Construct a Plan

• Essential Elements

All programs (undergraduate, graduate, professional, certificate) should have assessment plans that are specific in addressing their individual and unique goals. Program assessment plans need not be extensive, long documents, but must contain the following critical elements:

1. A statement of the mission of the department/program.

2. A statement of the desired student learning goals of the academic program.

3. A statement of objectives, which further characterize each of the goals and state obtainable and documentable outcomes contributing specifically to the attainment of each goal.

4. A description of how desired learning outcomes are linked with the courses/experiences in which outcomes are to be attained.

5. Descriptions of the specific assessment methods to be used to assess each learning outcome, including a description of criteria that will be used to determine whether goals for student learning have been met.

6. A statement of the timeline along which assessment data will be collected, analyzed, interpreted and documented.

7. Identification of who will be responsible for collecting, analyzing, interpreting and documenting the results of assessment. 

8. A description of the process that will be implemented to document and communicate that the results of assessment have been used to inform instructional and curricular improvement.