Office of Institutional Effectiveness Current Assessment Activites

The campus community engages in assessment activities on a continuous basis and at all operational levels. The assessment of the institution's effectiveness in meeting its mission is confirmed through the strategies aligned with objectives identified in the strategic plan, all of which are aligned with student learning and success. The Student Learning Improvement Plan is designed to provide guidance and structure for employing assessment practices relative to all of the institution's operations. Assessments reporting generally occurs at the end of each of the fall and spring terms or annually at the end of June. Course-embedded assessments are dedicated to improving learning at the formative levels and collectively contribute to improving both program and general education curricula. The faculty is engaged in these assessment activities for assigned courses. Department level assessments are directed toward coordinating the faculty in ways which inform the disciplines. These activities involve assessing the effectiveness of groups or clusters of courses, to adapt and develop existing or new majors and programs, to align with external accrediting requirements, and to ensure that existing curricula are current with the discipline and the external operating environment. In assessing general education, the focus is at the course level and goal levels. At the goal level, courses contributing (i.e., critical thinking skills) are identified across the disciplines and the interdisciplinary contributions are measured using a common rubric. These assessments are currently focused on the core skills for written and verbal communication, analytical reasoning, and critical thinking. Together these multiple level assessment activities inform the improvement of student learning at many different levels concurrently.