University Assessment Committee

Welcome

The University Assessment Committee provides assessment oversight, and promotes and supports assessment across all areas of the institution.

  • Academic assessment is an ongoing, open, evaluative process focused on improving student learning.  It requires the University to make its learning expectations clear to students and to establish appropriate learning outcomes at the course and program levels.  It helps determine how well student performance matches the expected outcomes.  The resulting information is used to inform changes in courses and programs for the improvement of student learning.
  • At the institutional level, operational units assess the learning achieved by their student workers, and those units also assess learning outcomes specific to their service interactions with students.  In addition, all operational units conduct full reviews of their programs, services, and processes on a five-year cycle. The resulting information is used to direct improvements within the units, and to support and improve student learning.

Committee Membership
The University Assessment Committee is comprised of a representative group from the broader campus, each overseeing and reporting for assessment initiatives in their areas:

  • Co-Chair: Kimberly Muller (Interim Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs)
  • Co-Chair: Gail Essmaker (Vice-Provost for Accreditation & Assessment)
  • Kathy Berchem (Dean, College of Health & Emergency Responders)
  • Mindy McCready (Interim Dean, College of Business, Engineering, Computer Science, and Mathematics)
  • Charlotte Kostelyk (Faculty; General Education Committee member)
  • Hari Kandel (Faculty; General Education Committee member)
  • Chad Barbour (Faculty; Chair, Arts Department)
  • Thu Nguyen (Faculty; Chair, Sciences Department)
  • Mike Beazley (Dean of Student Affairs)
  • Kate Bergel (Director of Human Resources, Title IX, Safety, & Risk)
  • Kathryn Hills (Assistant Director of Athletics for Compliance and Internal Operations)
  • Admission/Financial Aid representative (currently unfilled)
  • Business Operations representative (currently unfilled)

Charge to the Committee:

The University Assessment Committee will meet in November/December and in May/June each year. The broad composition of this committee ensures that every area on campus is engaged in annual assessment, including reporting of results and use of results.

Members of the committee will report assessment data, including findings, use of results, and budget implications, from their own units to the committee. The committee will perform collective data analysis for all reporting units to produce an annual report of that analysis, and its interpretation by the committee, to the Provost’s Office no later than the last day of July each year.  The committee’s annual report to the Provost will include a summary of all institutional assessments, along with interpretation of those assessments and proposed use of results.  Through this evaluative process, the committee will identify any gaps on campus where further engagement in annual assessment is needed.  In addition, the annual report of the University Assessment Committee will provide supporting evidence to meet HLC’s Accreditation Criterion 5.C.2: “The institution links its processes for assessment of student learning, evaluation of operations, planning and budgeting.”  Lastly, the committee will examine the 5-Year Program Reviews conducted across campus, providing feedback to units.

2022-2023 Annual Reports

Academic Department Annual Reviews: FY23 UAC_Annual Review Reports_Academic Units

Operational Department Annual Reviews:  FY23 UAC_Annual Review Reports_Operational Units

Instruments of Assessment for Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO Assessment – ILO-Student Athlete Evaluation (copy)

ILO Assessment – ILO-Student Worker Evaluation (copy)

ILO Assessment – ILO Capstone Assessment Form (updated 2023)

Nuventive™ is LSSU’s centralized assessment database, designated to archive assessment findings and to provide reporting tools for institutional analysis and continuing improvement actions across all areas of the University.