What is Assessment?
Assessment is the systematic effort to collect, analyze, and interpret information to determine Institutional, Divisional, or Departmental effectiveness. Assessment measures current effectiveness. Effectiveness is the degree to which a department fulfills its mission, objective, or goals.
The information collected is used to determine the success of a program, service, initiative and/or resource and to make improvements to better support student learning and development.
What is the Difference Between Research and Assessment?
Research is the systematic process of gathering, analyzing, and using information from multiple sources to draw inferences and test hypotheses, in order to discover, establish fact, or revise accepted theories. Assessment is a type of action research. The primary goal of assessment is to improve practice. In general, assessment cannot provide generalizable results, but rather speaks to the specific nature of what is being assessed.
What can be Assessed?
Learning & Development Outcomes – Learning Outcomes describe how a student will be different, or how a student will change, grow, or develop as the result of a learning experience. Assessment determines to what degree students have met learning outcomes.
Student Satisfaction – This pertains to students’ satisfaction with the quality of a program, service, or initiative. Satisfaction addresses a student’s experience of interacting with the program, service, resource or initiative to assess student attitudes, perceptions and awareness of its benefits.
Purpose of this Resource
- Help staff and faculty set clear expectations for assessment;
- Provide resources for assessment success for staff and faculty;
- Encourage innovative assessment practices and ongoing learning and development on assessment;
- Share lessons learned and best practices, and;
- Provide opportunities to celebrate assessment practices.