Culture of Assessment
A Coherent Culture of Assessment
The goal of Loyola University Chicago’s Quality Initiative project, Coordinated Learning and Assessment Supports (CLAS), is to strengthen the culture of collaboration and continuous improvement in the assessment of student learning outcomes in academic programs. The project enables easier access to assessment supports, coordination of existing supports, creates new supports as needed, establishes a sustainable model for assessment collaboration.
Although Loyola University Chicago (LUC) has a strong tradition of teaching and learning aligned with Ignatian pedagogical principles, assessment of student program learning outcomes on a fixed cycle by all academic units is an evolving practice. Excellent pedagogical and course design support is available through centers, offices, and other institutional entities which use a similar assessment framework.
“I have done evaluation research for many years and I also teach it so this is not entirely new to me, but I thought the way it was presented and the examples used with the exercises were all very helpful.“ Participant Comment
The CLAS project assessment framework is aligned with our university's culture of continuous improvement, used by ongoing assessment projects across the university. Some examples below:
- The Center for Engaged Learning, Teaching and Scholarship (CELTS) supports the Engaged Learning University Requirement assessment initiative, which is an outcomes-based assessment with a three-pronged approach including faculty instructors and students enrolled in engaged learning courses. During the assessment cycle year, faculty syllabi are collected, students provide an overview of their experiential learning placement/experience/project, and then students respond to a standardized reflection prompt at the end of the semester. A faculty/staff committee reviews student reflections and faculty syllabi with a calibrated rubric, which results in aggregated Engaged Learning outcomes data. This then informs continuous improvement efforts, programming, and resources for Engaged Learning faculty development and student success.
- During the 2021-2022 academic year, about 40 faculty members from across the university participated in Core Development Working Groups, assembled by the Core Director, to update the existing outcomes and competencies for each Core Area of the University Core Curriculum so that they fit the structure of Goals, Objectives, and Learning Outcomes.
- In February 2022, over 130 faculty members provided feedback on how the learning outcomes drafts aligned with their Core courses. This feedback was integral to the revisions considered by the working groups. Finally, over 100 people provided feedback on the penultimate drafts of the Goals, Objectives, and Learning Outcomes in April and May 2022. The newly revised Goals, Objectives, and Learning Outcomes will inform evaluating the Core Curriculum, which we are laying the groundwork for during the 2022-23 academic year.
The goal of Loyola University Chicago’s Quality Initiative project, Coordinated Learning and Assessment Supports (CLAS), is to strengthen the culture of collaboration and continuous improvement in the assessment of student learning outcomes in academic programs. The project enables easier access to assessment supports, coordination of existing supports, creates new supports as needed, establishes a sustainable model for assessment collaboration.
Although Loyola University Chicago (LUC) has a strong tradition of teaching and learning aligned with Ignatian pedagogical principles, assessment of student program learning outcomes on a fixed cycle by all academic units is an evolving practice. Excellent pedagogical and course design support is available through centers, offices, and other institutional entities which use a similar assessment framework.
The CLAS project assessment framework is aligned with our university's culture of continuous improvement, used by ongoing assessment projects across the university. Some examples below:
- The Center for Engaged Learning, Teaching and Scholarship (CELTS) supports the Engaged Learning University Requirement assessment initiative, which is an outcomes-based assessment with a three-pronged approach including faculty instructors and students enrolled in engaged learning courses. During the assessment cycle year, faculty syllabi are collected, students provide an overview of their experiential learning placement/experience/project, and then students respond to a standardized reflection prompt at the end of the semester. A faculty/staff committee reviews student reflections and faculty syllabi with a calibrated rubric, which results in aggregated Engaged Learning outcomes data. This then informs continuous improvement efforts, programming, and resources for Engaged Learning faculty development and student success.
- During the 2021-2022 academic year, about 40 faculty members from across the university participated in Core Development Working Groups, assembled by the Core Director, to update the existing outcomes and competencies for each Core Area of the University Core Curriculum so that they fit the structure of Goals, Objectives, and Learning Outcomes.
- In February 2022, over 130 faculty members provided feedback on how the learning outcomes drafts aligned with their Core courses. This feedback was integral to the revisions considered by the working groups. Finally, over 100 people provided feedback on the penultimate drafts of the Goals, Objectives, and Learning Outcomes in April and May 2022. The newly revised Goals, Objectives, and Learning Outcomes will inform evaluating the Core Curriculum, which we are laying the groundwork for during the 2022-23 academic year.