In this final stage of the program assessment cycle, the following steps are taken:
- Actions, based on the interpretation of the results, are recommended.
- Changes are planned, implemented, and documented.
- All documents used during the program assessment process are stored for future improvement efforts and accreditor audits.
Important: Documentation Requirement
During Step 5 of the VTSU program assessment process, a template is used to develop the Yearly Learning Outcomes Assessment Report (Part IV).
In addition, the Continuous Improvement Plan is reviewed and updated in years 1-4 of the assessment cycle and the PReCIP Report is written in the fifth year of the cycle.
What actions could be recommended?
There may be occasions in which faculty members are satisfied with the results, but there is almost always room for improvement. As a starting point, it is good practice to look back at the curriculum and outcome maps to see if there are any gaps in either the curriculum or the pedagogy.
For example, if students performed poorly on one of the selected artifacts, examining the curriculum map could indicate that students weren’t provided opportunities to practice a given skill earlier in their program, which contributed to poorer than expected results on the selected assessment. This would be an opportunity to make a curriculum adjustment prior to the next program assessment cycle.
Although it isn’t an exhaustive list, potential recommendations include:
- Adding a course if the learning outcome is not currently being addressed in the curriculum.
- Changing the sequence of courses if the learning outcome is addressed at the wrong point in the curriculum.
- Adjusting the pedagogy in a course or courses. This recommendation could involve devoting more time to a given topic, adding activities to enhance learning, or changing the types and/or volume of required assignments.
- Budgeting and allocating resources for additional academic support, such as tutoring.
Once recommendations have been made, the next step is to actually implement them. As a starting point, a timeline for implementation should be established and responsibilities should be assigned when multiple faculty and staff members are part of the process.
What types of documentation should be recorded?
The manner in which documentation is stored is often dependent on the resources available at a given college or university. In some cases, an institution will allocate funds for an assessment management system. Other colleges may elect to use network storage space rather committing to a dedicated system. In either case, accessibility is a vital consideration. The records must be secure enough that they cannot be accessed by individuals who are not privy to the information while also being easily accessible to the individuals involved in the program assessment process.
Regardless of the type of storage selected, the following documents should be retained:
- Action and assessment plans
- Program mission statements
- Program learning goals and student learning outcomes
- Curriculum maps
- Outcome maps
- Assessment measurement tools (e.g., exams, rubrics, surveys)
- Data and reports
- Copies of student work
What remaining steps should be taken?
- All stakeholders involved in the process should take the time to celebrate their successes.
- An effort to build a culture of continuous improvement within the academic department, and across all programs, should be made.
- Faculty assessing the program should decide whether they should begin the next program assessment cycle by either re-examining the current student learning outcomes or re-examining the practices used to achieve the outcomes.