The Undergraduate Educational Policy and Curriculum Committee (UEPCC) recently discussed undergraduate assessment of majors, including best practices and how to keep assessment simple and effective.

• Three years ago, CLAS departments added learning outcomes for each major; these outcomes are now an important part of the General Catalog.
• Just as you update your curriculum each year for the Catalog, I am asking you to assess at least one of these outcomes annually, making changes to the outcome and the curriculum based on these findings as needed.

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

As UEPCC members suggested, 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 major as stated in the Catalog 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 major. Accomplishing small assessment steps by focusing on just one outcome can be helpful.

These conversations can also be used for your annual undergraduate assessment updates due to Wayne Jacobson each June; 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 High Learning Commission (HLC) which reaffirms the UI accreditation status; this reaffirmation occurs continuously rather than simply every 10 years as in the past.
• CLAS departments must practice continual assessment as well, with the aim of making small changes annually that help students to better reach the major’s learning goals crafted by faculty. Creating notes of related changes that have been implemented are important for a department’s historical record and for HLC.
• Incremental changes can be swift and efficient while having a positive impact on student learning, which is the central purpose of assessment.

Still, discussing learning goals for a major can be difficult, particularly since a department’s research and instructional content can cover a range of disciplinary approaches, with differences about these approaches and their value.

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

Thank you for helping with this request, and please let me know how I can best answer your questions and concerns.