Teaching, Learning & Assessment

Institution-Level Assessment of Undergraduate Learning Outcomes

This page contains information for course instructors on how to contribute assignment guidelines and student work for institution-level assessment of CSUMB's Undergraduate Learning Outcomes (ULOs).

Overview

CSUMB assessment goals & plan

(From the CSUMB Assessment Plan)

Assessment at CSUMB will focus on several specific goals, organized by particular structures and processes, and supported by the resources needed to achieve those goals. These goals,developed by the Assessment Committee, include the following:

  • Demonstrate student proficiency at the degree level.
  • Improve student learning at all levels of the curriculum.
  • Provide opportunities for faculty development that inform and improve teaching and learning practices.
  • Create a coordinated, integrated, flexible, efficient, and transparent assessment system that serves multiple assessment needs.
  • Provide a means for evaluating and improving student learning outcomes with regard to the relevance of those outcomes to the needs of students, the university and society.

Faculty-driven assessment

Assessment at CSUMB is faculty-driven, overseen by the Assessment Committee of the Academic Senate, and supported administratively by the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment.

Faculty ULO Coordinators

  • ULO1 Written Communication: Nanda Warren, Liberal Studies
  • ULO1 Oral Communication: Lee Ritscher, Humanities & Communication
  • ULO1 Quantitative Reasoning: Jennifer Clinkenbeard, Mathematics & Statistics
  • ULO1 Information Literacy: Sarah Dahlen, Library
  • ULO1 Critical Thinking: Partcik Belanger, Humanities & Communication
  • ULO2 Personal, Professional, and Social Responsibility: Hojin Song, Humanities & Communication
  • ULO3 Integrative Knowledge: Amanda Pullum, Social Sciences & Global Studies

Contributing assignment guides & student work

Contributing written student work

General notes

  • No group projects. Only individual student work can be used.
  • Electronic & hard copies are both acceptable. Student work can be in hard copy or electric. Electronic if preferred if available (see below).
  • Submit ALL samples of student work. TLA will later randomly select a sub-sample for assessment.
  • Include assignment guidelines: Include assignment guidelines with student work. However, if the student work is not yet available, still submit the assignment guidelines.
  • Include course identifier. Make sure your course prefix, number, and section are identified in the email.
  • Anonymity: Instructor and student names will be removed from all assignment guidelines and student work prior to assessment.

Contributing student work

  1. Hard copies: If you have hard copies of the assignment guidelines and student work, TLA can collect the work from you, make copies if requested, and return the originals. Please email (tla@csumb.edu) or call (582-4574) to make arrangements.
  2. Electronic copies: Electronic copies of the assignment guidelines and student work can be emailed to tla@csumb.edu. Please make sure your course prefix, number, and section are identified in the email.
  3. Bulk downloading electronic copies from iLearn (see screenshot below):
  • Click on the link for the assignment you want to download from iLearn
  • Click on "View/grade all submissions"
  • From the "Grading action" drop-down menu (upper left-hand corner), select "Download all submissions"
  • Send zip file to tla@csumb.edu
  • Contact TLA (582-4574 or tla@csumb.edu) for assistance if needed.
How to bulk download student work from iLearn.

Instructor confidentiality

The purpose of assessing program and institutional learning outcomes is to measure student achievement, NOT evaluate individual faculty (also see the Provost's Statement on Principles of Academic Affairs Assessment). National assessment leaders consistently highlight the importance of separating program and institutional assessment of student learning from instructor evaluation. To ensure confidentiality, prior to assessment TLA will remove all course identifiers, faculty names, and student names from assignments and student work.

Student consent

Because student work will be used solely for institutional improvement, student consent to use their work is not legally required. This project is classified as a Quality Improvement Activity and CSUMB's IRB conforms to the guidance provided by OHRP regarding QIA. Therefore, it is not subject to IRB review and does not require student consent for participation. However, faculty may choose to communicate the following to students or insert into course syllabi:

CSUMB is committed to providing excellent and innovative curricula and educational opportunities to its students. To help us maintain quality academic offerings and to conform to institutional and professional accreditation requirements, the University and its programs regularly evaluate student work to assess student achievement of learning outcomes. CSUMB obtains, evaluates, and retains samples of student work from designated assignments in representative courses. This work includes, but is not limited to, papers, exams, creative works, recordings of oral presentations, or portfolios developed and submitted in courses or to satisfy the requirements for degree programs. Instructors will inform students which assignments will be designated for assessment purposes. Instructor and student names will not appear in any assessment results and assessment results will have no impact on student grades, instructor evaluations, or instructor employment.

FAQs

  • What DO department chairs need to do? Work with your Faculty Associate to identify appropriate courses AND communicate to the instructors of those courses that TLA will be contacting them to request student work.
  • What do department chairs NOT need to do? Your college's Faculty Associate will contact you. Once you identify the courses, your college's Faculty Associate will communicate those to the TLA. TLA will work with directly with instructors to collect student work and provide staff support (e.g. make copies of student work available only in hard copy).
  • Can these assessment results be used to evaluate faculty? ULO assessment results cannot be used to evaluate faculty nor play any role in hiring or RTP decisions. The goal of institutional assessment of student learning is to better understand how we are doing as a collective so we can improve teaching and learning campus-wide, not to evaluate individual faculty. To ensure confidentiality, TLA removes all faculty and student names from all course assignments and student work prior to assessment. All data presented in assessment reports will be anonymous. Also see the Provost's Statement on Principles of Academic Affairs Assessment.
  • What are the goals of assessment at CSUMB? How should faculty submit work? What about faculty confidentiality? What about student consent? See above.
  • How will assessment results be reported? The ULO coordinators will present results to the Academic Senate and colleges and departments, by request.
  • How will assessment results be used? Faculty participating in TLA Teaching Cooperatives will study the assessment results, facilitate campus discussions on how to better support student learning, and develop and facilitate professional development workshops.

Questions?

Contact your College Faculty Associate or TLA

  • College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences: Fred Vermote
  • College of Business: Christina Zhang
  • College of Education: Irene Nares-Guzicki
  • College of Health Sciences and Human Services: Lisa Leininger
  • College of Science: Corin Slown
  • Teaching, Learning, and Assessment: Vivian Waldrup-Patterson