About Assessment

Only through the active participation and collaboration of all University constituencies can it produce accurate, meaningful, and useful results.

All University constituencies should participate in assessment processes and be informed about the overall assessment results of the institution and how these are used in planning.

Assessment of effectiveness in all other areas reflects the same commitment to student success.

resource allocation, institutional processes, and the assessment process itself.

from institutional to unit, programs, courses and all type of activities, with the ultimate goal of supporting student learning and delivering upon the University’s mission.

evaluating whether the institution is achieving its goals at all levels. Assessment processes are guided by plans containing a clear statement of objectives as well as methodologies for measuring their achievement. Assessment processes should collect enough information about the achievement of the objectives so as to enable corrective actions in the case that results are unsatisfactory. Assessment plans should be realistic and proportional to the resources available for their implementation.

Clear relationships should be established between goals – including learning outcomes - at all levels with interactions appearing both between levels and within levels. “If the academic plan calls for a new academic program, for example, the technology plan should ensure faculty and students in the new program will be able to use appropriate instructional technologies. Assessments of the technology plan should evaluate not just whether instructional technologies have been put in place but also how effectively those technologies have helped students to achieve the program’s key learning outcomes.”*

* Assessing Student Learning and Institutional Effectiveness: Understanding Middle States Expectations. Appendix 1 to the handbook for Periodic Review Reports. 12th edition Middle States Commission on Higher Education

including those that can be assessed through quantitative measures and those requiring qualitative gauging. Assessment may be conducted in a variety of settings and situations. However, it should be cost-effective, using quantitative and qualitative measures that are already in place whenever possible and “concentrating on the institution’s most important goals" [ibid].

including those that can be assessed through quantitative measures and those requiring qualitative gauging. Assessment may be conducted in a variety of settings and situations. However, it should be cost-effective, using quantitative and qualitative measures that are already in place whenever possible and “concentrating on the institution’s most important goals" [ibid].

in that it should help top administration, faculty, and staff in “making appropriate decisions about improving programs and services, developing goals and plans, and making resource allocations” [ibid].

that adapts to the evolving needs of our student population and to changes in the internal and external institutional environment. For this reason assessment plans and their implementation are periodically reviewed.

while providing useful information for effective decision-making.  It “may focus on just a few key goals in each program, unit, and curriculum.” [ibid]

 rather than a one-time or periodic event.

who commit the resources necessary to make effective and comprehensive assessment possible, and recognize and value efforts to improve and assess student learning.