SUGGESTIONS FOR
DEPARTMENT ASSESSMENT WEBSITES

The assessment plan should clearly describe the assessment process used by the department. It doesn't need to be long, but should be detailed enough to give the reader a good understanding of what the unit does. It might include (1) an introduction that affirms a commitment to assessment, (2) a description of the types of outcomes data collected and how that information is obtained, and (3) a discussion of how the data are collected, processed, and then used in departmental decision-making.

Department plans will vary with the discipline, but the common feature of good assessment is that it is based on a logical process that starts with learning objectives and culminates with data-based decisions, indicating that assessment is part of the department culture and not something tacked on at the end. A good approach is to start with well-conceived program learning objectives and use those objectives to drive the rest of the process.

Examples:

One department that has effectively used this approach is Civil and Environmental Engineering.  Assessment starts with six objectives or outcomes for each of the department's two programs.  The assessment plan for each is depicted by a diagram. See: http://www.engineering.usu.edu/cee/assessment/process.php . The "Outcome Notebook" boxes in the diagram refer to notebooks that that are assembled with materials from department courses to evaluate how well the curriculum addresses each of the six learning objectives or outcomes. A summary report is prepared for each outcome.

Family, Consumer & Human Development's website provides a well-organized assessment plan with links to each component to be assessed. See: http://www.usu.edu/fchd/assessment_plan.cfm.