Assessment is a constant cycle of improvement. Data gathering is ongoing.

The goal of assessment,

whether for an academic department or a program, is to provide: (a) a clear conceptualization of
intended student learning outcomes, (b) a description of how these outcomes are assessed and
measured, (c) a description of the results obtained from these measures, and (d) a description of how
these results validate current practices or point to changes needed to improve student learning.

Academic departments or programs need to constantly ask: What do we want students to be able to
know, do, and appreciate and how do we know that students are achieving the intended learning
outcomes? After implementing an assessment plan and measuring student learning outcomes,
departments, programs, and units need to analyze the results obtained and use those results to make
necessary changes or improvements to the unit or program.

Before beginning, it is important to have the proper structure in place to ensure that the process, once
in place, is self-sustaining. For this reason, it will be recommended that each department forms a
Departmental Assessment Committee (DAC), which will ideally be comprised of at least one
representative from each program. Members of the DAC would understand the purpose and importance
of assessment and would be willing to share their knowledge, expertise, and interest in assessment with
other faculty members in their department. To alleviate faculty workload on the DAC, a rotating chair
model can be implemented. The assessment work and process is more likely to become part of the
University culture if faculty collectively buy into the assessment procedures, agree on the important
learning outcomes, ways to measures these outcomes, what the data suggest, and what the results
mean for program improvement.

Multiple ways of assessing the learning outcomes are usually selected and used. Although direct and
indirect measures of learning can be used, it is usually recommended to focus on direct measures of
learning. Levels of student performance for each outcome is often described and assessed with the use
of rubrics.

It is important to determine how the data will be collected and who will be responsible for data
collection. Results are always reported in aggregate format to protect the confidentiality of the students
assessed.
Step 3: Analyze the results of the outcomes assessed

It is important to analyze and report the results of the assessments in a meaningful way. A small
subgroup of the DAC would ideally be responsible for this function. The assessment division of the FCTL
would support the efforts of the DAC and would provide data analysis and interpretation workshops and
training.

Step 4: Adjust or improve programs following the results of the learning outcomes assessed

Assessment results are worthless if they are not used. This step is a critical step of the assessment
process. The assessment process has failed if the results do not lead to adjustments or improvements in
programs. The results of assessments should be disseminated widely to faculty in the department in
order to seek their input on how to improve programs from the assessment results. In some instances,
changes will be minor and easy to implement. In other instances, substantial changes will be necessary
and recommended and may require several years to be fully implemented.