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Preparing for Assessment
Developing an Assessment Plan
Mapping Exercise
In order to determine how and where
students have opportunities to learn a particular set of learning
outcomes, institutional teams frequently find it useful to engage in a
mapping process. This process, explained and illustrated in A
Handbook for Advancing Comprehensive Internationalization,
engages faculty and staff in documenting and discussing together what
programs, courses, activities, and events offered at the institution
directly address the desired learning outcomes. Through this process all
involved can identify areas of strength or weakness in offering
appropriate learning opportunities for students to achieve these
outcomes at the desired level. For purposes of developing an assessment
plan, it can also help to identify an appropriate program that might
serve as a pilot for the assessment approach.
Clarifying purpose
Your team should define together what you mean by assessment. For
purposes of ACE's work on assessing international learning, for example,
we have defined assessment as "the systematic collection, review, and
use of information about educational programs undertaken for the purpose
of improving student learning and development." We emphasize the ongoing
nature of assessment and the perspective that the assessment process and
its techniques can be applied to specific courses, programs of study, or
learning opportunities across the institution.
Thinking through the full
process
It is very important to take the necessary time and/or seek expert
assistance to think through the full assessment process. Your team
should consider the following questions:
- What international learning outcome(s) have been defined?
- How will we know these outcome(s) when we see it/them?
- What will the student know or be able to do upon completion?
- How and where will students learn these things? (See sidebar:
Mapping Exercise)
- What evidence can we provide to demonstrate what students know and
can do? That is, how can we assess student international learning?
- What assessment methods will most effectively and usefully capture
this learning?
- How will we collect and house the data? Who will have access to
it?
- Who will be responsible for analyzing the data?
- Who will own the findings? How will the findings be presented and
used?
- How will stakeholders be assisted in making improvements based on
these findings?
Garnering support for the
plan
It is important for the team to share its draft assessment plan with
decision-makers and other stakeholders to ensure that your plan will
have the appropriate support to be successfully implemented. It is
essential to acquire the approval and support from the appropriate
institutional leaders. Who these people are will vary depending upon
your institutional culture and the scale of your assessment plan. For
example, if your plan seeks to involve faculty and students from across
the institutions, the appropriate person to consult with would be the
Chief Academic Officer or the appropriate person in his/her office that
oversees institutional assessment. Should your plan be focused upon a
particular department or program, the appropriate person may be the Dean
overseeing that department or program. The assessment plan, including
the expected financial resources and the number of people you envision
to be involved in the assessment process, should be presented to this
person for their consideration. If your team does not include the
director of assessment or members of an institutional assessment
committee, it is useful to seek their guidance in refining the plan.
Please direct questions about this page to:
international@ace.nche.edu
This page last updated on: 09/03/2008
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