Annual Assessment (Academic)


Process


The annual planning and assessment reporting process is undertaken by each academic department every year. It focuses on the assessment of results and learnings from the department’s annual activities as well as assessing one identified program learning outcome (PLOs), aligned to an institutional learning outcome (ILO), for each degree program housed in the department.

The Annual Planning and Assessment Report Template is divided into two sections that departments complete.

Section 1 - "What did you do this year?" includes the following:
  • Six goals listed for all academic departments (same every academic year).
  • Relevant unit activities related to each goal that will be conducted in the academic year to achieve these goals (start of the academic year)
  • Results of those activities (end of the academic year)
  • Proposed actions in response to the results, linked to resources / support needed to enact these actions (end of the academic year)
Section 2 - "How did it go?" includes the following:
  • One program learning outcome (PLO), and its aligned institutional learning outcome (ILO), listed for each degree program within the department (start of the academic year)
  • Method of assessment planned for each PLO, including the instrument, related assignments, and a list of the respective courses related to the PLO as outlined in the curriculum map (start of the academic year)
  • Results of the PLO assessment aggregated and analyzed across courses (end of the academic year)
  • Plan for implementation of changes based on the results and any resource / support needed to enact these changes (end of the academic year).
All of the information included in the document above is reviewed by several entities (including departmental faculty, the provost, and the college's Institutional Effectiveness Committee) and used for future operational planning and resource allocation.


Timeline


The general timeline for academic departments engaging in the annual planning and assessment reporting process is as follows:

September - October
  • Program directors create annual plans for courses related to the one or two PLOs to assess based on the PLO assessment calendar based on the curriculum map, including identifying the assignments and artifacts that will be used to conduct the assessment.
  • Department chairs populate activities for the upcoming academic year with the reviewed and confirmed next steps from the prior A-PART, including prioritized activities in the college-wide operational plan.
October - April
  • Program directors coordinate the assessment of identified courses aligned to the program learning outcome(s) (PLOs), providing faculty support in conducting the assessment and analyzing the data collected.
  • Department chairs and unit coordinators will continuously monitor activities and record results as activities are completed in the A-PART and in the college-wide operational plan in December and March.
May - June
  • Program directors finalize the assessment and propose actions based on the results of the assessment, along with resources or support needed to implement the change.
  • Department chairs and unit coordinators finalize the results and propose actions based on the results of the activity, along with resources or support needed to implement the change.
  • Provost and department chairs review the proposed actions and finalize activities for the following academic year, including those to be included in the college-wide operational plan.
September – October
  • Department chairs finalize implementation plans with faculty, including those included in the college-wide operational plan. Department chairs communicate all assessment expectations for the academic year including Gen Ed, PLO, APR, and grant-funded initiatives.


Supports for Annual Planning and Assessment Reporting Process

 

Support for the Annual Planning and Assessment Reporting process is primarily delivered by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Research, and Assessment (OIERA) and the Degree Program Assessment Committee (DPAC). For more information on the type of support these entities offer, please visit the Degree Program Assessment (DPAC) webpage.