Excellence in Assessment Awards

The Excellence in Assessment Awards were created by the Learning Outcomes Assessment Committee of the Faculty Council in conjunction with the Provost's Office to recognize programs that are doing truly excellent student learning outcomes assessment work. The programs honored below demonstrate commitment to the process and the importance of understanding and documenting their students' knowledge and skills. Most vitally, they use this information to constantly improve curriculum, pedagogy, and student learning.

2021-2023 Winners

Click the program name to view their assessment report (PDF).

Criteria and Selection

The Director of Assessment nominates a slate of program reports to the Learning Outcomes Assessment Committee for the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Star designees. Each report is rated on a scoresheet by two members of the LOAC and the top 2 scores are given Gold Stars, the next 2 are given Silver Stars, and an additional number of programs are given Bronze Stars. 

Scores are determined on the following criteria:

  • Outcomes: Clearly defined and measurable; focus on knowledge, skills, behaviors, or values
  • Measures: Direct and indirect; clearly and accurately aligned to the learning outcomes
  • Targets: Clearly identified level of achievement expected
  • Results: Easy to read and understand; detailed
  • Analysis: Detailed; explains the achievement (or lack thereof) of learning outcomes
  • Use of results for future plans: Clear, concrete, and timely planned improvements
  • Faculty involvement: Clear explanation in every aspect of assessment
  • Student voice: Utilized to supplement traditional SLO assessment
  • Report clarity: Easy to read; all sections included; tells the program's story
  • Innovation: Processes or measures are creative, new, or interesting

The Rising Star award is determined by the Director of Assessment with approval by the Associate Vice Provost of Academic Planning and the Learning Outcomes Assessment Committee. This award is for a program that either: 1) has vastly improved its assessment practices since the previous cycle; OR 2) is engaging in new or innovative assessment processes based on previous result.