Academic Assessment
WHAT IS ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT?
Assessment, in brief, is reflecting on what we do in order to do it better.
Building on the mission of the College, and our commitment to student-centered practice, MMC prioritizes engagement in the meaningful assessment of student learning at the course-, program-, and institutional-level.
These pages are designed to provide information and guidance to faculty, department and division chairs, program directors and coordinators, and other assessment representatives in order to help them conduct the most useful and meaningful assessment of the curriculum in their courses, programs, and the shared curriculum (General Education).
HOW DO WE ASSESS?
Assessment at MMC is carried out by departments, programs, and individual faculty members teaching discipline-specific and/or General Education courses in the shared curriculum. Faculty assessment of learning occurs at various (often overlapping) levels:
- Course Learning Outcomes
- Program Learning Outcomes
- General Education Learning Outcomes
- Institutional Learning Outcomes
Assessment strategies include the identification of learning outcomes, measures of student learning of those outcomes, and follow-up activities to review and act on assessment data. The purpose of these efforts is to provide meaningful information that can be used to improve student learning.
The assessment planning and reporting process does not try to capture all data and information related to students’ academic and professional development; rather, it aims to capture sufficient data to determine if students are acquiring the skills and knowledge to succeed academically and professionally, and if a culture of assessment and continuous improvement is in place. The primary goal is the assessment and continuous improvement of student learning, not program or faculty accountability.
WHY WE DO IT
Continuous improvement of our programs is an important priority to prepare our graduates for success in life and in their chosen professions. Assessment allows faculty to identify the specific learning outcomes they desire for their graduates and to collect solid evidence of how well those outcomes have been achieved.
Assessment is required to maintain institutional accreditation.
The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), MMC’s regional accrediting body, places heavy emphasis on assessment and its use in continuous improvement. MSCHE requires evidence of the assessment of student learning and the use of assessment data to continuously improve student learning outcomes, as outlined in Standard V - Educational Effectiveness Assessment: www.msche.org/standards
As an institution, we are evaluated by MSCHE not on the number of learning outcomes we meet, but on the evidence of active engagement in the assessment of student learning at our institution. “Closing the Loop” is the process by which faculty use assessment information to drive decision-making aimed at improving student learning. This process is the sole purpose of academic assessment, and the basis on which our assessment efforts are evaluated –internally and externally.