Undergraduate Program Assessment

Earlier this semester Wayne Jacobson (UI Assessment Director) visited the Directors of Undergraduate Studies meeting to discuss the annual process of undergraduate program assessment. CLAS works closely with Wayne to ensure that faculty are systematically assessing quality of learning in their programs and using what they learn to make program improvements as warranted. The deadline for Assessment Updates—using either the online short form or the form titled Learning Outcomes Assessment Update—is June 30, 2022. These forms were shared with DUSs. Additionally, please see these pages and the Assessment Exchange for helpful information and related forms.

• Assessment of all programs of study offered by UI is required by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), which reaffirms the UI accreditation status; this reaffirmation occurs continuously rather than every 10 years as in the past.
• CLAS departments therefore should practice continual assessment, with the aim of making small changes annually that help students to better reach the program’s learning outcomes.
• Incremental changes in a program’s curriculum can be swift and efficient while having a positive impact on student learning, which is the central purpose of assessment.
• Four years ago, CLAS departments added learning outcomes for each undergraduate major; these outcomes are now an important part of the General Catalog.
• Just as departments review and update their curriculum each year, the college requests that departments assess at least one of these learning outcomes annually, making changes to the outcome and the curriculum based on these findings as needed.

Best Practices for Undergraduate Assessment

Assessment of a program uses the same strategies as evaluating student work for a course but involves multiple courses and instructors who evaluate the student’s journey from introductory courses through capstone experiences or seminars. Assessment of a program often starts with the related learning outcomes since these define the learning goals for undergraduates in the program.

Having a conversation among those who share the teaching of one course or a small group of courses that are connected to one or two of the learning outcomes for the program can be a first step in discovering strengths and weaknesses in the curriculum and its structure. These smaller faculty groups can then report back to the department to widen the conversation about students’ learning in the program. Accomplishing small assessment steps by focusing on one outcome at a time can be helpful and provide a structure for the annual process of documenting how assessment is being done in a program. Assessment is a process that can also help the college understand strategic priorities and future goals for individual undergraduate programs.

Additionally, getting feedback and input from students in a program is critical to this process and can be facilitated in various ways. Some departments use a Qualtrics survey administered to students who are graduating; some departments survey students within the second and third year of their program; other departments hold an annual meeting for their more senior students to get feedback. The college is working on a survey template for departments to use to solicit some basic program-level feedback that can be adapted to different uses and programs.

Finally, I am very happy to visit during your department’s faculty meeting or meet with a department or program’s curriculum committee to provide more guidance. Supporting instructors and the hard work they accomplish is crucial to this assessment.