Attached are the two sample assessment plans from Campus Activities and Student Information Management used at the "Planning to Assess" retreat on Tuesday, March 25th.

Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student Learning
American Association of Higher Education
Full Document available at: http://condor.depaul.edu/~acafflpc/aahe.htm  read more »

What are Components of a Good Outcome? (Bresciani, 2001)

• Clarify what you are trying to assess
• “If you can’t define what it is you are trying to learn about your program or process or what learning and development aspect is present, then you certainly can’t measure it”
• The outcome must be measurable
• “you must be able to provide evidence that the outcome was or was not achieved”
• The intended outcome must measure something useful and meaningful.
• “’information must be connected to issues or questions that people really care about”  read more »

How Do I Write A Student Learning Outcome?

• Audience – target of the outcome
• Behavior – verb in future tense
• Condition – activity causing learning
• Degree of Achievement (optional) – criteria
________ ________ ________ ________
Condition Audience Behavior Degree
Heinich, Molenda, Russell, & Smaldino (2002)

As a result of watching ESPN, Jeff will name the teams playing in the Major League Baseball playoffs.

As a result of watching ESPN, Jeff will name six of eight teams playing in the Major League Baseball playoffs.  read more »

What is a Student Learning Outcome?

A statement of what you want students to be able to do as a result of participation in programs or activities. (Long, 2007)

“(Learning) outcomes are not knowing, thinking and understanding, but rather a demonstration of knowing, thinking or understanding.” (Learning Reconsidered 2)

• Describes learning desired within a context
• Relies on active verbs
• Emerges from our collective intentions over time
• Integrates existing professional outcomes  read more »

ASSESSMENT is a participative and iterative process that:
• Produces evidence that confirms achievement of intended learning outcomes
• Guides broader educational and institutional improvement.

“The organization’s ongoing evaluation and assessment process provide reliable evidence of institutional effectiveness that clearly informs strategies for continuous improvement.”

Five Prompt Questions
1. How are (y)our stated student learning outcomes appropriate to (y)our mission, programs, and degrees?  read more »