FAQs
See below to answer your questions regarding program or core curriculum assessment.
How to write program learning objectives (PLO).
Program learning objectives (PLOs) are user-friendly statements that tell students what they will be able to do at the end of completing their program. They are always written in a student-centered, measurable fashion that is concise, meaningful, and achievable. (Indiana University Bloomington, https://citl.indiana.edu/teaching-resources/course-design/developing-learning-outcomes/index.html)
How to develop a program assessment plan.
The Program Assessment Plan includes program information, program learning objectives, the assessment schedule, a communication plan and a continuous improvement plan. The documents you will need are:
How to collect artifacts for your annual assessment report.
If artifacts are assignments in Blackboard, you can use Blackboard Outcomes to collect and evaluate your artifacts. Artifacts can also be collected as copies of assignments or exams that may have been submitted by the student or a scan of the hard copy submitted.
Create your annual assessment report.
The template for the annual assessment report can be found here. Please follow the instructions included on the form.
The timeline for collecting artifacts and developing a program assessment report.
One to two program learning objectives (PLOs) are evaluated during one academic year as determined by the program's assessment plan. The artifacts gathered and rubric(s) used depend on the PLOs being reviewed. The annual assessment process takes place over one academic year. The annual assessment report template is used to report the results. The final report will need to be uploaded to Blackboard by the PACs by the October deadline. Instructions for uploading annual assessment reports to Blackboard can be found here.
The annual program assessment cycle is ongoing. Below is a brief synopsis of the program assessment cycle process.
Fall: Collect student artifacts
Spring: Collect student artifacts data
Summer: Analyze the data
The Next Fall: Develop the report
Present findings from data.
Consult with AU’s and refine continuous improvement plan.
Submit the report to UPAC through Blackboard for archival.
Start collecting student artifacts for for current academic year LO assessment.
The Next Spring and Ongoing:
Implementation of continuous improvement plan provided in submitted assessment plan (if any).
Programs should review a learning objective each year in the cycle.
Collect student artifacts data for current academic year.
Create a rubric.
Rubrics:
A task description. The learning objective being assessed or instructions students received for an assignment.
The criteria to be rated (rows). Demonstrated skills, knowledge, and/or behavior.
Levels of proficiency/scale (columns). Definitions of the levels of proficiency. Illinois Tech suggests: Does not meet expectations, meets expectations and proficient on a 0-2 scale.
A description of each characteristic at each level of proficiency/scale (cells). Definitions should be clear and measurable.
Examples of rubrics for undergraduate and graduate rubrics can be found at: https://manoa.hawaii.edu/assessment/resources/creating-and-using-rubrics/. Some of the rubrics for undergraduates have been created by the University of Hawai, Manoa and some by the VALUE Scoring Collaborative (formerly the VALUE Project) Association of American Colleges and Universities' VALUE Scoring Collaborative. Please site to the University of Manoa and/or the VALUE scoring collaborative for use of any information used from these sites.
Assistance with creating rubrics can be found a https://www.quickrubric.com.
Sources:
University of Hawaii, Manoa, Assessment and Curriculum Support Center, https://manoa.hawaii.edu/assessment/resources/creating-and-using-rubrics/
Association of American Colleges and Universities, VALUE Scoring Collaborative, https://www.aacu.org/initiatives/value-initiative/value-scoring-collaborative
Assess a core curriculum objective.
Please see the Core Curriculum Assessment process on the Core Curriculum Assessment page.
Teach in a core curriculum designation.
Please see the Core Curriculum Assessment process on the Core Curriculum Assessment page.
Write a course learning objective.
Course learning objectives (CLOs) are similar to PLOs in user-friendly statements that tell students what they will be able to do at the end of a period of time. Both of these objectives are always written in a student-centered, measurable fashion that is concise, meaningful and achievable.
However, the time period for a CLO may be the end of a project or course, as opposed to the end of a program, and explicitly communicate course expectations to students.
CLOs focus on student products, artifacts, or performances, rather than on instructional techniques or course content.
“Because well-written learning outcomes clearly define where you want students to be at the end of a semester, they are useful for guiding students throughout the course. Consider giving the outcomes prominent placement in your syllabus, and talk frequently about them with your students, clarifying how certain activities in class are specifically aimed at helping them reach particular outcomes. Look for opportunities to refocus students on the outcomes throughout the semester, asking them at regular intervals to reflect on their progress toward these goals. So while you may be introduced to learning outcomes as part of an assessment plan, these tools are most effective within your class when actively used as a way of guiding student learning.
Since learning outcomes can provide such a useful structure for your class, consider ways of designing your course around them. As suggested above, use these learning outcomes as the starting point for designing the rest of our course, aligning outcomes to tests and assignments, then to class activities that prepare students with the skills needed to accomplish these tasks.” (Indiana University Bloomington, https://citl.indiana.edu/teaching-resources/course-design/developing-learning-outcomes/index.html)
The Association of American Colleges and Universities has created essential learning objectives (ELOS), which they invite institutions to use. Please site if you use any of their ELOs.
Sources:
DePaul University, Center of Teaching and Learning, Teaching Commons, https://resources.depaul.edu/teaching-commons/teaching-guides/course-design/Pages/course-objectives-learning-outcomes.aspx
Indiana University Bloomington, Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning, https://citl.indiana.edu/teaching-resources/course-design/developing-learning-outcomes/index.html
Association of American Colleges and Universities, VALUE Scoring Collaborative, https://www.aacu.org/initiatives/value-initiative/value-scoring-collaborative