Students typically waited 2-3 weeks to receive grades on major assignments
• Limited analytics: No systematic way to track student learning progress across courses
• Paper-based workflows: Cumbersome processes for distributing, collecting, and returning assignments

The college’s administration recognized that these challenges were affecting both faculty satisfaction and student learning outcomes. They approached EdTek Consulting to help develop and implement a comprehensive digital assessment strategy that would address these pain points while respecting the college’s pedagogical values and diverse disciplinary approaches.

Our Approach

After conducting a thorough needs assessment involving faculty focus groups, student surveys, and workflow analysis, our team developed a multi-faceted approach to transform PNC’s assessment practices:

1. Technology Selection and Integration

Through a collaborative evaluation process with key stakeholders, we identified a combination of tools that would support PNC’s diverse assessment needs:

• Canvas LMS SpeedGrader: Core platform for assignment submission and basic assessment
• Turnitin Feedback Studio: For originality checking and in-line commenting on written work
• Gradescope: For efficient grading of problem sets, exams, and quantitative assignments
• Custom integration solution: To ensure seamless data flow between systems

2. Redesigning Assessment Workflows

We worked with faculty to reimagine their assessment processes, focusing on:

• Rubric development: Creating clear, consistent rubrics that could be applied digitally
• Assignment design: Restructuring assignments to work effectively in digital formats
• Feedback strategies: Developing approaches for efficient yet meaningful feedback
• Batch processing techniques: Methods to handle common feedback more efficiently

3. Faculty Development Program

We designed and delivered a comprehensive training program including:

• Core technology workshops: Hands-on training in essential platform features
• Advanced tools workshops: Specialized training for discipline-specific assessment needs
• Pedagogical sessions: Focused on effective digital feedback and assessment strategies
• One-on-one coaching: Personalized support for faculty with specific needs or questions
• Peer learning community: Facilitated sharing of best practices among faculty

4. Change Management Strategy

To ensure successful adoption, we implemented:

• Departmental champions: Identifying and supporting faculty leaders in each department
• Phased rollout: Carefully sequenced implementation across departments and courses
• Regular communication: Transparent updates on progress, challenges, and successes
• Student orientation: Clear guidance for students on new submission and feedback systems
• Ongoing support desk: Dedicated help resources during the transition period

5. Assessment and Analytics Framework

We developed methods to evaluate both the implementation process and its outcomes:

• Usage metrics: Tracking faculty and student engagement with the new tools
• Time efficiency measures: Comparing assessment time before and after implementation
• Feedback quality analysis: Evaluating changes in the depth and utility of student feedback
• Learning outcome alignment: Ensuring assessments connected to program learning goals
• Student performance tracking: Systems to identify struggling students earlier

Implementation Process

The project was implemented over a 6-month period:

Months 1-2: Planning and Preparation

• Conducting needs assessment and stakeholder interviews
• Finalizing technology selections and procurement
• Developing implementation timeline and change management strategy
• Establishing baseline metrics for later comparison

Months 3-4: Pilot Implementation

• Training initial cohort of faculty champions (25 instructors across departments)
• Implementing solutions in selected courses (approximately 40 courses)
• Gathering feedback and refining approach based on pilot results
• Preparing for full-scale implementation

Months 5-6: Full Implementation and Sustainability

• Rolling out faculty training to all departments (120+ additional faculty)
• Implementing solutions across the curriculum (300+ courses)
• Establishing ongoing support systems and communities of practice
• Transitioning to sustainability phase with internal support capacity

Results and Impact

The digital assessment initiative delivered significant benefits for both faculty and students:

Time Efficiency

• 85% reduction in time spent on routine grading tasks
• 50% faster return of grades and feedback to students
• 67% decrease in administrative time managing paper-based assignments

Enhanced Feedback Quality

• 42% increase in the amount of personalized feedback provided to students
• Improved consistency in rubric application across course sections
• More specific and actionable feedback as measured by content analysis

Student Experience

• 93% student satisfaction with new assessment processes
• 78% of students reported better understanding of their grades and how to improve
• 24% increase in students applying feedback to subsequent assignments

Institutional Benefits

• Rich data on student learning across courses and programs
• Earlier identification of struggling students through analytics
• Better alignment between assessments and learning outcomes
• Reduced paper usage and administrative overhead

Faculty Experience

• 89% of faculty reported the new system was worth the transition effort
• Reallocation of time from grading logistics to higher-value teaching activities
• Greater consistency in assessment practices within departments

Lessons Learned

Several key insights emerged during this project:

1. Faculty champions were crucial: Having respected colleagues demonstrate the value of digital assessment was more persuasive than any external advocacy.

2. Discipline-specific approaches mattered: Recognizing and accommodating the different assessment needs of humanities, sciences, and professional programs was essential.

3. Integration between systems was a challenge: Ensuring seamless data flow between Canvas, Turnitin, and Gradescope required more technical effort than initially anticipated.

4. Student orientation was vital: Students needed clear guidance on how to submit work and access feedback in the new systems.

5. Sustained support was necessary: Even after initial training, faculty benefited from ongoing assistance and community of practice discussions.

Conclusion

The digital assessment initiative at Pacific Northwest College demonstrates how thoughtful implementation of educational technology, combined with appropriate faculty development and change management, can transform a core academic process. By focusing on both the technical and human dimensions of change, PNC was able to create assessment practices that save faculty time while enhancing the quality of feedback and the overall student learning experience.

The college has now established an internal Digital Assessment Innovation Team to continue refining and expanding these practices, ensuring continuous improvement and sustainability of the initiative.

The digital assessment solution has transformed how our faculty approach student evaluation. Not only has it saved significant time, but it's also enabled our instructors to provide more meaningful, personalized feedback to students.