Instructions for Assistant Department Chairs or Assessment Coordinators

We can use program assessment to show what percentages of our students are proficient in certain learning outcomes. Our Program Assessment Reports can provide evidence of student learning, identifying:

Program Learning Outcomes for each degree area
How each PLO is measured (what type of assignment, project, or test is used)
What number and percentage of students were proficient in each PLO (passed the assignment, project, or test for each PLO)
Suggestions for improving student learning, based on the data

What do we do?

Ensure that each program area has measurable Program Learning Outcomes. They should be available online in the FSU Catalog. They should already appear on the program assessment forms provided for each department. If your faculty members are in the process of revising the PLOs, they can be updated on the form.
Identify (with the help of faculty) the courses that will be used to provide evidence for each Program Learning Outcome. Some courses may address one PLO, while others may cover two or three.
The selected courses will use one assignment, project, or test to provide evidence of student learning in the PLO.
If the selected courses have multiple sections, each faculty member teaching one of those courses will need to turn in a program assessment form.
Near the end of the semester, faculty members teaching the selected courses will give you the program assessment form, containing entries for the last three columns:
1. Evidence: Teacher identifies which assignment was used to provide evidence of student learning in a particular PLO. Rubrics should be attached, if applicable.
2. Number and Percentage of Students Completing the Course Who Have Achieved the Outcome: Teacher identifies the number and percentage of students who passed the assignment. They can provide this from their grade book or Blackboard.
3. Results: Teacher offers suggestions for improvements based on the data.
Compile a summary of results (for each degree area) based upon the program assessment reports provided by faculty.
1. Group together the reports for each program area.
2. Combine the results for each Program Learning Outcome.

Let’s try an example!

Imagine that Teacher 1 and Teacher 2 are managing two sections of the same course.
Their course is being used to provide evidence of student learning in PLO 1 and PLO 3. (Someone else’s course will cover PLO 2.)
They have reported the number and percentage of their students that passed the selected assignment.

Teacher 1

Program Learning Outcome	Core Learning Outcome	Evidence – Assignment, Project, or Test	# and & of Students Achieving Outcome	Use of Results
PLO 1	Communication	Oral Presentation (rubric attached)	19/30 or 63%	Revise writing rubric for clarity; add pre-requisite ENGL course
PLO 2	Critical Thinking
PLO 3	Global Literacy; Communication; Inquiry	Research project about Chinese culture (rubric attached)	28/30 or 93%	Revise syllabus; Add more challenge to rubric

Teacher 2

Program Learning Outcome	Core Learning Outcome	Evidence – Assignment, Project, or Test	# and & of Students Achieving Outcome	Use of Results
PLO 1	Communication	Oral Presentation (rubric attached)	20/28 or 71%	Revise syllabus; Use Writing Across Curriculum activities
PLO 2	Critical Thinking
PLO 3	Global Literacy; Communication; Inquiry	Research project about Chinese culture (rubric attached)	28/35 or 80%	Revise syllabus; Add more challenge to rubric

Calculate