Assessment

College assessment

In Fall 2018, the College announced a revised Assessment Plan that will be implemented in three (3) phases over three (3) years. The revised College Assessment Plan was intended to give units an opportunity to take stock of where they are in their own assessment activities and provide a structure and, hopefully, meaningful path forward. The revised plan also expands assessment to all undergraduate credentials, including degrees/majors, certificates, and minors.

Assessment reports

Unit administrators and approved staff have may submit reports on behalf of their unit and view previous assessment documents.

Manage my College Assessment Reports

Revised assessment plan

We would like departments/programs in this first year to review the learning outcomes they have already put in place, and establish/revise learning outcomes for all their credentials offered at the undergraduate level. These credentials include: All degrees/majors (BA, BFA and BS), all minors, and all certificates.

All departments/programs have now had three years of assessment data to help them refine or reassess their learning outcomes. They should use this data to reflect on the learning outcomes already identified, as well as to establish learning outcomes in credentials for which they have not yet explicitly assigned learning outcomes. Learning outcomes for all unit credentials should be submitted to the College by May 31, 2019. In addition, units should feel free to continue any assessment activities they already have in place and have found helpful.

At least one example of such a device/survey will be made available to departments as they determine how they wish to pursue the assessment of how students perceive the success of their department's/program's delivery of various learning outcomes. Simply put, we wish to be able to gauge two things from the student point of view: How important do students see the skills you have identified in your learning outcomes AND how helpful was your coursework in developing the skills identified in your learning outcomes.

Going forward, these surveys should be given every semester to students who have attained these credentials.

Detailed instructions will be provided in year two.

We have now worked on establishing learning outcomes and put survey systems in place to assess student perceptions of the department's delivery of those learning outcomes. This year we would like you to return to developing assessment plans that help you determine whether you feel like you have been successful in delivering your learning outcomes. In this third year, we will be exploring with you various ways you might assess from the faculty perspective how well students are attaining your stated learning outcomes for each credential you offer.

Detailed instructions will be provided in year three.

Resources

As described in the Undergraduate Assessment Plan 2019-2022 document, year two (2019-2020) will focus on student perception in terms of learning outcomes established for each credential. As part of this, you will work with the faculty in your unit to determine what might be the best way to collect information from students who have completed or are completing your majors, minors and/or certificates concerning the following two questions:

  • How important do students feel your identified learning outcomes/skills are to them?
  • How helpful do your students feel the coursework you require is in regard to achieving your credential's stated learning outcomes/skills?

It may also be helpful for you to consult with your unit's academic advisor(s) regarding the best way and best timing to gather this information.

Deliverable

On or before May 31, 2020, you will be expected to submit a report (or reports) to the College that provides the following:

  • A description of the methods you used to collect the student data, as well as a statement of the rationale for your choice of these methods
  • Any data you have gathered and a summary of those data concerning the two questions listed above. Please include the size of your sample.
  • Reflections you have on the methodology you employed in obtaining the student information and how you might improve the process in the next cycle (if improvements are necessary)
  • Reflections on what actions you may wish to pursue or changes you will implement given the student information you have gathered

When submitting your report, you will have the option to submit separate reports for each credential in your unit or combine selected credentials into a grouped report. Detailed submission instructions will be sent in the spring.

Methodology

Units have discretion to choose the method(s) by which data is collected for the purpose of this phase in the assessment plan. We believe most units will choose an online survey, while others might choose to conduct focus groups or take a mixed-method approach. You are not limited to asking the questions listed above, but you are expected to ask questions that gather answers to the two questions stated above.