Assessment Plan
Plan for Assessment of Student Academic Achievement
IV. Plan for Assessment of Student Academic Outcomes
D. Assessment of the Major -- Undergraduate and Graduate
As of spring 1994, all academic departments have designed assessment programs for both graduate and undergraduate majors. The development of the plans has followed a similar pattern to that of the General Education/Baccalaureate Assessment Plan. Content goals were defined for each major, associated outcomes were developed for the goals, and appropriate assessment procedures have been linked to the outcomes. All plans include the use of multiple measures and may include capstone courses, portfolios, exit interviews, standardized tests, locally developed tests, surveys and oral examinations. Although the departmental assessment plans are decentralized and vary from department to department, all plans either contain realistic timelines or departments are in the process of developing them so that assessment of all goals occur within at least a four-year time frame.
The departmental plans were developed by the faculty, forwarded through the Dean, and reviewed by the University Assessment Committee in 1994. Revisions have been made to many plans based on that review. It is expected that plans will continue to be modified over time based on the departmental needs, review of assessment data, and changes made in curriculum.
Department curriculum committees will review and evaluate assessment data. Reports will be prepared for larger departmental review; departments will use results to make changes to the curriculum as determined appropriate. Each department is required to include in its annual report changes made as a direct result of assessment activity. Also, each department is reviewed on a seven-year cycle; the review is extensive and consists of a critique by an internal faculty review committee, external reviewers, and a number of faculty governance committees in addition to the Dean of the College and the Provost/Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. Departments are required to explain how progress toward goals is assessed and how the information has changed the nature of instruction to improve student learning. Reviewers are requested to comment on the departments' assessment plans, thus providing a periodic outside evaluation of these plans. It is anticipated that these processes will lead to a critical analysis of the departmental goals and to change as appropriate.
