Guidelines & Requirements
The Academic Program Assessment Guidelines is a comprehensive manual that guides Program Coordinators step-by-step through the documentation process. We recommend reviewing the manual before developing your program's Assessment Plan as it describes key components of learning outcomes assessment. The manual includes:
- An introduction to program assessment and deadlines for active cycles
- How to use HelioCampus (formerly AEFIS) to document your Assessment Plan & Report
- Detailed information about each section of the Plan & Report, including the criteria Department Academic Liaisons use to provide feedback
- FAQs for each section of the Plan & Report
- The criteria OIARP staff look for when scoring your assessment plans and reports (also included at the bottom of this page)
Download the Academic Program Assessment Guidelines
Minimum Requirements for Assessment Plans & Reports
Detailed information and examples can be found in the Academic Program Assessment Guidelines.
- At least two Program Learning Outcomes (PLO) must be included in the submitted Plan.
- Each program should have identified at least 3 PLOs overall (with the exception of certificates) which may be assessed on rotation.
- Each PLO must be accompanied by at least one DIRECT measure.
- Benchmarks must include levels that directly align with the described measure.
- Findings must include supporting documentation
- The Findings section must describe past cycle’s results (if applicable).
- The Action Plans must address the first three questions. Simply stating “we will do this again” is not appropriate. Reflect on the strengths and opportunities for growth based on results.
Assessment Rubrics
At Step 4 and Step 9, OIARP staff review all Assessment Plans (Step 4) and Reports (Step 9), provide feedback, and assign a score to each section of the Asssesment Plan/Report. The rubric will guides the decision making whether or not a report will be approved or denied by OIARP. Denial could mean more information is needed, or something as simple as supporting documentation was not uploaded. The rubric below is used to assign scores. If any one section scores below a 2, that will require a re-submission of your plan and/or report.
Contact
Office of Institutional Assessment, Research and Planning
5201 University Boulevard, Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library 434, Laredo, TX 78041-1900
Phone: 956.326.2275