Overview of the Academic Assessment Process at NCC

Overview of the Academic Assessment Process at NCC

Academic assessment at NCC is comprised of several distinct but integrated processes under the broad categories of Program Assessment and Course Assessment.

Program Assessment. Full review of each NCC degree-granting program is required by SUNY every five years, with two external reviewers providing recommendations for program improvement. Using the recommendations provided during the review, programs develop a post-review Action Plan for program quality improvement that is implemented during the years until the next review.

Course Assessment. Departments develop unique 3-4 year Departmental Assessment Plans to assess student learning in their courses on an ongoing basis. Assessments of General Education discipline-specific learning goals and complex competencies infused across the curriculum, within the framework of SUNY system-wide general education learning goals, are integrated into the departments' annual assessment activities. Annual reports of the process and results of course level assessment are collected and evaluated by the Office for Academic Assessment and Program Review, in order to improve campus-wide assessment practices and inform planning.

TaskStream®. In Fall 2010, the College selected TaskStream® to transition to an online management system for assessment and accreditation. The customized institutional interface was built and pre-populated during the 2010-2011 academic year with program level learning goals identified by academic Department Chairs and faculty. During the 2011-2012 academic year, departments worked with the Office for Academic Assessment and Program Review to refine assessment plans in preparation for a full implementation of program level learning assessment in 2012-2013. Academic departments began transitioning course level assessment into the system during the 2011-2012 academic year. Transition to online management of the course level assessment process will be implemented over the next 2-3 years.

Student Services and Other Areas. Student services areas are included in the implementation of assessment in TaskStream and custom workspaces were designed for these areas to assess their goals for support of student experiences and outcomes. A customized workspace for Administrative units has been designed and disseminated in preparation for expanding the culture of assessment across the entire institution with an integrated focus on the learning and other experiences of our students. The goal is to institutionalize the use of assessment results to make evidence-based decisions, including planning and budget decisions, thereby ensuring high quality, systematic institutional assessment that achieves continuous quality improvement.