What is Assessment?
Illinois Tech's core mission is "to provide distinctive and relevant education in an environment of scientific, technological, and professional knowledge creation and innovation." How do we as an institution know if the education provided through our courses and programs is distinctive and relevant? How can we as an institution ensure that we focus on what our students can do in the workforce and in society in general? Through continuous assessment of student learning. In their handbook for course-based review and assessment, Martha L. A. Stassen et al. define assessment as simply 鈥渢he systematic collection and analysis of information to improve student learning鈥 (2001, p. 5). Assessment of student learning occurs at all levels: at the course level, at the program level, and at the institution level. At each level, data is gathered and analyzed to determine to what extent student are meeting course, program, core, or co-curricular learning objectives, not unlike the systematic collection and analysis of information that defines the scientific method.
Like the scientific method, systematic assessment enables faculty and other stakeholders to maintain consistency across curricula and to determine when or where curricular adjustments are needed. Assessment is a crucial part of the accreditation requirements for Illinois Tech, and more importantly, assessment is a tool to ensure that students are developing the skills they need for success.
Student Learning Assessment and Grades
The spirit of the assessment is one of continuous improvement. Student learning assessment provides feedback to faculty about how well the program curriculum is working to help students achieve the learning objectives of the program. In contrast, course grades provide feedback to individual students about how well they are mastering the content of the course.
Assessment at Illinois Tech
This section contains details for faculty conducting assessment at Illinois Tech, including best practices and templates for Program Assessment Plans and Annual Program Assessment Reports. Please note that you must be signed into Illinois Tech to view the linked documents.Program, core curriculum, and co-curricular assessment all maintain regular cycles of continuous improvement. See the section of the for details.
Program Assessment runs on an annual cycle according to each program's Program Assessment Plan. Annual program summary reports are due to the Program Assessment Committee the fall term following the academic year assessed. For example, reports and recommendations on learning objectives reviewed against Fall 2023-Spring 2024 student work are due Fall 2024, on October 15.
Core Curriculum Assessment runs a 3-year cycle evaluating core curriculum competencies and objectives against student course work.
Co-curricular Assessment will have its own regular cycle of its goals reviewed against its own co-curricular student learning objectives.
Assessment uses some unique terminology. The is a list of common terms and variations used at Illinois Tech.
Program Assessment provides the faculty and institution data on student achievement of program learning objectives (PLOs) for every program at Illinois Tech.
Program owners, typically departments, are responsible for annual student learning assessment of their programs against their program's unique PLOs. The University Program Assessment Committee (UPAC) provides support and assistance to Illinois Tech's Program Assessment Coordinators (PACs). PACs coordinate and manage institutional assessment for their respective programs and departments. UPAC provides templates and submission forms to better assist PACs in their collection and data analysis, and then maintains and stores Illinois Tech's program assessment plans and reports.
Program Assessment Plans
Program assessment plans are first created as part of our overall institutional program approval process. They may be updated by the program owners as needed.
- Use the guide and template to create your program assessment plan.
- Use this if you need to submit an assessment plan.
- Use the to submit program assessment plans to UPAC
Annual Program Assessment Reports
Every year, program owners review student work against some or all of its PLOs, according to their program's plan. The result is an annual summary of data reviewed and recommendations to be implemented to improve student learning. These annual program reports are due the fall term after the term assessed.
- Use the for the text format of your annual program assessment report.
- Use the to submit annual program reports based on the above templates to UPAC by October 15.
- Use this should you need a list of students by program for your course for assessment.
UPAC hosts an annual assessment day and related assessment workshops to assist PACs in assessment processes and preparing their reports. Reports and recommendations on PLOs reviewed against Fall 2023-Spring 2024 student work are due Tuesday, October 15, 2024.
See the for more.
Distinct from program assessment and cocurricular assessment, provides the faculty and institution data on student achievement of those core learning objectives that are the hallmark of an Illinois Tech graduate.
The Core Curriculum refers to the system of courses designed to promote the development of 21st century competencies throughout their academic work at Illinois Tech. The core curriculum includes components from STEM, Humanities, Natural Science, Computer Science, IPRO, Communication, and the Social Sciences.
Find published in the university bulletin.
The Core Curriculum Assessment Committee (CCAC) assesses the entire core curriculum in a 3-year cycle. Find the process, categories, and the courses within each, as well as its 3-year assessment sequence on the .
Are you teaching a Core Designated Course? To get started, first in our .
focuses on the university-wide learning objectives and goals that go above and beyond the classroom, programs, and courses. Cocurricular projects align with the mission of Illinois Tech and provide students with learning experiences to prepare them for professional practices.
The Cocurricular Assessment Committee is working on updating its cocurricular learning objectives and assessment plans to provides the faculty and Illinois Tech data on student achievement of those professional learning objectives outside the curriculum that are the hallmark of Illinois Tech graduates.
See our for even more information and .
Program Assessment Basics
Assessment Plans
- Use the guide and template to create your program assessment plan.
- Use this if you need to submit an assessment plan.
- Use the to submit program assessment plans to UPAC.
Annual Assessment Reports
- Use the for the text format of your annual program assessment report.
- Use the to submit annual program reports based on the above templates to UPAC by October 15.
See more in the page of the .
Core Curriculum Basics
- Are you teaching a Core Designated Course? To get started, .
- Find published in the university bulletin.
- Find the process, categories, and the courses within each, as well as its 3-year assessment sequence on the .
Learn more in our .