Each academic program must develop and maintain an Assessment Plan, which documents the outcomes and measures focused on for continuous improvement.

• Accredited programs may submit their most recent self-study and any mid-cycle reports in lieu of using the template below, as long as the self-study reports annual assessment results and strategies for improvement of student learning.
• Non-accredited programs use the outcomes and measures portion of the Assessment of Learning Report (MS Word) template to document the Assessment Plan. The Assessment Plan includes:

Curriculum Map: A curriculum map is required.  A curriculum map shows how all program-level student learning outcomes (SLOs) align with the required/core courses for the program.  Our excel file that includes the curriculum map template, instructions, and example is a good resource for developing a curriclum map (click here for a PDF version of the instructions and example). If you are developing a curriculum map for a program change proposal to be submitted in Curriculog, please use the curriculum map template that shows the changes to your program, which can be found here. 

Student Learning Outcomes (SLO): Two SLOs are required. SLOs define what students will know or be able to do upon completion of the program.

For continuous improvement, select knowledge or skill areas with which students struggle (a need for improvement). Focus on one knowledge/skill area per outcome. Use clear, concise language and action verbs (see Bloom’s Taxonomy). Learning outcomes should align with the expected level of rigor for the course and degree.

Two measures are required for each SLO, with at least one measure being direct (i.e., rubric items, exam items, internship evaluation items, etc.). The other measure may be indirect, such a self-assessment or exit survey. 

Student Success Outcome (SSO): One Student Success Outcome is required, with a choice of focus on graduation rate, retention rate, time-to-completion, or recruitment. Two measures are required for the SSO, with at least one measure coming from an existing institutional source (ex. Institutional Research, the METRICS dashboard, internal program records, etc.).  The second measure may be a student or alumni survey, focus group, or other measure that provides insight into issues related to student success for your program. 

Review this checklist to ensure all criteria are met for Assessment Plan approval.

For new or modified programs submitting a Curriculog proposal, please follow the process described here.

Changes to existing Assessment Plans: If your program is modifying the outcomes and/or measures for AY 2022 and beyond, you may use this 2023-2024 template to get started. When you have a draft completed, please email it to assessment@kennesaw.edu for review and feedback. Please ensure you and your faculty team are ready to collect data during the Spring 2023 semester at the latest.

Each fall, academic programs provide a report of their assessment results and continuous improvement activities for the previous academic year. This report serves as evidence of assessment and continuous improvement for KSU's SACSCOC accreditation (Standard 8.2).

What needs to be submitted?

Accredited programs may submit their most recent self-study and any mid-cycle reports in lieu of using the report template above, as long as the self-study reports annual assessment results and strategies for improvement of student learning. This submission needs to be done every fall to ensure we have the most recent self-study and any mid-cycle report in our system.

Non-accredited programs submit the report using the Assessment of Learning Report (MS Word) template. See further instructions below.

 

My program is not accredited. Where do I start in writing the report?

TEMPLATE: Click here to download the 2023-2024 Assessment of Learning Report template.

Download important "START HERE" instructions for program coordinators submitting the 2023-2024 Assessment of Learning Report, which is due on March 15, 2024. Contact the assessment office for workship and consultation informatoin.  

For assistance with developing the recommended curriculum map, we include a simple excel template with instructions.  We also incude a PDF file that includes the instructions and an example.

What is reported annually?

• • Summary of analyses and results for each measure, including the big take-aways from the results.
  • Consider using a table to report rubric results in a granular fashion (by rubric criterion) so that the specific areas where students are struggling can be identified.
  • For exams, conducting an item analysis will help determine the specific exam items with which students struggle the most. If using D2L to administer the exam, you can generate an item analysis in D2L. See the "Introduction to D2L Learning Analytics Microlearning" below for more information.
  • Examples of formative assessment that have occurred within the program.
  • An update on progress toward strategies for improvement previously identified.

What is reported every three years?

The Cohort Schedule and Cohort List indicates when the Full Report Addendum is due. The Full Report Addendum includes:

• • Interpretation of results and trends over the previous 3-year assessment period,
  • Improvements verified with multiple years of data, and 
  • Specific strategies for improvement to be implemented during the next 3-year assessment period.

See the Cohort Schedule and Cohort List section below to determine your program's cohort and when the next Full Report Addendum is due.

APPENDIX: All rubrics, test items, and other measures must be included either in the Measures section or in the Appendix of the report.

Please do not upload multiple documents. Only one document will be accepted.

Please clearly label all items in the Appendix (i.e., “SLO1 – Measure 1”). Screenshots work best; copy and paste the image into the Word document.

This website explains how to take a screenshot:
Mac: https://www.take-a-screenshot.org/mac.html
PC: https://www.take-a-screenshot.org/windows.html

EXAMPLE REPORTS: Below you will find an example of a report (from a fictitious program).

• Sample Assessment of Learning Report - Undergraduate Program
• For programs who are assessing more than the minimum of 2 PSLOs, please see our report example for assessing 5 PSLOs in the same report. The format of the report is adjusted for the number of PSLOs assessed:
  • 2023-2024 AoL Report Assessing 5 PSLOs

How do I submit the report or self-study?

The report or self-study is submitted to our Assessment Office using a simple report submission form that will be emailed to program coordinators in August. We no longer have an online system for report submission.

When is the report or self-study due?

The report using the template OR your program's specialized accreditation self-study is due on March 15, 2024.

The Office of Assessment provides written feedback on all Assessment Plans and Assessment of Learning annual reports (not self-studies).  Below you will find the rubric and feedback form.  Please review the feedback form before submitting the report to ensure all of the criteria have been met.  In some cases, the report may need to be resubmitted if required information is missing or insufficient.

      2023-2024 AoL Report Rubric and Feedback Form

• You may download and print a copy of the rubric and feedback form using the link above.
• You may perform a self-review of your own program's report or a peer review of another program's report using the rubric and feedback form. This self or peer review process is optional. It is for programs, departments, or colleges that wish to utilize a self or peer review process to improve the quality of their report(s) prior to submission to the Assessment Office.
• Once your report is accepted by the Assessment Office (a resubmission is not needed), it will go through our university-level peer review process using the rubric and feedback form.  The Assessment Office will also use the rubric and feedback to review your report.  You will received the combined feedback from the peer reviewer and the Assessment Office. 
• When you receive the completed rubric and feedback form from our Assessment Office, please use the feedback to make improvements on your next report (if possible).  If your program needs more time to make the changes, please note that on your next assessment report and indicate when the program plans to make the changes. 

If you would like to discuss the feedback in more detail, please contact assessment@kennesaw.edu to set up an individual or team consultation.

Assessment results for the previous year are reported each fall. However, to foster a strategic perspective in your continuous improvement efforts and allow time for improvements to be observed, the identification of trends and strategies for improvement takes place every 3 years.

As such, the Full Report Addendum within the MS Word template must be completed every 3 years. It includes an interpretation of analyses, trends over time, and the strategies for improvement selected for implementation during the next 3-year cycle.

Each program has been placed into a cohort that follows the 3-year cycle in a staggered fashion. See one of the Cohort Lists below for your program’s cohort. The Cohort Schedule (below) shows when the Full Report Addendum is due for each cohort. 

The Cohort Schedule and Cohort Lists are included together in the following file:

Cohort Schedule and Cohort Lists Combined

It is KSU's mission to provide students an exceptional learning experience and to prepare them for life after graduation. If done well, assessment tells us how well we are fulfilling that mission and how to best improve our teaching strategies, our curriculum, and the student experience.

The use of uHoo Analytics will make the assessment process more meaningful and manageable for faculty, as well as more impactful for students. Consider visiting the ​uHoo Analytics webpage below to discover how to access and use the learning analytics that are currently available in D2L. These analytics will be helpful for both formative and summative assessment. 

Additionally, this resource guide may be helpful as you decide which D2L learning analytics to access and how to use them to improve student learning, your teaching strategies, the curriculum, and/or your assessment instruments (i.e., test items and rubrics).

Please contact uhoo@kennesaw.edu if you have any questions about learning analytics.

View Introduction to uHoo Analytics

• Creating and Using Rubrics (by University of Hawaii Manoa)
• Writing Rubrics Right by M. Oakleaf
• Rubric Template by University of West Florida (uwf.edu/cutla)
• AAC&U Value Rubrics

Guiding Questions: Programs can make assessment more meaningful and manageable by:

• Focusing on outcomes and measures most in need of improvement,
• Discussing assessment results and improvement strategies at faculty meetings,
• Implementing targeted strategies to improve learning and your overall program, and
• Reporting on the continuous improvement activities that are already taking place. 

Use the following questions to guide your discussions of assessment at faculty meetings.

Faculty Team Meeting: Guiding Questions about Assessment

 

Additional Resources: The resources below are intended to support your assessment and continuous improvement activities. 

Please contact assessment@kennesaw.edu to request an individual or team consultation. Also, if you have any additional resources that may be helpful, please share them with us.

• Higher Education Quality: Why Documenting Learning Matters (NILOA, 2016)
• Institutional Review Board's (IRB) page on Assessment/Evaluation vs. Research.
• The 2018-2023 KSU Strategic Plan 
• 13 Steps to Creating a Learning Organization
• A Simple Model for Improvement
• An Approach to Designing Changes for Improvement
  
  • The slides for this video presentation can be found here.
• Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U)
• Center for Statistics and Analytical Research
• Lumnia Foundation
• National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA)

• How should I begin?
  • Contact assessment@kennesaw.edu, or your college’s representative on the Academic Assessment Council, or contact your program’s Chair to ask for historical artifacts of assessment.
• What is assessment?
  • Assessment is a collaborative effort intended to measure and improve student learning and student success. It is guided by the Office of Assessment.
  • Your program has a mission and vision, along with program and course learning outcomes. Assessment results should inform efforts to improve student learning and student success, as well as curriculum changes.
  • Assessment is one step in the continuous improvement cycle and should never be a burden when done correctly.
• Are we done once the outcomes have been achieved?
  • Assessment and improvement is a continuous process. A new cycle begins after the previous one has been completed (see model above). Once there is no more room for improvement for a particular learning outcome, the focus should move to a knowledge or skill area where there is more room for improvement.
  • Learning outcomes and measures should also be revised as needed to ensure they align with curriculum changes, industry standards, and employer needs.
  • In these cases, the Assessment Plan should be updated to reflect the shift in focus.
• Why can't course grades be used as assessment?
  • Overall grades are not granular enough to determine the specific areas with which students struggle. As such, it will be difficult to identify strategies to improve student learning in those specific areas and track progress over time.
  • Many factors may contribute to course grades that do not relate to student learning, such as attendance and class participation.
  • Instead of course grades, direct measures of student learning include: exam items, rubric items, and internship evaluation items that directly related to the Student Learning Outcome of interest.

If you have other questions not explained here, send them to assessment@kennesaw.edu.