LASA Working Ahead

A LASA is a substantive assessment intended to measure students’ performance against the selected course objectives and/or program outcomes within a course. LASAs are completed by all students across all Argosy University campuses and delivery formats without exception. Each LASA assignment contributes to a significant portion of the overall course grade and is assessed by faculty using the rubric designed for that assessment. These are individual assignments, and students earn individual grades. LASAs are not intended to assess students on every topic covered in the course but just on the key course objectives and/or program outcomes.

  Assignment Program Outcome Course Objectives Assessment Type Scoring Tool    

LASA 1:

Interview Report

2, 3, 6, 7, 8 2, 3, 4 Paper Rubric    

LASA 2:

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis

2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 1, 2, 3, 4 Paper Rubric    

In this course, two major assignments or LASAs make up 56% of your total class grade.

In the first LASA assignment, you are required to identify and interview an administrator of a local nonprofit human services agency of your choice and write a 6- to 8-page report. In the final LASA, you are required to select a human services agency of your choice and conduct a SWOT analysis. Your final report should be approximately 10–12 pages in length.

To ensure that you have carefully reviewed and planned how you will approach these major requirements, your final assignment in Module 1 is to review the descriptions of these requirements below and create a time line for accomplishing each of them during this course. See the rubrics listed at the end of the LASA descriptions.

Click here to view a description of LASA 1.

Click here to view a description of LASA 2.

Tasks:

Create a 1- to 2-page paper by responding to the following:

• Carefully review the description of each of the critical projects, prepare a time line for completing all parts of them, and submit that time line to your instructor as described below.
• Identify the activities you will perform to complete the specified tasks. Describe these activities and state when you will complete each of these activities.
• In APA format, list the resources and information you will need to complete the tasks.

Submission Details:

• By the due date assigned, save your paper as M1_A3_Lastname_Firstname.doc and submit it to the Submissions Area.

Assignment 2: LASA 1: Interview Report

For this assignment, you need to identify and interview an administrator of a local nonprofit human services agency of your choice and write a 6- to 8-page report.

Directions:

The report should contain:

• A list of all questions asked during the interview, along with their answers, addressing a typical day at work for the administrator.
• Analysis and examples regarding administrative challenges that are encountered on a daily basis by the administrator. Include challenges with regard to staffing, budgetary decisions, strategic planning, and alignment with the organizational mission.
• Evaluation of the political implications of the administrator’s work.
• Explanation of opportunities for collaboration that the administrator encounters. Specify how and by whom.
• Evaluation of future trends in the field of human services. Discuss with relation to managed care, governmental policy, funding, technological advances, and appropriate access to services.

Include a title and reference page and apply APA standards to the citation of sources, including the use of in-text citations and full references.

Your report should rely upon at least three sources from additional professional literature. Professional literature may include the Argosy University online library resources, relevant textbooks, peer-reviewed journal articles, and websites created by professional organizations, agencies, or institutions (.edu, .org, and .gov).

Submission Details:

• Save your report as M3_A2_Lastname_Firstname.doc.
• By the due date assigned, post your report to the Submissions Area.

  Grading Criteria  Maximum Points    List all questions used during the interview addressing a typical day at work for the administrator along with a description of his or her answers. CO: 2,3 PO: 2,6,7,8  32    Analyze and provide examples regarding administrative challenges that are encountered daily by the administrator (i.e., staffing, budgetary, strategic planning, and alignment with organizational mission). CO: 3 PO: 2,6,7,8  40    Evaluate the political implications of the administrator’s work. CO: 2 PO: 2,7,8  36    Explain opportunities for collaboration that the administrator encounters (how and by whom). CO: 2,3 PO: 2,6,7,8  36    Evaluate the future trends in the field of human services (as related to managed care, governmental policy, funding, technological advances, and appropriate access to services). CO: 4 PO: 2,3,6,7,8  36    Academic Writing Write in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and display accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.Include citations in text and at the end of the document in correct APA format.  20    Total:  200

Assignment 2: LASA 2: SWOT Analysis Report

In this assignment, you need to select a human services agency of your choice and conduct a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis.

Tasks:

Create a 10- to 12-page report, including the following:

• Analysis of the agency’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities for future growth, and threats to its viability (SWOT)
• Application of appropriate organizational theories into the SWOT analysis of the agency
• Proposal for a new initiative along with 1–3 recommendations toward its implementation
• Identification of stakeholders and 1–3 strategies to use to advocate the approval of the new initiative

Include a title and a reference page in your report and apply APA standards to the citation of sources, including in-text citations and full references.

Your report should rely upon at least five sources from additional professional literature. Professional literature may include the Argosy University online library resources, relevant textbooks, peer-reviewed journal articles, and websites created by professional organizations, agencies, or institutions (.edu, .org, and .gov).

Submission Details:

• By the due date assigned, save your Microsoft Word document as M5_A2_Lastname_Firstname.doc and submit it to the Submissions Area.

  Grading Criteria  Maximum Points     

Analyze the agency’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities for future growth, and threats to its viability (SWOT).

CO: 2, 3, 4PO: 2, 3, 6, 7, 8

88     

Apply appropriate organizational theories into the SWOT analysis of the agency.

CO: 1PO: 2, 4, 8

40    Propose a new initiative along with 1–3 recommendations toward its implementation. 

CO: 3, 4PO: 2, 3, 6, 7, 8  88     

Identify the stakeholders along with 1–3 strategies to use to advocate for the approval of the new initiative.

CO: 2, 3PO: 2, 6, 7, 8

60    Academic Writing Write in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and display accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.Include citations in text and at the end of the document in correct APA format.  24    Total:  300