Office of Academic Assessment provides workshops on the program assessment process
The Office of Academic Assessment is once again providing a series of workshops on the program assessment process during the spring semester. The workshops will offer a wide range of resources to assist faculty and administrators as they focus on teaching and learning in their programs.
The workshops offered this semester include:
- “Writing Student Learning Outcomes”
- “Measuring and Analyzing Student Outcomes” and
- “Using Assessment Results to Improve Teaching and Learning”
Each of these workshops will be held twice this semester and it is recommended that they be taken in the order in which they are listed. An added benefit for the workshops this semester will be the presentation of perspectives from two faculty members involved in the process.
Workshops will also be offered on the use of surveys, rubrics, focus groups, and ePortfolios. All workshops will be held in the Fralin Auditorium.
“One of the goals of the assessment office will be to help programs develop a ‘culture of evidence’,” said Ray Van Dyke, director of the Office of Academic Assessment. “This concept allows departments an opportunity to validate their work and to show proof of the learning outcomes of their students.”
Van Dyke notes that the core of the process is to draw upon the curricular work that faculty have done as well as the classroom work that students produce as they pursue degrees in their respective areas. Departments will then put to use the tools that academic assessment provides to ultimately gain a better understanding of teaching and learning in their departments. In addition to the workshops described above, the assessment office will also provide workshops and other assistance to individual departments and programs addressing their specific needs.
To learn more about the Office of Academic Assessment or to schedule an appointment to review your program's assessment needs contact Ray Van Dyke at (540) 231-6003, or Steven Culver at (540) 231-4581.
