NECHE Assessment Update
The New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) is the regional accrediting agency for University of Maine and the University of Maine at Machias. Our last 10 year comprehensive evaluation took place in spring 2019 and this past February, UMaine received the official letter indicating our continued accreditation. The letter can be found at https://umaine.edu/provost/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2020/03/NECHE-Accreditation-Letter-2.12.20.pdf . The Commission requested UMaine submit a spring 2021 report highlighting progress made in particular areas, one of which is “further developing useful assessment of student learning.”
The Commission noted that our culture of assessment is growing and gaining momentum on campus and gave specific recognition to the assessment work being done in the Maine Business School, School of Marine Sciences, and the General Education subcommittee of the Faculty Senate. The Commission also recognized, however, that some units across campus have yet to use program assessment as a meaningful tool to improve student learning. In the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, we seek to provide support to help change that.
For some, program assessment is like the annoying relative who came for a visit and never left. Submitting assessment reports year after year feels tedious and not at all meaningful for their programs. Others will be able to recall strong examples of when the program assessment process provided an opportunity to make helpful improvements in their programs. In whichever camp you find yourself, the reality is that we are increasingly needing to find ways to demonstrate the value of a college degree with respect to student learning. Program assessment gives us the tools to seek answers to important questions about student learning in our programs.
The Office of Institutional Research and Assessment has been steadily working to increase the number of professional development opportunities for those interested in learning more about the program assessment process. We currently have two workshops on learning outcomes and curriculum mapping that can be found here. This fall, additional workshops on topics about assessment data collection will be offered. We will also be working more closely with the Graduate School to further develop each program’s assessment plan.
As always, we are available to answer your questions about assessment, as well as support you as you develop questions to ask about your program with the goal of continuous improvement. We look forward to working with you!