Ongoing Program Assessment Program

The development of consistent and sustainable cycles for the assessment of student learning are foundational to the assessment program in the academic division. Currently, we assess our programs at four distinct levels of the curriculum: the general education core, majors, minors, and course feedback delivered via student evaluations.

Assessment of General Education/Core Curriculum

The current general education program is primarily assessed via indirect student survey responses included in the course evaluation questions. Each year, the Core Curriculum Committee designates one ILO to be included for review by students. The Integrative Learning Objectives (approved by the faculty in 1999) are Knowledge Base, Critical Reflection, Expression, Interaction with Others, Valuing, and Multiple Frameworks. From academic year 2016-17 to academic year 2020-21 each ILO was assessed once. The findings are summarized in this document.

For 2021-2022, the Core Curriculum committee focused annual general education assessment on two requirements: the Senior Capstone and the Diversity Requirement.

In addition, some departments and programs collect data on the General Education element outcomes they have designated. For example, the First Year Experience Program (FYEP) conducts its own annual assessment, as does the International Honors Program (IHON).

During the 2021-22 academic year, the Core Curriculum Committee will establish newly revised learning outcomes for each key element of the Core, accompanied by an assessment plan built on a 5-year cycle for implementation and evaluation.

Assessment within the Major

All programs assess student learning via designated program-level learning outcomes. Programs submit annual reports that summarize student learning goals, assessment strategies, and actions taken as a result of assessment findings. This information is used by departments to modify curricula to best support successful student learning and to contribute to the seven-year program review process.

Access the annual program assessment survey below. If you have questions about the survey or the goals of assessment reporting, please contact provost@plu.edu.

Click here to access the Annual Assessment Report Survey.

Assessment within the Minor

Students who choose to complete a minor see a wide range of options for completing these requirements; rarely are there required common courses. To assess the overall outcomes of the minor, students complete a survey reflecting their personal goals for completing a minor.

Teaching and Course Feedback

At the end of each semester, students are invited to participate in online course evaluations for each enrolled course. Faculty, chairs, and deans use these results for immediate instructional improvement and as part of standard promotion and tenure procedures. These data are only used internally to department/division/school considerations.

Faculty can access the course evaluation software at this link.

Questions or comments?
Please contact the Office of the Provost (253)535-7126 or provost@plu.edu