Assessment Progress Reports
Every year (except Year 6 of the Academic Program Review cycle) departments will submit an Assessment Progress Report (as part of their Annual Report) to document a department’s assessment of Program Learning Outcomes and their progress towards best practices in assessment. This report has two parts: the Self-Assessment Rubric and the Assessment Cycle Grids. Guidance for each of these parts is provided below.
(Download the Microsoft Word Template for the Assessment Progress Report here.)
Program Assessment is one way in which Queens College participates in regular cycles of evaluation, assessment, and continuous improvement to fulfill expectations from our institutional accreditation.
Self-Assessment Rubric Guidance
The purpose of the Self-Assessment Rubric is to serve as a guide for discussion in your department or program towards a strong foundation for sustainable assessment practice.
1. Course Learning Objectives in place. Every class section Queens College must have a syllabus. (More information about syllabus content is shared here by CETLL.) An important part of a syllabus is a description of the learning objectives for the course. This rubric item asks whether a department is verifying that every class section has these learning objectives on their syllabus, and whether the learning objectives meet the best practices: that they are student-centered, observable, and aligned with the course assignments. (Learn more here.)
2. Program Learning Objectives in place. Every degree program should have Program Learning Objectives. These are a small collection (5-6) of statements describing the knowledge, skills, values, dispositions, attitudes, and/or experiences that students should acquire through completion of a program of study. (More information about PLOs is here.) This rubric item asks whether each departmental program has developed program learning objectives for each degree program that meet the best practices: that they are student-centered, observable and aligned with courses. (Learn more here.)
3. Curriculum Map in place. When Program Learning Objectives have been developed for your degree programs, a curriculum map helps to understand where each of these objectives is addressed (and assessed) in the classes and experiences that are required for earning the degree. (Learn more about curriculum maps here.) This rubric items asks you to assess how developed your curriculum map(s) are.
4. General Education Student Learning Objectives in place. CUNY’s General Education framework is called Pathways. (Learn more about Pathways at QC.) It was developed to ensure that every student who graduates with a degree from CUNY has a basic set of competencies. This rubric item asks whether when a course has a Pathways designation, a College Option designation, or a Writing Intensive designation, that the Pathways Learning Outcomes are specified on the syllabus and these objectives are aligned with the course assignments.
5. Assessment Methods in place. Once program learning objectives are developed and aligned with degree programs, a key goal is to make sure that students are learning what we intend for them to learn. The Curriculum Map helps to determine in which courses the Program Learning Objectives are covered and the Course Learning Objectives helps to determine which methods can be used to measure student competency in the Program Learning Objectives. There are many assessment methods, both Direct and Indirect. (See “Program-Level Assessment Methods” here.) This rubric item asks whether the department has developed assessment methods that effectively convey information about how well students are meeting learning outcomes, about program support for students and DEI, and alumni outcomes.
6. Assessment Plan in place. This rubric item asks whether the department has a plan in place aimed at assessing all program learning objectives over time, taking care to note the goals for this plan, the assessment methods that will be used strategy for approaching the assessment, resources allocated, and a timeline for this assessment. The assessment cycles that are currently in progress can be conveyed through the provided Assessment Cycle Grid.
7. Plan for Re-Assessment of Changes Made in place. Once an assessment cycle is completed and changes have been made to improve student outcomes, these changes need to be assessed to determine if they were successful. This involves collecting and analyzing data that compares current outcomes to outcomes before the changes. This rubric item asks whether the department regularly follows through on assessing these changes. This process can be conveyed through the provided Re-Assessment Grid.
8. Level of Inclusivity. This rubric item asks whether the assessment that takes place is undertaken across the department collaboratively. Are all department members included in conversations around assessment and learning objectives? Are these responsibilities shared across all members of the department instead of relying on a select few? Are all department members supportive of efforts made to implement change to improve student learning outcomes?
9. Level of Engagement. The assessment community at Queens College includes many different facets, including CETLL workshops and showcases, Institutional Effectiveness services, QC and CUNY Tableau dashboards, QC Navigate data, the Assessment Council, and relevant Senate Committees. This rubric item asks whether the department regularly engages with the Queens College’s assessment community and these resources.
10. Assessment Support in place. This rubric item assesses the sustainability of assessment in the department. Does the department leadership actively support and promote assessment practices? Are there departmental faculty allocated to and dedicated to ensuring that assessment occurs and is completed well? Has the department allocated resources as necessary to support the assessment process?
11. Immediate Future of Assessment Practice. This rubric item asks whether the department has a concrete plan for the immediate next steps of assessment in the department, including goals, roles and timelines.
Assessment Cycle Grid Guidance
The purpose of the Assessment Cycle Grids is to provide you a framework to document recent assessment practice according to the stages of the assessment cycle: state learning objectives, map to assessments, select methods, analyze data, and use results for improvements. “Closing the loop”)
Assessment Cycle Grid: Use this grid to document assessments in different stages of progress, attaching any documents referenced.
Re-Assessment Grid: Use this grid to document the re-assessment process for changes due to past assessment cycles.
(“Closing the loop”)
Important Context to Assessment
Keep in mind that the aim of assessment is improvement over time. The assessment you put into practice should be useful, actionable, manageable, and sustainable:
Assessment should be useful. The work that is done as part of the assessment cycle should have as its goal the improvement of the quality of education at Queens College.
Assessment should be actionable. The result of an assessment cycle should be action items that can feasibly be implemented in your department and assessed for impact.
Assessment should be manageable. There are many demands on a faculty member’s time. It is better to make incremental progress on a few learning objectives than try to improve everything all at once.
Assessment should be sustainable. The benefits of assessment accumulate over time. Departmental assessment practices and goals should take into account long-term viability.
Resources
Presentation: Assessment at Queens College (Christopher Hanusa 2024)
Acknowledgments
We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the Hunter College Office of Assessment, whose reporting materials served as a guide for our templates.