What is being assessed, and why?

Assessment is of student learning, i.e., of actual performances of groups of students. Individual students are not being assessed, much less individual faculty, or groups of faculty. The most basic goal of assessment activities is to bring faculty together to discuss how their students are doing vis-à-vis the learning objectives that faculty have constructed, and, if necessary, how improvements in students' performances might be effected through curricular changes, pedagogical changes, and the like. Of course, students bear the primary responsibility for their own learning and academic performances, but faculty have a role in facilitating learning. Ultimately, we can expect improvements in both teaching and learning as a result of assessment.

Aren't faculty already doing assessment, all of the time?

Yes, and our assessment plan is designed to make use of the work that is already being done. However, faculty are now being asked to clarify student learning objectives, specify how learning outcomes are measured, and then study their assessment results with their colleagues. As a result of doing the above, faculty may begin to narrow or broaden the scope of the assessments they do, i.e., measure fewer or more of the Core Competencies in their courses.

What's the value of articulating student learning objectives?Specifying learning objectives at the course, discipline/program, and college-wide levels should facilitate teaching and learning in at least the following ways:

• students will be clearer about what is expected of them in terms of their learning and our assessment of their learning
• faculty have an opportunity to reassess what they are teaching, and how it fits with their goals for student learning
• instructors teaching courses that function as prerequisites for other courses will know exactly what they must cover in their courses
• unnecessary overlap and duplication in the curriculum can be minimized, and gaps in the curriculum can be exposed

Won't assessment infringe on the privacy of students and professors?

Assessment results can and should be reported anonymously, i.e., the identities of both faculty and students should be removed from assessment data. Assessment is not meant to be punitive for any of the parties involved, and any attempt to make it so will undermine the purposes of assessment.

Won't assessment lead to standardization, and hence a sterile, "cookie-cutter" approach to education?

Virtually everyone will agree that some level of standardization (across courses, schools, etc.) is both desirable and necessary, so the issue is: How much is too much? Our plan calls for a small set of common learning objectives for each section offered of a particular course (faculty are free to add their own learning objectives to this set), and it calls for a limited amount of standardization (common assessment methods, or questions, or assignments, etc.) while a department is researching a particular learning outcome.

Is a "student learning objective" the same thing as a "learning outcome"? Why are there different terms?

The term 'student learning objective' is one of many ways of describing an expected learning outcome-a skill, ability, or item of knowledge that a student should possess upon successful completion of a course. The number of different terms used at other institutions (e.g., 'learning goal,' 'learning outcome')-and not always with consistent meaning-makes for some confusion. This term was chosen in the formulation of the current assessment plan because it has already been in use at the College for some time.

How are student learning objectives different from the Core Competencies?

Both are learning goals, but the difference is one of scope or specificity. We are reserving the term 'competency' to refer to a much broader skill or set of skills with which the more specific learning objectives can be aligned. For example, being able to identify and detect typical errors in reasoning is a learning objective in PHR-103: Basic Logic, but this is only one of the many skills that constitute the "Critical Thinking" Core Competency.

Do I have to concern myself with all of the Core Competencies in my courses?

No. Faculty should be able to identify one or more Core Competencies emphasized in courses they teach. Some courses will emphasize only one or two of the Core Competencies, while others may address several.

What is the difference between learning objectives and assessment criteria?

A learning objective is an expected learning outcome, whereas an assessment criterion is a specific task or demonstrable characteristic that allows the instructor to evaluate the extent to which that learning objective has been met.