Assessment and Program Review
Ongoing, outcomes-based assessment of student learning is a key component of Cal State Monterey Bay's educational model and essential for maintaining the meaning, quality, and integrity of all Cal State Monterey Bay degree programs. The campus supports the ongoing process of integrating assessment and improvement of student learning throughout all levels of the university, starting from individual class sessions up through courses, programs, and the institution.
Outcomes Assessment is an annual activity conducted by faculty at the program level. It involves the collection and interpretation of student work products, which provides a measure of the level of student achievement in defined learning outcomes. Understanding the degree to which students are successfully meeting those outcomes provides faculty with the information necessary to continuously improve upon related curriculum, pedagogy, and program delivery.
Program Review is a cyclical activity conducted by faculty at the program level. It involves an holistic review of a degree program that encompasses reflection on the assessment activities and program improvement strategies during a given cycle, analysis of institutionally-provided data, and consideration of changes in the field/profession, and much more. Such critical self-examination provides salient information and analysis that assists us in our responsibility to continuously improve the programs and services offered at Cal State Monterey Bay.
Program Review links:
More Information
There are three primary purposes for engaging Program Review: Quality assurance, program improvement, and program and resource alignment.
Successful Academic Program Review answers the following questions:
- How effective is student learning in the program?
- How well does the program meet the institution's goals?
- How well does the program prepare graduates for the profession?
- How do experts in the field (academic and/or non-academic) assess the program?
The Program Review Process
Academic program review is a cyclical and ongoing process that begins with the development of a program improvement plan in year one, followed by five years of annual assessment work by program faculty, and culminating in the program’s self-study, external review, and internal review. Please see the graphic below for details; or alternatively, a full description of the process illustrated below is available in the Academic Program Review Manual.
7 Year Program Review Process
There are many helpful resources available! As you plan and implement your assessment activities, the TLA and your college’s Faculty Associate for Assessment are available to help you. Their experience can be useful and you are encouraged to bring them into your process.
Faculty Associates for Assessment
Each college's Faculty Associate for Assessment is appointed by the Dean from the ranks of the full-time tenure-line faculty and is supported with funding from Academic Affairs. Faculty Associates support assessment projects in the academic programs in each college, including completion of annual assessment plans and reports. They also assist programs in the development of their major learning outcomes, five-year assessment plans, curriculum maps, and more. Faculty Associates help guide programs in their annual assessment work in a coordinated fashion that links departmental assessment work with broader assessment priorities and activities at the institutional level.
| College | Faculty Associate for Assessment | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences | Frederik Vermote | fvermote@csumb.edu | 831.582.4356 |
| Business | Christina Zhang | czhang@csumb.edu | 831.582.5217 |
| Education | Ondine Gage | ogage@csumb.edu | 831.582.4014 |
| Health Sciences & Human Services | Eric Martin | ermartin@csumb.edu | 831.582.5257 |
| Science | Corin Slown | cslown@csumb.edu | 831.582.5165 |
| University College | Michelle Lewis | 831.582.3633 |
Documents and Templates
- Academic Program Review Schedule
- 5 Year Assessment Plan
- 2023-24 Annual Assessment Report
- Curriculum Map
Curricular Mapping Workshop Materials
Why Undergraduate Learning Outcomes (ULOs)?
- To assure multiple, varied, and intentional learning experiences centered around a shared, campus-wide articulation of expectations for CSUMB degree recipients.
- To assure the measurement of student learning in a systematic way consistent with the CSUMB commitment to outcomes based education.
- To improve student learning in a systematic way consistent with the CSUMB commitment to outcomes based education.
- To comply with requirements of accreditors (e.g., WSCUC)
Are the ULOs to be pilot-tested?
Yes, a timeline for pilot-testing and renewal of the ULOs is being proposed as follows:
The Preamble and the Undergraduate Learning Outcomes will be reviewed by the Academic Senate five years from their effective date (December 2018), by which time the Assessment Committee will consider the implication of the ULOs for:
- Annual assessment work across programs
- Program review process and manual
- Alignment with GE Learning Outcomes
- Alignment with University Requirements Learning Outcomes
The Assessment Committee will work with faculty, staff, and administration across campus to ensure that our work in assessment is strongly linked with efforts to support continued discourse around teaching and learning with respect to our aspirations and goals.
To whom will the ULOs apply?
The ULOs will be applied to all undergraduate degree programs. During the first adoption period, the opportunities and implications of the ULOs for co-curricular environments, general education, and university requirements will be explored.
How will the ULOs be used?
The ULOs will serve to focus institutional level assessment activities. A current model for this is the ongoing campus wide Critical Thinking & Information Literacy (CTIL) assessment work. The Assessment activities will also be used as needed for external accreditors (e.g., WSCUC).
What is the shared understanding of the terms in the ULOs?
Ethical Reasoning
- Ethical Reasoning is “reasoning about right and wrong human conduct. It requires students to be able to assess their own ethical values and the social context of problems, recognize ethical issues in a variety of settings, think about how different ethical perspectives might be applied to ethical dilemmas and consider the ramifications of alternative actions “ ( http://www.aacu.org/value/rubrics/ethical-reasoning).
Global Awareness
- [LEAP refers to this as Global Learning] “Through global learning, students should 1) become informed, open-minded, and responsible people who are attentive to diversity across the spectrum of differences, 2) seek to understand how their actions affect both local and global communities, and 3) address the world's most pressing and enduring issues collaboratively and equitably” ( http://www.aacu.org/value/rubrics/global-learning).
Civic Engagement
- Civic Engagement is "working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference. It means promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political processes." (Excerpted from Civic Responsibility and Higher Education, edited by Thomas Ehrlich, published by Oryx Press, 2000, Preface, page vi.) In addition, civic engagement encompasses actions wherein individuals participate in activities of personal and public concern that are both individually life enriching and socially beneficial to the community ( http://www.aacu.org/value/rubrics/civic-engagement).
Intercultural Engagement
- [LEAP refers to this as Intercultural Knowledge and Competence] is "a set of cognitive, affective, and behavioral skills and characteristics that support effective and appropriate interaction in a variety of cultural contexts.” (Bennett, J. M. (2008), as cited in http://www.aacu.org/value/rubrics/intercultural-knowledge)
Social Justice
- Equity “Our students come from and return to an increasingly diverse society; therefore, students need the knowledge, skills and dispositions to successfully contribute to the creation and maintenance of inclusive and just communities” (CSU East Bay Institutional Learning Outcomes, 2012, p. 3). Sustainability “Through ethical behavior based on an understanding of how individual choices and actions affect society, our graduates can help build a sustainable future that ensures environmental integrity, economic vitality, and a just society for present and future generations (CSU East Bay Institutional Learning Outcomes, 2012, p. 4).