Frequently Asked Questions on Assessment at University of Maine:

Assessment:

“Assessment”, in this context, is a short-hand term for Learning Outcomes Assessment. It is the process for gathering information about the degree to which students are meeting stated learning outcomes and using that information to make meaningful curricular changes so that continuous improvement of our academic programs takes place. In short, it is a way to make the process of curricular improvement evidence-based and transparent to all stakeholders.

There are external and internal (to the university) reasons for having an assessment process in place. External reasons include the need to show our accrediting agencies that we are providing educational opportunities for our students that result in meaningful learning. Internal reasons include having a systematic, evidence-based and transparent process in place to support the continual improvement of our curricula. 

Assessment is a type of action research with the “primary goal of improving practice rather than generating theoretical knowledge” (Banta & Palomba, 2015).

For an exact description of the assessment reporting process please see the University of Maine Assessment Plan and the UMaine Assessment Reporting Handbook, both available here. In short, every department must show yearly evidence of measuring one or more of their stated program learning outcomes. Over the course of a three year assessment cycle all of a program’s learning outcomes must be measured. Measurement of learning outcomes must be followed by reflection on the results and planning for how to improve the curriculum, with respect to each learning outcome, should results warrant.

This will be available soon!

This page provides easy access to UMaine standardized documents for assessment courses.

Assessment Toolkit:

Curriculum mapping is the process of graphically describing where each program learning outcome is being covered throughout the curriculum of a program so that the scope and sequence of learning can be visualized. This allows potential gaps, sequencing issues and redundancies in the curriculum to be identified. The map typically takes the form of a spreadsheet where the courses in a program are listed along the columns and the program learning outcomes are listed along the rows (note – rows and columns can be transposed). Within each cell, where a program outcome and a course intersect, a symbol representing whether, and to what degree, a program outcome is being met is indicated. In some cases the symbol may just be a ‘x’ and in others it may be something like I, B, or M to represent Introduction, Building and Mastery of an outcome. For more information see our online workshop on curriculum mapping.

We have a dedicated workshop on how to develop meaningful, manageable and measurable learning outcomes. More information is available here.

Responsibilities:

The office at UMaine responsible for coordination of program level outcomes assessment is the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment. The Assistant Provost for Institutional Research and Assessment is Dr. Deb Allen. Amanda Barrington is the Assessment Coordinator and Ryan Weatherbee is the Assistant Director for Assessment.

References:

Banta, T.W. and C.A. Palomba (2015). Assessment Essentials (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.