Office of Institutional Assessment, Research and Planning

Program Assessment is the process of evaluating what students know and what skills they can demonstrate within the scope of the defined Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) of their academic program.

Faculty collect data, discuss the findings, and use that information to develop and implement an action plan to further improve the student learning experience in the program.

The goal of program assessment is continuous improvement, and therefore the Program Assessment process at TAMIU is cyclical in nature, consisting of 3 main phases:

1. Plan phase: Faculty collectively decide which PLO(s) will be prioritized for assessment and what direct measures will be used to collect learning data from
2. Data Collection phase: Faculty implement their plan for obtaining learning data over the course of an academic year.
3. Report phase: Learning data is analyzed and discussed within the faculty The findings are used to inform improvements to be implemented in program, specifically focused on what and how students are learning.

The University requires that programs document their Program Assessment processes. The Office of Institutional Assessment, Research, and Planning facilitates documentation in HelioCampus (formerly AEFIS). Program Coordinators are expected to document their program's Plan and Report annually.

The following academic programs are required to participate in program assessment and submit annual documentation:

• All undergraduate programs  
• All graduate programs
• Standalone certificate programs

Major-Dependent certificate programs and minor programs are NOT required to submit annual documentation.

NOTE: Individual tracks, concentrations, or emphases within a degree program are not required to be documented separately.

Departments appoint one or more Program Coordinators for each academic program to be responsible for ensuring annual documentation is submitted annually based on University guidelines and due dates.

To see more specific information and resources relevant to the Program Coordinator role, please visit the Program Coordinator page.

If you're new to assessment, we recommend checking out our Assessment 101 resource page first. Here you'll find general information about assessment, some helpful videos explaining each stage of the assessment process, and other resources such as the OIARP self-paced module, Writing Learning Outcomes.

If you're ready for a deeper dive, review the Academic Program Assessment Guidelines, a comprehensive resource which can be used as a companion manual while documenting your program's Assessment Plan and Report. It describes requirements, best practices, and tips to help you with your assessment strategy and how to document it.

As always, we are happy to meet with you to discuss program assessment and answer any questions. Email us at assessment@tamu.edu to get something scheduled!

• Assessment Plans for the upcoming academic year are submitted every Spring semester.
• Assessment Reports for the previous academic year are submitted every Fall semester.

These due dates vary slightly each year as they fall on Fridays. Visit Program Coordinator webpage to see specific due dates for the current/active Program Assessment cycles.

Please be aware that Department Academic Liaisons haveauthority to determine their own due dates for Assessment Plans and Reports. If your Liaison does not communicate different deadlines, programs are expected to follow the due dates published on the OIARP website. Automatic reminder emails based on the published due dates have been set up in the HelioCampus system, so please note that you may receive notifications that communicate different due dates from what your Liaison has communicated to you.

TAMIU uses HelioCampus to document Assessment Plans & Reports. Instructors and students automatically have an account in HelioCampus. OIARP can manually set up user accounts for staff. Users are prompted to log in using their NetID and password. Users who have a HelioCampus account must request to be added to academic program(s) in the system, which provides access to the relevant Program Assessment forms.

Need access to Program Assessment forms in HelioCampus? Click HelioCampu Request Form to request access. Please be sure to include the specific program(s) you need access to.

This HelioCampus (AEFIS) User Guide shows how to:

• Log in to the system
• Access, navigate, and submit academic assessment forms
• View form history and save your work for later

When an Assessment Report is completed at the end of a cycle, the report is archived in the HelioCampus system and is accessible by individuals who hold the Program Coordinator role.

OIARP provides final report ratings (Exemplary, Sufficient, Developing, Needs Attention) to Program Coordinators.