Academic Affairs Assessment FAQs

Put simply, assessment answers the question, how well is an entity meetings its goals ? For an educational institution, the stated goals often involve student learning. So assessment begins with Goals. According to the Middle States Commission for Higher Education (MSCHE),

Assessment of student learning and achievement demonstrates that the institution’s students have accomplished educational goals consistent with their program of study, degree level, the institution’s mission, and appropriate expectations for institutions of higher education.

Assessment is closely linked to Continuous Improvement because the results of the assessment process are used to effect program changes.

MSCHE Criterion V requires "clearly stated educational goals at the institution and degree/program levels, which are interrelated with one another, with relevant educational experiences, and with the institution’s mission"

In addition learning outcomes should be developed with assessment in mind. In other words vague phrasing that impedes assessment should be avoided. It is also recommended that learning outcomes are kept small in number with minimal or no overlap between outcomes.

Middle states emphasizes the use of direct as well as indirect measures

• Direct measures include examinations, writing assignments, course work portfolios, etc.
• Indirect measures include surveys, interviews, etc.

Interdisciplinary programs pose their own assessment challenges, but the basic assessment process remains the same:

• Identifying student learning outcomes consistent with the program's mission
• Finding ways to measure those outcomes
• Using the results of the assessment process for program improvement

For departments and programs, the assessment report is an annual report on student learning. The assessment committee, department chair or program director for each academic department/program is responsible for generating an annual report which is to the Director of Academic Affairs Assessment (acadassess@union.edu) and the VPAA Administrative Assistant. The reports are due in December annually with a notification email going out at the start of term with an exact deadline.

For offices, the assessment report is an opportunity to reflect on the objectives from the previous year and to what degree these were achieved as well as plan future objectives that align with the office's goals. The office director is responsible for producing this report which is sent to their Direct Supervisor (VPAA, DADP, Dean of Studies), the Director of Academic Affairs Assessment (acadassess@union.edu) and the VPAA Administrative Assistant. The reports are due before the start of Spring term and are reviewed before the end of the academic year.

Reports from each year are archived and made available on the Assessment Nexus Site.

External reviews occur on approximately a 10 year cycle and represent a lot of work for chairs/directors of departments and programs. They normally take place in the Winter or Spring of the academic year.

An assessment report should still be submitted in the Fall term (e.g., Fall 2026) of an external review year (e.g., 2026-27). The reasoning here is that the assessment is backwards looking and is relatively short and can be completed in the Fall and thus may feed into the external review and be helpful in that process.

There is then no expectation of a report (though programs/departments may decide to submit one) in the year after the external review (e.g., 2027-28) as assessment data may not be collected during the external review year (e.g., 2026-27). Typically, chairs/faculty minds are more focused on the more important external review) and also assessment processes may be changing as a result of the external review.

However, data collection should begin again in the year after the external review (e.g., 2027-28) to provide data for a report the following Fall (e.g., Fall 2028) to cover assessment of the 2027-28 academic year.

There is no assessment report due in Year 5; this is superseded by the mid-external review report.

The following terms are used in Union College assessment as well as in documents that deal indirectly with assessment such as the strategic plan. This summary outlines how they are used in that context and in the context of Middle States’ expectations for assessment. Words in bold italics are included in the glossary and used in the explanation of a different word in the glossary.

Assessment of institutional effectiveness: One of two types of assessment Middle States expects the college to perform: it asks how well the college is achieving goals that are not directly related to student learning. Contrast with assessment of student learning, which asks how well students are achieving the learning outcomes the college has articulated.

Assessment of student learning: One of two types of assessment Middle States expects the college to perform: it asks how well students are achieving the learning outcomes the college has articulated. Contrast with assessment of institutional effectiveness, which asks how well the college is achieving goals that are not directly related to student learning.

College-wide level: one of two levels at which Middle States expects us to conduct assessment. Middle States refers to this as the institutional level; to avoid confusion with assessment of institutional effectiveness, this is normally referred to as the college-wide level in Union documents. The other level at which Middle States expects us to conduct assessment is unit level.

Director: the head of an office which conducts assessment. Most have "director" in their job title but a few have other titles (e.g. "manager"). "Directors" is used as a collective term for all of them.

Goal: A long-run or enduring thing that the college or one of its units aims to achieve. They are revised infrequently; generally only when the college or a unit perceives that its fundamental mission has changed. The college defines strategies which it implements to achieve the goals, and most offices have annual objectives which they implement to achieve their goals. Goals for student learning are also called learning outcomes.

Institutional level: one of two levels at which Middle States expects us to conduct assessment. To avoid confusion with assessment of institutional effectiveness, this is normally referred to as the college-wide level in Union documents. The other level at which Middle States expects us to conduct assessment is unit level.

Learning outcome: Something that graduating students are expected to have learned while at the College. It could be knowledge, it could be a skill, or in some contexts it could be a set of values (for example, professional ethics). Learning outcomes are defined by academic departments and programs, and college-wide, by the General Education Board, the WAC program, and International Programs. A learning outcome plays a role in assessment of student learning that is parallel to the role that a goal plays in institutional assessment.

Objective: Something that an office aims to do in a given year in order to more effectively achieve one or more of its long-run goals. Offices normally define new objectives annually.

Office: A group of college employees, headed by a director (or equivalent, in a few cases) which is expected to file an annual assessment report. All institutional assessment reports are filed by offices. Three assessment of student learning reports are filed by offices – General Education, WAC, and International Programs. The rest are filed by academic departments, which are parallel to offices for this purpose.

Project: Something the college does in order to implement a strategy. Projects are one-time activities that last a finite time (possibly more than one year, but usually less than five). There will be a number of different projects for each strategy, and some projects may contribute to more than one strategy.

Strategy: Something that the college aims to do in order to more effectively achieve one or more of its long-run goals. The college normally defines new strategies when it revises the strategic plan, which is expected to happen once every five years. Strategies are expected to last for five years (or more if they are retained in the following strategic plan). Contrast with projects which are expected to last for shorter periods of time.

Supervisor: Someone who supervises one or more directors and receives assessment reports from them. This group includes the College vice-presidents, the academic deans, the Chief of Staff, and the Chief Diversity Officer.

Unit level: One of two levels at which Middle States expects the college to conduct assessment; the other is the institutional level or college-wide level (the former name used by Middle States, the latter more commonly used in Union documents). At Union, a unit means either an academic department or program, with a chair or director who is responsible for assessment (though small programs are not required to do assessment) or an office with a director who is responsible for assessment.