Faculty Senate recently approved an update to university-wide assessment policy, making more explicit the value of genuine assessment of student learning, as a way to identify areas of weakness, as well as strengths, and help guide program improvement. The statement, added to the Educational Policies and Procedures Manual (EPPM, Section 11.4), also specifies that assessment […]
The unexpected COVID-19 outbreak, and resulting move to remote learning, means a disrupted and stressful semester with substantial challenges and changes to courses, teaching, and learning. As outlined in ATL’s Guidance and Priorities for Undergraduate Program Assessment for Spring 2020, programs may want to consider conducting alternative formative assessment activities, to help gauge the impacts […]
Recognizing the unexpected move to distance education means a disrupted and stressful semester, with substantial challenges to teaching and learning, this message offers guidance on undergraduate program assessment activities and flexible approaches to gather useful information, including how to set assessment priorities in the coming weeks. ATL developed this guidance in consultation with Vice Provost […]
ATL has received a few recent emails from assessment coordinators regarding program assessment expectations this semester. We appreciate that faculty are focused on moving courses online and meeting the needs of students as they return from spring break. Once we have a clearer picture of how this semester will play out—with online instruction, operational shifts […]
Based on thorough discussion with the Liaison Council for Undergraduate Assessment, Vice Provost for Academic Engagement and Student Achievement Mary Wack, and the Office of Assessment of Teaching and Learning, annual undergraduate program assessment reporting will be shifting to a calendar year cycle. This change impacts the 2020 reports that undergraduate programs will be submitting, […]
Beginning in 2018, updates to WSU’s faculty manual provide recognition for faculty participation in assessment in the annual review process, as part of Teaching or Service accomplishments, depending on the activity. This update aligns with the university’s EPPM policies on assessment, which include recognizing assessment work in annual review at all levels. Now, in 2020, […]
On November 6th, the Office of Assessment of Teaching and Learning (ATL), Interim Provost Bryan Slinker, and Vice Provost Mary F. Wack hosted the second Celebration of Assessment Excellence, shining a spotlight on good practices in learning outcomes assessment and the efforts of program faculty, faculty assessment coordinators, chairs and directors, representing diverse academic programs […]
In October, ATL provided Vice Provost for Academic Engagement and Student Achievement Mary Wack and Vice Provost for System Innovation and Policy Craig Parks with the 2019 WSU-wide Summary of Undergraduate Degree Program Assessment Reports. WSU’s undergraduate degree programs report annually on their system of assessing student learning, a practice begun in 2009. Program-level assessment […]
While course grades are not fine-tuned enough to give information about student achievement on specific learning outcomes, they can nonetheless provide a rough indication of some aspects of curricular effectiveness, which programs can use – often in combination with other measures – to guide decision-making. Course grades are often considered the “indicator” type of indirect […]
The National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA), widely-recognized as the preeminent organization in the area of student learning outcomes assessment in higher education, regularly spotlights good assessment practices employed by colleges and universities across the country. In 2019, WSU was showcased by NILOA in a case study due to our promising approach to assessing […]