Senate
(As approved, click here)
TO: Fort Wayne Senate
FROM: Educational Policy Committee
Linda Hite, Chair
SUBJECT: Revision to Senate Document 98-22
DATE:
DISPOSITION: To the Presiding Officer for implementation
Whereas, the Assessment Council has approved the attached update to the IPFW Assessment Plan;
Be it Resolved, that the attached document amend Senate Document 98-22.
For Assessment Council:
Approving Disapproving Absent
H. Broberg D. Cochren
S. Isiorho B. Parke
C. Kracher
R. Meriwether
N. McCroskey
G. Miller
J. Moore
S. Sarratore
For Educational Policy Committee:
Approving Disapproving Absent
B. Abbott P. McLaughlin
H. Broberg J. Purse-Wiedenhoeft
S. Hannah G. Schmelzle
L. Hite
D. Oberstar
___________________________________________________________
Educational Policy Committee
MEMORANDUM
To: Fort Wayne
Senate
From: Educational
Policy Committee, Linda Wright-Bower, Chair
Subject: The Plan
for the Assessment of Student Academic Achievement
Date:
Disposition: To
the Presiding Officer for implementation
Whereas, the Assessment Council has approved the attached update to
the IPFW Assessment Plan; and
Whereas, the Educational Policy Council has also
approved the document;
Be it Resolved, that the attached document supersede SD
92-7 and SD 94-13.
THE PLAN
FOR THE ASSESSMENT
OF STUDENT
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
March,
1999
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
I. Introduction.................................................................................................. 1
II.
III. The IPFW Assessment Plan.......................................................................... 2
IV. Annual Reports............................................................................................. 4
V. Administration of the Plan.............................................................................. 5
VI. The Assessment Council................................................................................ 6
VII. Appendices.................................................................................................. 6
The Plan for the Assessment
of Student Academic Achievement
I. INTRODUCTION
The plan for assessing
and documenting student academic achievement that follows is the result of
enabling legislation adopted by the Fort Wayne Senate (SD 92-7), November 9,
1992, upon recommendation of the Educational Policy Committee. The legislation provided for the
establishment of a Steering Committee for Assessment of Student Academic
Achievement (SCASAA) with representation from each of the schools/divisions of
IPFW, Student Academic Counseling Services (now Academic Counseling and Career
Services), and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs; provided
guidelines to the committee for developing an institution-wide plan consistent
with the mission of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne and
accreditation Criterion III of the Commission on Institutions of Higher
Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools; and, in
addition, provided for submission of the plan, including administration of the
plan, to the Senate for approval.
This
implementation of the plan for assessment of student academic achievement was
further defined in SD 94-13, which was adopted
The assessment
plan described in this document reflects experience with implementation of
assessment measures, procedures adopted by the Assessment Council, an update to
the plan for assessment of the General Education program, and other
changes. As a result, it provides a
consolidated description of current policies and procedures, and it will also
serve as a baseline for the continued improvement of the assessment plan.
II.
Assessment plans
are designed to evaluate whether the goals of the general education program,
and of the respective certificate and degree programs, are being achieved. The goals
of the general education program, and of each certificate and degree program,
have been approved separately. Review of
mission and goals is periodically undertaken by schools, divisions, and
departments, culminating in Senate approval of any revisions.
Conclusions
about the achievement of program goals, obtained through assessment of student
academic achievement, are expected to lead to improvement of academic programs
and greater success in achieving program goals.
III. THE IPFW
ASSESSMENT PLAN
The IPFW
assessment plan focuses on two primary areas: assessment of student academic
achievement in general education and assessment of student academic achievement
in the majors.
A. General
Education
The general-education
portion of the plan provides for documenting achievement in each part of the
general education program, i.e. the foundation skills, the knowledge domains,
creative and artistic expression,
and inquiry and analysis.
1. General Education Assessment Principles
a. Measures of student
academic achievement in General Education will be selected and implemented
according to generally recognized best practices in general-education
assessment.
b. The assessment plan
will be designed to measure program goals, not the goals of individual courses.
c. To ensure a
reasonable degree of consistency across departments and schools, all courses to
be included in the General Education program will be approved by the General
Education Subcommittee based on the criteria approved by the IPFW Senate in SD
99-25. To ensure continuity, the GES
will periodically conduct a review of approved courses.
d. The General Education
Assessment Plan and its administration will be consistent with the General
Standards for Assessment Plans outlined in III.B.1. below,
and with the principles of assessment enumerated in Appendix B.
2. Responsibility for Assessment
Development,
administration, and interpretation of all assessment measures will be the
responsibility of the General Education Subcommittee.
3. Annual Reports
The
General Education Subcommittee will prepare an annual report for the Assessment
Council and the Educational Policy Committee. The report will describe the
assessment measures and summarize findings about student academic achievement
in the General Education program. The
report will also describe conclusions and actions based on these findings about
achievement of the goals of the General Education program.
B. Degree and Certificate Programs
Assessment plans for degree and certificate programs
describe the means used to assess and document student academic achievement in
each of the academic majors at IPFW.
Further, the plans describe the processes used to reach conclusions
about whether the goals for the program are being achieved. The
purpose of assessment is program improvement, with the The
focus of the assessment is
on the goals of the program, rather than the achievement of the student in
completing the requirements of the program.
1. General Standards for Assessment Plans
a. Departments and divisions will
develop a plan for each certificate, associate, baccalaureate, and master's
degree/major/concentration that has unique goals. Departments
are encouraged to develop flexible plans which will provide them with useful
data.
b. Measures of student academic
achievement will be selected and applied to promote confidence in the evidence
they yield. To that end, every
assessment plan will systematically utilize
multiple measures of student learning, taken
at multiple points in time during an academic program, measuring multiple
constituencies. and each measure will
involve evaluations beyond those of course instructors.
c. Measures of student academic
achievement will may include both direct
and indirect measures. an interim measure, an internal
measure at or after the time of graduation, and an external measure at or after
the time of graduation. However, interim measures of
progress are not required for certificate or master's
degree programs, and are optional for associate degree programs, unless
required by accrediting bodies. Examples of measures in each category are
shown in Appendix C.
d. The description of each measure
will include a description of how the assessment measure will be conducted, the
scope (all students/graduates, a random sample, etc.), the frequency (every
term, annually, every two years, etc.) and who is responsible for conducting
it, assembling the data, and reaching conclusions.
e. Measures will may be based on courses which are already being taught or on
other requirements, such as portfolios, which have already been incorporated
into requirements for the degree or certificate program.
f. Each assessment plan will
describe the process that will be used to reach conclusions from assessment data
about whether program goals are being achieved.
g. Each assessment plan will
identify the process for making changes in the program, based on conclusions
from assessment data, which are expected to improve student achievement of the
goals.
h. Each assessment plan will be structured
to address all of the goals of the program.
i. Each
assessment plan will include a process for reviewing the success of the plan in
identifying needs for program improvement and the frequency of review of the
plan.
j. Assessment plans and updates to these plans
must be approved by the school/division and then by the Assessment Council.
2. Responsibility
for Assessment of the Majors
Development,
validation, and interpretation of the assessment plans, administration of the
measures, and analysis of the results of measuring student academic achievement
will be the responsibility of the unit (usually a department) that offers the
program.
IV. ANNUAL REPORTS
The annual
reports, prepared by the department/division/program and by the school, summarize the efforts to assess student
academic achievement and to respond to the findings.
A. Department/division/program reports
1. The report should describe the
assessment activities completed during the previous year and described in the
assessment plan for each program sponsored by the unit.
2. For each program, the report should describe
findings from the assessment activities as
appropriate.
3. For each program, the report should describe
conclusions about the achievement of program goals based on the findings as appropriate.
4. For each program, the report should describe actions
that will be taken to improve the program based on these conclusions as appropriate.
5. The report should be completed by
the deadline established by the school/division or, in the case of programs
that do not report through a school, the deadline established by the Assessment
Council.
B. The school report
1. Each school/division then reviews assembles the departmental reports, monitors departmental completion
of the plans for assessment, evaluates departmental analysis of results, guides
the process of changing the program so that goals will be achieved, and
considers whether changes in the assessment plan are needed in order to provide
better evidence of achievement. The
recommendations from the school-level review are forwarded to the respective
departments/programs.
2. Each school and division develops a
report on its review and incorporates its own comments and
recommendations. With the concurrence of
the dean or director, the school/division report is forwarded to the Assessment
Council by January 15 of each year.
V. ADMINISTRATION OF
THE PLAN
A. Purpose
The
administration of the plan for assessment of student academic achievement includes
monitoring compliance with the provisions of the IPFW assessment plan,
reviewing the translation of assessment data into improved academic achievement
in general education and in the academic majors, and proposing revisions in the
campus, General Education, and program assessment plans as experience and
changing academic goals warrant.
B. Responsibility
1. Responsibility for establishment of a plan
for the assessment of student academic achievement belongs to the Fort Wayne
Senate.
2. Responsibility for the administration
of the campus plan for the assessment of student academic achievement belongs
to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and is assigned by the Vice
Chancellor to a Director of Assessment who shall be advised by an Assessment
Council.
3. Responsibility for the school assessment plan
belongs to the dean, through the governance processes of the school.
4. Responsibility for the
department/division/program assessment plan belongs to the chair/director,
through the governance processes of the department/division.
VI. THE ASSESSMENT
COUNCIL
A. Responsibilities
The council shall review the annual assessment reports of
the General Education Subcommittee,
of the schools/divisions, and of any programs that do not report through a school,
and shall recommend to the Vice Chancellor whether each is acceptable. Based
upon the review, the council shall also make recommendations to the Vice
Chancellor, the Educational Policy Committee, schools and divisions, or other
university committees and councils, as appropriate. Recommendations to the EPC
should relate to how the assessment plan should be amended and recommendations
to the VCAA should relate to how IPFW should allocate resources in the short-
and long-term to advance student academic achievement.
Recommendations
to schools/divisions and to departments/programs that do not report through a
school should address possibilities for enhancing the units’ assessment
activities. In addition, the council
shall incorporate its findings and recommendations in an annual report through
the Educational Policy Committee to the Fort Wayne Senate about the status of
the assessment of student academic achievement and its effectiveness in
improving student learning.
B. Composition
The Assessment Council shall consist of the Director of
Assessment, (who will serve as a
non-voting member) who will chair the Council, the Academic Affairs
staff member designated by the VCAA, the chair of the General Education
Subcommittee, a representative from the
Educational Policy Committee, representatives from Academic Counseling and
Career Services (ACCS) and General Studies, and one each from the
Schools/Divisions of Arts and Sciences; Business and Management Sciences;
Education; Engineering, Technology, and Computer Science; Visual and Performing
Arts; Health Sciences; and Public and Environmental Affairs. The
school/division members shall be faculty with responsibility for assessment in
their departments or schools, selected for renewable three-year terms by the
unit’s preferred procedures. The council shall elect its own chair.