FAQs
| Validation | Assessment | Revalidation | |
| What is the Purpose? | To submit materials to the ES Committee (ESC) for courses you would like to be validated for the following academic year within the ES program; this can also be used to make changes to already validated courses if your department is not currently going through revalidation. | To submit assessment data for the courses that have already been validated for the learning goal that is assessed that semester. This will only be asked of courses being taught during the semester in which the specific goal is being assessed. | To submit materials to the ESC for review of courses in the department that had been previously validated. |
| What is the focus? | Submitting information about how a course meets one of the six learning goals and other criteria for inclusion in the ES program. | Assesses student learning on the basis of the ES rubric used for the learning goal the course was validated for. | All courses validated in an entire department. |
| Who receives the information? | Department Chair | Individual instructors and department chair | Department Chair |
| Who does the information come from? | ES Director | Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Accreditation | ES Director |
| When is the information distributed? | Reminders go out in the Fall | Each semester prior to when data are collected; training is provided before the semester begins to ensure the learning goal is being assessed and the data will be easy to provide at the end of the semester. | Spring semester prior to the Fall it is due. |
| When is it due? | December 1st | End of semester; date will be noted in email | October 1st |
| Where do you go to submit your information or data? | ES Website | Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Accreditation will send you a direct link to submit | ES Website |
- Validations and changes to the ES program follow the academic catalog publication so changes are only able to be made once per year. Students enrolled in that course will receive ES credit for whatever it was previously validated for therefore that learning goal should be assessed.
- Changes to ES course status are handled as new validations unless the department happens to be completing the revalidation process. If that is the case, those changes can be made there as well.
- Please be sure to discuss any course changes with your department.
Please email the ES Director notification of intent to remove the course. The course
will be removed from the program beginning the following Fall semester (i.e., the
next catalog publication).
No. If a course was newly validated the semester before revalidations are due, ask
the Director to accept the recently submitted material.
Yes, if your course is validated for the ES program you need to include this information
on your syllabus. The ESC provides sample language you can use for this purpose. The learning goal MUST be stated on the syllabus along
with any criteria (e.g., breadth of knowledge, special emphasis, capstone) that the
course has been validated for.
No. The ESC requires assessment of the adopted rubrics for the submission of assessment
data.
See the training videos for information about assessment and data entry.
Yes. It is common that an ES learning goal is similar to or overlaps with program
learning goals or outcomes. Undergraduate programs are inherently connected to the
ES program when their courses are validated to be included in ES and are also part
of the curriculum for their degree program.
Yes. Email your information about the course (e.g., syllabus for validation and syllabus
prior to validation) along with a class roster for student you would like to request
credit for to both your Academic Advising Manager and the ES Director. The ES director
can approve of courses taken recently that have been newly approved for validation
so long as the course has not changed for or because of validation. The AAM can help
make sure the correct students receive credit.