WestConn Assessment Information

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Institutional Plan
• Assessment Guidelines
• Report to NEASC
• Good Practices
• Busy Person's Guide to Assessment
• Assessment Resources

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Assessment at WestConn

1. Question: When will the University Assessment report be due?
   
   Answer: The Assessment Update (report) is part of the annual report that is submitted to your dean at the end of each spring semester.
2. Question: For the upcoming report, what time period should be covered?
   
   Answer: For the upcoming report, the 2006-07 academic year should be covered. However, if there were accomplishments from 2005-06 which occurred too late to be included in last year's annual report, then those accomplishments should also be covered. Example 1: Suppose there was a departmental meeting in November 2006 to make recommendations based on data gathered in 2005-06. The recommendations should be included in the spring 2007 report. Example 2: Suppose two faculty members applied a rubric to spring 2006 laboratory reports during summer 2006. Those results should appear in the spring 2007 report.
3. Question: If it is the current academic year, what should those departments that are assessing their program completers do? Most of these students will not have "completed" the program until May, after the due date of the report.
   
   Answer: Some departmental assessment plans call for collection of data on program completers. In these cases, the most recent group of completers with data should be used -- for example, majors who graduated between August 2006 and May 2006. However, some departmental assessment plans call for collection of data on rising juniors instead of program completers, thus allowing for mid-course adjustments to curriculum and/or instruction.
4. Question: Should the Assessment Grids be changing each year?
   
   Answer: I expect Assessment Grids to change each year. Some departments have six or more objectives for student learning. It would be reasonable to expect three objectives to be addressed in any given year. The other three objectives should be listed in the grid with a notation that they will be addressed the following year. Suppose a department "closed the loop" last year by changing its curriculum and/or instruction. This year they may want to assess whether the changes resulted in improved student learning. It is also possible that objectives will change or new objectives will emerge as accreditation requirements change -- or as paradigms shift within (or across) disciplines.
5. Question: For Departments that assess various aspects of their programs on a rotating basis, how should this rotation be reflected in their Assessment Grids? Also, should these Departments submit reports every two years when all objectives have been assessed?
   
   Answer: For departments that assess various aspects of their programs on a rotating basis (i.e., oral competency one year and written competency the next year), the timetables in their grids should reflect this rotation. These Departments must still submit annual reports even though it takes them two years to complete a cycle of assessing all objectives.