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Assessment
"Assessment is an ongoing process aimed at understanding and improving student learning. It involves making our expectations explicit and public; setting appropriate and high standards for learning quality; systematically gathering, analyzing, and interpreting evidence to determine how well performance matches those expectations and standards; and using the resulting information to document, explain, and improve performance."
Angelo, T.A. (1995). Reassessing and defining assessment. AAHE Bulletin, 48(3): 149.
Mission
The mission of the Office of Assessment is to advance a culture of learning improvement at NDSU.
Program Assessment
All academic programs are expected to identify a set of program learning outcomes (PLOs). A PLO is a statement of what students should know or be able to do by the time they complete an academic program.
All PLOs should have a success target established. A Success Target is the acceptable percentage of students who must achieve a PLO for faculty to consider the outcome to be met successfully. At minimum, the success target should be 70%, though higher success targets may be chosen at the discretion of program faculty. Faculty analyze their assessment results to determine the percentage of students who met a PLO in any given year, compare that to their success target, and determine if the target was met or not met.
For each PLO, program faculty should determine appropriate assessment methods for determining whether the success target for a PLO has been met. An assessment method provides faculty with information about student learning.
To review the current program learning outcomes (PLOs) provided for an academic program, see the Program Learning Outcomes Report.
To update or provide PLOs for an academic program and to provide assessment methods for PLOs, complete the Assessment Plan Template and send to ndsu.provost@ndsu.edu.
Assessment Resources
- Assessment Plan Template (Word)
- Program Learning Outcomes Report (smartsheet)