The College is committed to ongoing self-examination of educational effectiveness to support evidence-based decisions that ensure students experience the best education we can provide. Departments and programs contribute to this process in two ways. First and most directly, they are responsible for setting and assessing student learning goals for their program. Each department and program has a designated assessment coordinator (who may or may not be the department chair). The assessment coordinator and the chair or director will work together to ensure that the department/program:
- clearly articulates student learning goals for the major/minor
- develops a plan that indicates how each learning goal will be assessed and when the department/program will discuss assessment findings
- carries out its assessment plan
- documents the assessment process
- submits an annual assessment report to the Office of the Provost
Because department and program assessment will directly inform decennial reviews, assessment activities should be carried out and reported on annually. However, an annual assessment report does not need to be submitted for years in which a decennial review is conducted. While assessment coordinators are responsible for coordinating this process, assessment activities require the input and collaboration of all department and program members; chairs and program directors should organize department and program meetings to accommodate assessment needs.
If your department would like help in defining learning goals or developing an assessment plan, please contact the Associate Director of Institutional Research and Assessment, Ian Turnage-Butterbaugh.
This Powerpoint presentation of a report to department chairs on January 31, 2019, discusses some criteria for effective departmental assessment and some suggestions for improving assessment processes.