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Assessment
Plans
A
program assessment plan shall consist of the following four components:
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Mission
statement
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Student
learning outcomes
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Program
matrix (curriculum map)
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Timeline
1)
Every program
must have an assessment plan. Please submit assessment plans for all major
programs to your college assessment director no later than May 17, 2007.
Please submit assessment plans for all minor programs no later than
December 24, 2007.
2)
The four
components of the assessment plan are not new to SCSU. All major programs
should currently have mission statements and student learning outcomes, and
many already have the other two components as well.
3)
The program
matrix or curriculum map shows which courses or outside-of-course
activities (alumni surveys, standardized tests, and so forth) will be used to
assess each student learning outcome.
4)
The timeline
identifies when these assessments will take place. Every student learning
outcome should be assessed at least once during each program review cycle
(every six years).
5)
The
assessment plan need not specify how each student learning outcome will be
assessed. That information will be required in the annual assessment report,
but only for the current year and the following year.
6)
Assessment
plans will be posted on the Assessment website as a resource for program
faculty and students, curriculum committees, and the broader academic
community.
7)
As soon as
possible after they are received, the Assessment website will post examples
of assessment plans. This will serve as a resource for programs that still
are working on their plans.
Rationale:
This is an opportune time to revise our policies on assessment plans and
annual assessment reports. The assessment plans for many programs were
developed a number of years ago, and assessment reporting by programs has
been sporadic in recent years. For SCSU to successfully complete its student
learning projects for the HLC Assessment Academy, we need more systematic
information about the assessment activities that are taking place across
campus. The proposed revision of the policies on assessment plans and
assessment reporting will clarify expectations for programs and will help
ensure that programs have the information they need to improve student
learning. Also, because assessment plans play an important role in our
curriculum process, we need to clearly define what they are, and we need to
make them public.
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