What is Assessment?
Assessment is the ongoing systematic process of understanding and improving student learning, which is sometimes described as a reinforcing cycle. The 2023 Provost Conference key note session on, “Capturing Moments of Hope in Your Work as Teacher-Scholar,” highlights one way assessment feeds into faculty thriving. By engaging in assessment work, faculty gain insights about their vocation. When activated, those insights lead to better opportunities for faculty practice and student learning. The cycle repeats itself as part of a culture of continuous reflection. Part of each faculty member’s critical work, assessment generally entails three key components:
Articulating Measurable Outcomes
Faculty members articulate what they believe student success looks like in their program. This includes specific, measurable, and attainable outcomes for courses and programs that directly relate to student learning and quality pedagogy.
RESOURCES:
Gathering Artifacts
Faculty members gather quality artifacts and data from the curriculum that provide evidence of student learning. Artifacts should be gathered from direct sources of engagement that show student progress toward mastery of learning outcomes.
RESOURCES:
Reflecting & Reporting
Faculty members analyze, reflect upon, and report on the gathered evidence. In return, assessment officers and administrators respond with helpful feedback and changes for how best to highlight successes for accreditation, budget allocation, marketing, and recruiting. (Suskie)
RESOURCES:
These three components are equally valuable in the cycle of ongoing assessment, whether they are applied at the course or program level. Though program-level assessment is the primary focus of this report, course-level work always informs program goals.
This video recaps the 2023 Spring Assessment Conversation. Click here to access the Spring Assessment Conversation slides deck.
2023 Assessment Annual Reporting
To learn more about why and how to submit an annual report, visit our Annual Reporting webpage. To submit your Annual Report, use the button below to complete the assessment Qualtrics form.
Assessment from 2021-2022
Assessment Annual Report
Office of Teaching & Learning Annual Report
Stay Up to Date on Assessment
Checking the Checkers: Guidance for Using Turnitin (including its Artificial Intelligence detection tool)
By Jeff Schwartz, Instructional Designer; Stephen Riley, Director of Academic Assessment Almost immediately after the large-scale introduction of the ChatGPT chatbot late last year, tech
Addressing Bias in Assessment
Written by Dr. Becca Ciancanelli, Director of Inclusive Teaching Practices, and Dr. Stephen Riley, Director of Assessment Implicit bias can be sneaky. This term refers
How to end the term on a high note
By Jeff Schwartz, Instructional Designer While much of the research into the stress of finals rightly focuses on students, the end of the term can
Need Support?
Contact Stephen riley, Director of assessment
For answers to questions about assessment, email Stephen Riley at stephen.riley@du.edu
To go in depth on assessment, schedule a 1:1 appointment.
