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University of Wyoming

Frequently Asked Questions  (FAQs) 

For department heads/chairs and program directors

  1. What do I have to do for my unit’s academic plan in response to Moving Forward III ?

General guidelines for college and department documents to be produced as part of the 2004 Academic Plan are outlined in Moving Forward III. Assessment of student learning at the program level is one of the elements to be addressed by each unit plan. The assessment section for any given Academic Plan will, at a minimum, need to describe the approach the program has taken or will take to develop their assessment plan. The faculty for each program should discuss and devise the strategy to be used for determining program learning goals, objectives and methods for their Plan, if that has not been completed.  Some programs, depending on the stage of its efforts relative to the Steps in Planning a Program Assessment, will need to describe the status of its assessment planning effort and strategy for accomplishing subsequent steps.  For programs that already have well advanced assessment plans that generally address the Steps, a short overview of the plan and examples of observed outcomes, with a link to the actual assessment plan Web site will suffice. 

The Assessment Coordinators may offer comments on the assessment section of the program academic plan or the assessment section of subsequent annual reports.

  1. Will Academic Affairs expect a different/separate kind of report than my college dean?

Colleges, departments and interdisciplinary academic programs will need to address their plans for the assessment of student learning in Academic Plan II.  Once those departmental plans have been formulated, assessment of student learning activity will be reported in departmental/program annual updates provided to your college dean, and through the dean to Academic Affairs.  No additional reports will be necessary on an annual basis.  There may be additional summary reporting required for the development of our institutional self-study for regional accreditation.

  1. What resources exist to develop our program’s assessment plan?

The formulation and implementation of department/program plans for the assessment of student learning across the University vary in their stage of development.  There are a variety of resources available to help your department/program to fully realize your assessment plan. Below is a list of current resources available to assist in these efforts.

  • Contact your college’s representative on the UW Assessment Coordinators for assistance or feedback on your plan or subsequent reports.  Those representatives are listed at http://www.uwyo.edu/AcadAffairs/assessment/People.asp.
  • Contact Erika Prager, university assessment specialist, at ekprager@uwyo.edu or 766-2897 for one-on-one assistance or feedback on your plan, subsequent reports, or specific assessment issues.
  • Contact the Ellbogen Center for Teaching and Learning at ellbogenctl@uwyo.edu or call 766-4847 for one-on-one assistance or suggestions about possible assessment consultants.
  • Read Linda Suskie’s book Assessing Student Learning: A Common Sense Guide (available at no charge from the ECTL).
  • Use the many Web-based resources available. See Links and Resources.