Assessment sounds like grunge work, demanding serious brainpower, organization, weeks of planning, and a large committee. It’s like those household chores you hate, but do anyway because you enjoy hosting. Or, in this case, you enjoy your program/course.
But you probably already have assessment activities in place. You just may not realize it… Yet.
A few weeks ago, I was perusing the Dietetics website and discovered what I thought was a really engaging assessment report. It was actually the Dietetics Program Newsletter, but it could’ve served as an assessment report.
So what makes their newsletter such a perfect example of assessment?
It showcases 10 examples from Suskie’s Examples of Evidence of Student Learning:
- Admission rates into graduate programs and/or graduation rates from those programs.
- Placement rates of graduates into appropriate career positions.
- Pass rates on appropriate licensure/certification exams.
- Alumni perceptions of their career responsibilities and satisfaction.
- Student participation rates in faculty research, publication, and conference presentations.
- Dietetics has several pages dedicated to congratulating current students and alumni on awards and honors.
- Counts of courses with collaborative learning.
- Counts of courses taught using culturally responsive teaching.
- Counts of student majors participating in relevant co-curricular activities.
- Voluntary student attendance at disciplinary seminars and conferences and other intellectual/cultural relevant to a course/program.
What great information does your program/course already have that’s perfect for assessment? Check out Suskie’s one-page resource listing great ways to showcase how your students are learning.
How did this blog post change or support your thinking? Is Assessment looking less labor intensive? Does assessment by any other name really smell as sweet? Let us know in the comments section!
We’re here to support you in your assessment activities. If this post stirred up questions or generated ideas, invite us to your next assessment meeting by emailing Assessment@MissouriState.edu! We look forward to hearing from you.