For programs beginning assessment

1. Who does it?

Program assessment belongs to the department or unit. The first step is meeting together to talk about student learning in relation to Academic Planning. Program assessment is not done by one person -- the department head, for example -- in isolation from the department members. In your planning discussions about student learning and assessment, consider including all constituencies: faculty members, academic lecturers, graduate and undergraduate students, and staff, as well as other key audiences.

2. What is assessment of student learning?

Assessment is the systematic collection, review, and use of information about educational programs undertaken for the purpose of improving student learning and development. The purpose of assessment is to understand how educational programs are working and whether they contribute to student learning, growth, and development. Thus, the emphasis of assessment is on programs rather than individual students, but assessment should take place at all levels—institutional, program, and course. 

The assessment process begins with the formulation of statements of intended learning outcomes. That is, what students should know, understand, and be able to do with their knowledge. The second step in the assessment process is to design and/or select data gathering methods to determine whether the intended learning outcomes have been achieved.  These measures should include both direct and indirect assessments of student learning such as projects, papers, performances as well as surveys. The third step is ensuring that students have experiences within and outside their courses that help them achieve the desired learning outcomes. Coursework, internships, and co-curricular activities provide students opportunities for growth and development. Lastly, assessment results must be discussed and used to improve student learning. 

The assessment of student learning begins with educational values and clear, explicit purposes. Assessment is most effective when it reflects an understanding of learning as multidimensional, integrated, and revealed in performance over time. Thus, assessment is ongoing, not episodic.

3. We know what our students need to know. Isn't that enough?

The bottom-line of any assessment endeavor is the improvement of teaching and learning. Program or department assessment could focus on examining student learning in multi-section courses or on the overall improvement of teaching and learning relative to department/program goals. Programs and departments might work together to define areas of instructional concern, formulate and implement strategies to address those concerns, and then gather data to measure how well the strategies are working. Information gathered about students' performances could be used to evaluate the effectiveness of a given program, to establish grading norms, and to identify topics that are particularly difficult for students to grasp. Changing the course design or pedagogical method could improve student learning and better prepare students for future courses within a program. Departments and programs should be able to determine, not only what their students are supposed to know, but what they are actually learning.

4. How does outcomes assessment differ from setting a curriculum and making sure students meet the requirements before they graduate?

A successful assessment program must consider inputs, environment, and outcomes. Outcomes assessment is complementary to curriculum/pedagogy assessment. If we examine only environment (curriculum/pedagogy) we assume that what is taught is what is learned. This may or may not be true. If we examine only outcomes, we cannot know if what has been learned is a result of the environment because there is no input information. Assessment requires attention to outcomes and equally to the experiences that lead to those outcomes.

Outcomes assessment focuses on the knowledge that students have and what they can do with that knowledge. Outcomes assessment begins with intended learning outcomes. We can determine intended learning outcomes for a course, a program, and/or the institution. These intended learning outcomes describe the things that students know or can do after instruction that they didn’t know or couldn’t do before. Effective learning outcomes are student-focused rather than instructor focused. They focus on the learning resulting from the activity rather than on the activity itself.  Intended learning outcomes should be general enough to capture important learning but clear and specific enough to be measurable. 

There are three primary benefits to formulating intended learning outcomes. First, intended learning outcomes form the basis for assessment of a course, a program, or an institution.  Second, intended learning outcomes provide direction for instructional activity. Finally, intended learning outcomes inform students about the intentions and expectations of faculty.  We should consider both cognitive and affective outcomes and develop measures for each. For example, we might develop assessments for specific skills, general education, and/or discipline specific subject matter. Likewise, we can develop measures for leadership, cultural/ethnic sensitivity, and student satisfaction.

5. We thought UW already had an assessment plan.  Why can’t we just use that?

UW developed a comprehensive assessment plan that was approved by our accrediting agency, North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, in the mid-1990s. This plan is now somewhat dated as it was based on a university mission statement that has been revised and the general education program, University Studies, is being redesigned. Assessment at UW was revisited in 1999-2000 by the Outcomes Assessment Subcommittee, as part of the NCA Self-Study, and by the 1999-2004 Academic Plan. Currently, assessment is addressed in Moving Forward III and will be part of the new Academic Planning process. While some programs and colleges have developed or are developing assessment programs, assessment is still not widespread at UW. The assessment of student learning is a primary responsibility of programs and departments. Best practice reveals that assessment data are used most effectively when they are collected, interpreted, and used at the program and department level.

6. Is there a good example or model for assessment of student learning in our program?

           Examples from several departments are available at the sites below.

           University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign
           University of Minnesota, Morris
           University of Michigan, Flint
           University of Colorado, Boulder
           Southwest Missouri State University
           North Carolina State University
           University of Wisconsin—Madison
           Southeast Missouri State University

7.    Where can we get help/resources for developing an assessment plan?