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Outcomes Assessment at NC State University

Assessment informs planning and decision-making, and provides evidence about the quality of learning, teaching, research, service, extension, and engagement. At NC State, assessment responsibilities are distributed among various programs and units across the university. This page emphasizes, however, how the processes are all based on the same guiding principles and premises so that systematic decisions can be made from the evidence gathered.

NC State processes consist of assessment at various levels of analysis.

NC State is committed to assessment that is meaningful, manageable, efficient, and useful for making decisions at the department or unit level as well as at the college, division and university levels. The academic undergraduate and graduate assessments are mainly conducted at the course and program levels. The assessment and evaluation of services and processes in Student Affairs and administrative units are conducted at the event, program, and division levels. Student Affairs and Division of Undergraduate Programs have developed division-wide mission, values, objectives and outcomes that assist with both planning and assessment activities. NC State has begun to develop processes to provide institutional level assessment results for decision-making and accountability purposes. Learning in a Technology-Rich Environment (LITRE) is a university-wide initiative and the theme of NC State University's quality enhancement plan.

NC State is focused on outcomes based assessment.

The academic programs, the LITRE project and other programs that impact student learning establish measurable and observable learning outcomes. Other units develop outcomes that may relate to learning or to their unit's activities. Assessment evidence gathered is relevant to the outcomes of programs and services and to the needs of the owners. Evidence is collected through a variety of methods and from multiple sources.

NC State has both continuous/ongoing assessment and periodic review processes.

Calendar related to assessment processes.

Continuous and ongoing assessment processes:

Undergraduate Programs participates in continuous and ongoing assessment. Each summer, the associate dean of each college, along with their college assessment consultant, co-authors a brief college summary report that synthesizes the issues and action items that are a result of the annual assessment activities of the undergraduate programs in the college, and any best practices identified by departments. See Guidelines effective beginning 2005-2006.
Assessment of General Education includes rationale and objectives for each general education requirement that map to student learning outcomes in general education courses. A revised set of rational and objectives have been developed for the General Education Program to be implemented fall 2009.
Graduate Programs’ continuous and ongoing assessment focuses primarily on student learning. It asks and answers the questions, “What do we want our students to know and be able to do when they graduate?” and “How well does our program promote that learning?”
Student Affairs units conduct continuous and ongoing assessment of each unit’s objectives and outcomes, with reports produced each year.
Ongoing assessment of Distance Education Processes and On-Line Courses provide unique opportunities to assess student learning as well as evaluate the effectiveness of services which provide distance education.
Course evaluations are systematically conducted for all courses each semester. NC State implemented a new, online system for student evaluation of classes, starting with the spring semester of 2007. Except for classes taught by the College of Veterinary Medicine, all classes – on campus, online, and off-campus – are included in the new process. Beginning in 2007-08, there will be an opportunity for colleges, departments, and individual faculty members to add their own, individual questions.
Administrative, educational support, research and extension and engagement units reporting directly to the Chancellor or any of the Vice Chancellors have developed continuous and ongoing processes. Each unit writes an assessment reports each summer related to outcomes measured that year. The reporting cycle is the same as the annual reporting process for the Chancellor.

Periodic Review Processes:

NC State's undergraduate program review process was initially developed by a faculty/administration task force and by the faculty Committee on Undergraduate Program Review (CUPR). The process was restructured in 2004-2005 through study of the Academic Affairs Assessment Planning Team. The Task Force Report recommendations were accepted by the Provost during 2005. Guidelines related to undergraduate program review were effective beginning 2005-2006.
NC State's Graduate Program Assessment program review process includes outcomes assessment conducted every 8 years with 2 year update reports.
University-wide SACS accreditation is conducted every ten years. The next on-site visit is due in 2014. Self-study process will begin during 2012. A SACS fifth year report, including assessment results from LITRE’s student learning outcomes, is due in 2009-2010.

Outcomes assessment are used in NC State's Compact Planning process.

Compacts are planning agreements between a unit and its supervisor - between an academic department and the dean of its college, a college and the Provost, an administrative department and the relevant Vice Chancellor, etc. Compacts focus on specific initiatives the unit plans for the next few years and include assessment: what outcomes or objectives an initiative is intended to accomplish, Key findings, and what actions are taken as a result. Where possible, the same measures are used in the unit's other assessment processes. In the Division of Student Affairs planning and assessment have been closely linked so that planning for activities intentionally make outcomes happen.

Review and revisions of NC State's assessment processes are conducted periodically.

NC State is committed to assessment that is meaningful, manageable, efficient, and useful for making decisions. Periodic assessment of the processes are conducted to determine how well the processes are working for effective decision-making. Below are examples of how the processes have been assessed:

Student Affairs Assessment Team uses a rubric to assess the reports produced each year by the units within the division.
Assessment professionals within DUAP use a rubric to assess the undergraduate assessment process each year.
Staff Well-Being Survey, conducted spring 2008, showed the staff's understanding and satisfaction with assessment and assessment support. Questions related to assessment were in section D – question 3d, section E – questions 7 & 8, and section G – question 16q.
Review of general education by the GER Task Force (2004-2007), included a review of the assessment procedures for assessing general education. As part of the implementation of the new General Education Program, the Committee on Undergraduate Education also conducted a review during 2007-2009. These reviews included reviewing, revising and adding General Education mission, categories requirements, rationale and objectives, and processes for ensuring fit of each course within each General Education Program category.
Faculty Well-Being Survey, conducted fall of 2006, showed the levels of faculty understanding and satisfaction with assessment. Report about assessment data prepared by Assessment Work Group.
During fall 2004-spring 2005, an appointed Academic Affairs Assessment Planning Team was charged to review the assessment processes of undergraduate program review, graduate program review, and general education program review and to make recommendations to increase the efficiency and value of these processes. Their Task Force Report recommendations were accepted by the Provost during 2005.
During Spring 2004, a University-wide Assessment Task Force was created to suggest ways to improve efficiency and coordination in the university's various assessment activities. The review and recommendations of the Task Force can be found on the Task Force webpages.
A campus-wide survey of student outcomes assessment processes was conducted during 1999-2000. Using results from the 55% of academic departments and degree-granting programs who responded, it was found that the e most commonly reported assessment methods were surveys of students and alumni, job and graduate school placement, and student projects, portfolios, theses, and dissertations.