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Assessment of Student Learning
Overview
The ultimate goal of MU's assessment efforts - at the program level and for general education - is a highly effective learner-centered institution, an organization in which students learn what they need to know and be able to do to be successful. As an initial step toward achieving this goal, the University has established Core Learning Objectives, three broad categories of skills that cross all academic and co-curricular areas. The University's key strategy for achieving its student learning goal is to help faculty and staff adapt the Core Learning Objectives to their programs. Establishing this process will help to make clear to students (both current and future), their parents, potential employers, and even legislators and government officials what we expect students to know and be able to do as a result of their experiences at the University.
One key to success in this broad-based effort is for each program to develop systematic plans to bring about improvement in student learning. Every academic program should have 1) clear learning objectives for its students, 2) curricular and co-curricular learning strategies directly aligned with the learning objectives, and 3) systematic processes for assessing the effectiveness of the learning strategies. Additionally, programs are responsible for using the information produced by their assessments for improvement.
Campus-wide, programs do a good job of assuring the competency of their graduates, particularly how well they know the disciplinary content of their majors. What is often missing from our assessment efforts are systematic means for gathering information about what and how students gain, particularly in performance learning: e.g., conducting research, communicating effectively, serving society in a responsible manner. This is where MU's Office of Assessment can be most helpful.
The central purpose of the Office of Assessment is to assist faculty and staff across campus in developing and implementing programs that assess student learning. The Assessment Office can also assist departments in the use of results to improve teaching and learning.
Too often, the term "assessment" has been bound up with accountability issues and compliance with external mandates instead of quality improvement. Accountability is important, but assessment programs focused on improvement effectively produce information adequate for accountability. This is why in communications across campus, the Office of the Provost and the Office of Assessment emphasize student learning.
For further information on methods and processes for assessment of learning in degree programs/the major and for assessment of general education, see Quick Links above.
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