Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A)
Policy
statement
The university of Toledo recognizes
that assessment of student learning is integral to effective teaching and
learning. Consistent with its mission, the university of Toledo strives to help
students obtain a world-class education, and as such is committed to the
continuous improvement of curricular and co-curricular programs, informed by
the assessment of student learning.
(B)
Purpose of
policy
The purpose of this policy is to
articulate the requirements for assessment of student learning outcomes and the
use of results to improve curricular and co-curricular programs; and to specify
the roles and responsibilities for implementing and overseeing assessment
processes to assure the university of Toledo fulfills its primary mission as an
educational institution.
(C)
Scope
(1)
Academic degree
major and certificate programs.
(2)
Core curriculum
program.
(3)
Academic and student support service units responsible
for co-curricular learning.
(4)
Colleges.
(5)
Divisions
responsible for co-curricular learning.
(D)
Requirements
(1)
The university of Toledo's assessment process requires
academic programs, including the core curriculum program, and student support
service units offering co-curricular learning experiences to prepare, and
submit the following to the provost, through their respective deans or vice
president (VP)/provosts:
(a)
An assessment plan.
(b)
A current
curriculum map.
(c)
An annual assessment report.
This documentation is required in
addition to any other evaluation-related reporting obligations, such as those
for program review, specialized accreditation, and sponsored
research.
(2)
The university of
Toledo's assessment process requires colleges and divisions overseeing offices
that offer co-curricular programs to submit the following to the provost:
An annual college/divisional-level
assessment report.
(E)
Roles and
responsibilities
(1)
The provost has overall responsibility and oversight
for the institutional outcomes assessment process.
(2)
The university
assessment committee, as charged by the provost, is responsible for the design
and implementation of the institutional assessment process. The committee is
also responsible for reporting institutional-level findings to the provost for
his or her use in decision-making related to budget and resource
allocation.
(3)
Faculty senate has overall responsibility and oversight
for the assessment of the core curriculum. Responsibilities include:
(a)
Maintaining a
current assessment plan and curriculum map;
(b)
Ensuring that
departments contributing courses to the core curriculum:
(i)
Carry out
course-level assessment processes based on best practices in their
discipline;
(ii)
Submit an annual report to the faculty senate and
university assessment committee documenting their analysis and evaluation of
their students' performance, including the context, evidence, and justification
of course-level decisions informed by assessment results.
(c)
Appointing one or more persons to serve as a representative
of the core curriculum to the university assessment committee.
(4)
The
office of assessment, accreditation, and program review, under the direction of
the provost or his/her designee, and in conjunction with the university
assessment committee, implements and maintains the institutional assessment
process, and provides professional development resources for faculty and staff
members. The office also supports the faculty senate in implementing and
maintaining the core curriculum program's assessment process.
(5)
The dean and
VPs/provosts have overall responsibility for the assessment of student learning
within the college/unit.
(a)
Deans/VPs are responsible for ensuring all academic
programs and service units offering curricular and co-curricular
programs:
(i)
Carry out individual program assessment processes based on
best practices in their discipline;
(ii)
Maintain a
current assessment plan and curriculum map;
(iii)
Submit an
annual report to the college and university assessment committee documenting
their analysis and evaluation of their students' performance, including the
context, evidence, and justification of program-level decisions informed by
assessment results.
(b)
Deans/VPs are
responsible for submitting an annual report to the university assessment
committee analyzing program-level results to help inform
college/divisional-level decisions related to budget and resource
allocation.
(c)
Deans/VPs are responsible to appoint one or more
persons to serve as the liaison to the university assessment
committee.
(6)
University assessment committee liaison
(a)
Must be a
full-time faculty, academic administrator, or staff member.
(b)
Responsible
for:
(i)
Collecting and reviewing individual program assessment plans
and reports;
(ii)
Providing feedback to faculty and staff about the
quality of their assessments;
(iii)
Providing
college/divisional-level reports to the dean/VP for approval prior to
submission to the university assessment committee
(iv)
Participating in
university assessment committee meetings and sponsored events to represent
their college/division's interests
(F)
Definitions
(1)
Academic program: a formal course of study that leads
to a degree or a stand-alone certificate.
(2)
Assessment plan:
a document that articulates the academic program or service unit's intended
student learning outcomes, methods to be used to measure these outcomes, and
provides examples of how faculty/staff use the data measured to impact
decisions to improve student learning.
(3)
Assessment
report: an annual report from an academic program or service unit that
describes the student learning outcomes measured during the past year, the
findings from those assessments, and how the specific results were used to make
decisions and improvements related to student learning.
(4)
Core curriculum
assessment report: an annual report from a department teaching a course(s) in
the core curriculum that describes the student learning outcomes measured
during the past year, the findings from those assessments, and how the specific
results were used to make decisions and improvements related to student
learning.
(5)
Co-curricular program: intentionally designed learning
opportunities sponsored by the university of Toledo that fall outside of the
scope of a credit-bearing course. They are purposefully aligned to, and support
student development in, one or more of the institutional student learning
outcomes (ISLO). Each academic program and service unit that offers
co-curricular programming is responsible for:
(a)
determining the
program's alignment with the ISLOs; and
(b)
assessing and
reporting the program's impact on students' learning.
(6)
Service unit: an organization that offers co-curricular
learning opportunities in fulfillment of the university's mission, but does not
offer credit-bearing courses that lead to an academic degree or certificate.
(i.e. student affairs, library)
(7)
Student learning
outcomes: statements that describe the desired knowledge, skills, attitudes,
and habits of mind that students take with them from a learning experience-
what students should know, think, and be able to do upon completion of an
academic or co-curricular program.