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Undergraduate Assessment
CCHE Quality Indicator System
CU-Boulder fall 2000 submission, for funding 2000-01
Graduation Year Undergraduate Assessment Program
Why change is needed
With a working assessment process in place for over 10 years, and a national reputation for leadership,
why should any changes be made?
- It's time - the process has become routine, pro forma for many programs. It's been running on "automatic
pilot," with no meetings of an oversight committee in some years.
- At the same time, the process is not defined clearly enough for many coordinators.
- Some programs have not communicated effectively about their assessment activities and their use of
assessment results to improve. In some cases these programs have not assessed outcomes at all; in others
the deficit is simply in reporting.
- The expectations of external constituencies have changed.
- The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), our accrediting agency, places much
more emphasis on accreditation now than in the '80's. NCA has asked for a "progress report on the
use of assessment as a tool to improve undergraduate and graduate student learning and for
institutional improvement," due fall 2003.
- Assessment of graduating seniors' knowledge and skills in the major field is one of the CCHE QIS
indicators for future years, as is assessment of general education goals for lower-division
undergraduates.
- In recent years students, employers, and parents have become more interested in information about
what graduates of a particular program can be expected to know and do. They also expect delivery of
this information via web.
- CU-Boulder is paying more attention to accountability and strategic goals in its budgeting process.
The introduction of a "unit merit" component in the allocation process may allow real consequences
to be attached to collection and use of assessment information.
Graduation Year Undergraduate Assessment Program
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Undergraduate Outcomes Assessment main page
l:\ir\outcomes\misc\ccplan01.doc 11/15/2000
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