Terms
NECHE Accreditation
The New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) is one of seven regional higher education accrediting bodies in the United States. Institutions of higher learning, such as Vermont State University, achieve accreditation from NECHE by demonstrating they meet the Commission’s Standards for Accreditation and comply with its policies.
Policy 101
Provides institutions in the Vermont State Colleges (VSC) system with guidance on the program review and continuous improvement process. The procedures outlined in the policy require those involved in delivering academic programs to periodically, systematically, and collaboratively review evidence regarding their effectiveness in achieving desired student learning outcomes, and commit to making the changes needed to ensure continuous program improvement.
External Accreditation
Type of accreditation that is applicable at the program rather than institutional level and only applies to a sub-set of VTSU programs. These external agencies have their own documentation requirements and standards for program reviews and the collection of evidence of continuous improvement.
Program Mission
A guiding document for academic program reviews and long-term planning that aligns with the university mission statement.
Student Learning Goals
Broad statements that align with the program mission and articulate what graduates of a program should gain while enrolled. Examples include skills, knowledge, attitudes, and values.
Student Learning Outcomes
Concise and jargon-free statements that describe how students can demonstrate their mastery of student learning goals. Student learning outcomes should be measurable, appropriate, realistic, and attainable. Multiple student learning outcomes can align with a single learning goal.
Signature Assignment
An assignment in a course, such as a project or exam, that has been purposefully created to elicit specific learning outcomes and to acquire direct evidence of student learning. They require students to demonstrate their proficiency in one or more key learning outcomes, and, at some institutions, all signature assignments must include specific components, such as a “real-world” application, reflective writing, or collaborative work (AAC&U, nd). For students, their successful completion is a step toward the fulfillment of their program’s objectives.
Direct Evidence
Assessment measure that includes signature assignment submissions and/or other student work that directly demonstrates that program-level student learning outcomes are being addressed in the curriculum and to what extent students are acquiring the skills, abilities, and knowledge expected of graduates of the program.
Indirect Evidence
Examples of indirect evidence include student surveys, focus groups, student self-evaluations and reflection exercises. Advantageous when program-level student learning outcomes are difficult to evaluate with direct evidence, such as those involving attitudes and beliefs.
Rubric
A rubric is an assessment tool that provides information on performance expectations for students. Essentially, a rubric divides an assessment into smaller parts (criteria) and then provides details for different levels of performance possible for each part (Stevens and Levi 2013).
Roles
Assistants to the Deans
The final recipients of the submitted and approved annual program assessment documents who upload the information to the assessment repository for long-term storage.
Center for Teaching & Learning Innovation (CTLI)
Provides professional development for faculty on topics such as writing effective outcomes, assessing student learning, and creating useful rubrics for assessment.
Deans
The final reviewer of the annual program assessment documents who verifies that quality standards have been met.
Department Chairs
Contributors to the assessment process who play a role in selecting the faculty program assessment leads and ensuring that the assessment process leads to continuous program improvement.
Faculty
Instructors who are not formally part of the development of the annual program assessment documents, but may be asked to collaborate with the faculty program assessment leads on the evaluation of curriculum and learning outcomes as well as the analysis of student and program-related data.
Faculty Assembly Assessment Committee
The academic leadership body that periodically evaluates how the program assessment process functions and provides feedback for improvement.
Faculty Program Assessment Leads
Identified by program leadership and responsible for the development of the annual program assessment documents. The degree of collaboration with other program-level stakeholders will vary by academic program.
Institutional Research
Provides feedback to the faculty program assessment leads regarding university and accrediting body reporting requirements.
Program Coordinators
The initial reviewers of the submitted annual program assessment documents who verify that quality standards have been met before a final review is completed by the applicable deans.
Forms
Continuous Improvement Plan
A program assessment document, written in a narrative format, that regularly receives the collective attention of all faculty teaching in the program. During these periodic reviews, participating faculty members reflect on past efforts and outcomes and plan the continuous improvement of the program. Continuous improvement plans are designed to be living documents.
Curriculum & Learning Outcomes Crosswalk
A program assessment document, organized in a table format, that depicts the alignment between the program’s curriculum and its student learning outcomes. Once developed, it allows faculty members to easily understand at what points in the program knowledge, skills, and values are going to be addressed.
Degree Map & Milestones
A program assessment document, organized in a bulleted list format, that provides a semester-by-semester map of the optimal curriculum sequence for a full-time student and, if applicable for a program, part-time student. The document lists the semesters, the identified courses, and any required or recommended milestones (e.g. minimum grade in a key introductory course).
Program Outcomes Assessment Matrix
A program assessment document, organized in a table format, with the program-level student learning outcomes listed on the vertical axis and the evidence-based changes made, the responsible parties conducting the assessment, and the schedule for and use of assessment results on the horizontal axis. Vermont State, in an effort to achieve sustainability and depth in outcomes assessment, strongly encourages programs to distribute assessment of outcomes across a 5-year program review cycle.
Yearly Learning Outcomes Assessment Report
A program assessment document in which a single program-level learning outcome is analyzed on an annual basis. The report is organized into multiple sections and captures the applicable degree program(s), the selected learning outcome, the sources of data/evidence that have been collected (e.g., assignment and rubric), a summary of the data, and strategies undertaken to improve student learning.
PReCIP Report
The final deliverable in the program review cycle, which addresses the goal of ensuring that VSC colleges regularly engage in practices designed to foster the improvement of academic degree programs as set forth in Policy 101.
The Program Review & Continuous Improvement (PReCIP) report includes a student success and retention data review; a student outcomes and assessment plan; a program review; a continuous improvement plan; and supporting documents, such as the degree program map and milestones, the curriculum and learning outcomes crosswalk, and the program outcomes assessment matrix.