Assessment word cloud
Every institution accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities is required to maintain quality and implement plans and strategies for program improvement. As part of this requirement, the institution engages in regular and ongoing assessment to validate student achievement of university-wide, program, and course-level student learning outcomes. Furthermore, one of the requirements for institutions seeking to attain eligibility for federal funds is to hold Accredited or Candidate status with one of the accrediting agencies recognized by the Secretary of the U. S. Department of Education (NWCCU Handbook).

Assessment Defined

Assessment, according to Linda Suskie, is 鈥渢he ongoing process of establishing clear, measurable expected outcomes of student learning; ensuring that students have sufficient opportunities to achieve those outcomes; systematic gathering, analyzing, and interpreting evidence to determine how well student learning matches our expectations; [and] using the resulting information to understand and improve student learning.鈥�
Suskie, Linda, Assessing Student Learning: A Common Sense Guide, 2nd edition (San Francisco, Jossy-Bass, 2009, p. 4)

For information on how assessment is conducted for academic programs, log in to the University Intranet for additional resources and guidance.