St. Lawrence University now begins in earnest special new efforts in assessing student learning both for our own self-improvement as a liberal arts university and for accreditation review purposes. To begin a project of this scope, we must examine our institution’s mission and engage in substantive conversations about our stated key educational goals for a liberal education at St. Lawrence and for our respective disciplines and programs.
Because the premise of assessment work at St. Lawrence is that it be first and foremost, formative, the questions below guide the initial phase of this process:
*What should students know, understand, and be able to do when they graduate from St. Lawrence University?
*What are the key learning goals in specific academic programs?
*What are the key learning goals in specific co-curricular programs?
* How do we bring our best practices as teachers, scholars, creative artists, and research scientists to bear on student achievement of these learning goals?
*How do we know our students are accomplishing the learning the curriculum and co-curriculum sets out for them?
* How might we systematically gather, analyze, and interpret evidence to determine how well student performance matches stated expectations and criteria?
*What assessment practices will allow us to answer these questions adequately, honestly, and in a way that informs and improves future teaching and learning efforts?
Academic assessment seeks to answer the broad question, "What and how well do our students learn what we are attempting to teach them?" and is most successful and useful when the strategies employed correspond to key learning goals. Assessment also works best when it is not limited only to academic programs, but addresses student learning in institution-wide contexts.
“Assessment is the ongoing process of establishing clear, measurable expected outcomes of student learning, ensuring that students have sufficient opportunities to achieve those outcomes, systematically gathering, analyzing, and interpreting evidence to determine how well student learning matches our expectations, and using the resulting information to understand and improve student learning.” Linda Suski (2004), Assessing Student Learning: A Common Sense Guide
