Directors of Undergraduate Studies

Working with Office of Undergraduate Education

  • Collaboration on curriculum updates- work more closely to ensure alignment with university's strategic goals and academic standards
  • partnering more intentionally to identify strategies in addressing student retention and success (I am not sure how often this kind of messages trickle down to the faculty in different colleges)
  • increase communication on data collected at the local program level that may be useful for the university?
  • serves as program liaison in the assessment and curriculum space

Communication

  • local level data- what has been going well/not going well (early warning)
  • To me is what information they need from us- what else can we provide directly that can help their work? For instance, in the curricular hub, assessment page, etc.
  • coordinate and bring messages back to the faculty
  • be a champion to focus on students for any program level discussion and decision making (how the decisions impact students)

Assessment of Student Learning

Annual Assessment Report

Role

  • As the Director of Undergraduate Studies or the designated unit representative, your role in the annual Undergraduate Assessment of Student Learning process is critical. 
  • Your role guides the assessment of student learning process for your program, sets expectations for the academic year, engages faculty, shares and discusses assessment findings and how the program uses assessment information to enhance the overall program quality.  
  • Responsible for submitting your program’s annual assessment report.   

Purpose

  • The purpose of the undergraduate assessment of student learning report is to provide a continuous improvement process through meaningful assessment of student learning. The findings you document should directly guide your unit's actions, leading to significant curricular changes, enhanced teaching, improved academic support, and better student learning opportunities to enhance the overall program quality.

Expectations

  • Each undergraduate academic baccalaureate program will complete an annual assessment report each academic year.
  • Each undergraduate degree program should assess a minimum of 3 SLOs and 3 courses each year.  
    • Your program’s required courses should be assessed regularly, and all required courses should be assessed at least once within a 3-year cycle
    • It is also recommended that your department’s elective courses that enroll high numbers of your majors should also be assessed within the same cycle.
  • Each student learning outcome should be assessed by at least one direct assessment measure (e.g. case study, assignment, exam, presentation, etc.) identified by the faculty member.  The use of an indirect assessment measure (e.g. survey, ungraded reflection, etc.) can be used to supplement a direct assessment measure.  Also refer to the FAQ page for additional details.
  • The annual report will be submitted using  a common collegiate template, and is due no later than October 1st each year (i.e. AY 2025-26 report is due October 1, 2026).

Resources

  • Access to your collegiate/school Google Shared Drive Folder for assessment purposes (previous assessment, reports, reporting template, curriculum change reports and a curriculum & SLO assessment map)
    • Navigate to your Drive app; select Shared Drives; Find the folder for your college (Assessment_XXXX)
    • Your department/program folder will contain your program specific materials
  • Program Coursedog Curriculum Change Report
    • Includes any fully approved curriculum changes by course designator by semester
    • The approved curricular changes should be shared and discussed along with your assessment findings as part of a continuous improvement process that enhances program quality.
  • Curriculum & SLO Assessment Map
    • Provides a visual representation of your program’s curriculum by aligning designated courses (catalog) to identified student learning outcomes (Coursedog). 
    • This visual can be used as you plan your assessment process for the upcoming academic year(s), and inform discussions around curriculum changes.
  • Assessment Report Form
    • The Google form is available in your collegiate/school shared drive folder, and linked at the bottom of this page.  All questions on the reporting form can be viewed in the assessment reporting guide.   
    • We are utilizing a common reporting form across all colleges schools that will allow for collegiate and University summary reports highlighting how students are achieving the University SLOs.
    • Allows for a systematic assessment of our University SLOs and assessment process.

Annual Assessment Report

  • A program’s annual assessment report will consist of the following sections:
    • Program Information & Key Actions
    • Student Learning Outcome and Assessment Results
    • Use of Assessment Results to Enhance Program Quality

Suggested Timeline

  • By the end of spring semester, over the summer, or early fall semester 
    • All assessment results have been collected, and the program has shared and discussed the results with all program faculty and staff; strengths and/or opportunities that lead toward program and/or overall curriculum improvements have been identified., and your program’s assessment form has been submitted  by the October 1st deadline.
  • By late-October 
    • The Director of Undergraduate Studies or the designated unit representative has finalized the program’s assessment plan with faculty and staff for the current academic year. 
    • Student learning outcomes and courses have been identified (minimum of three) to be assessed during the fall and spring semesters.
    • Lead/Reinforce discussion as to how the program determines student proficiency and achievement goal for your learning outcomes. Articulate the agreed upon proficiency levels (below proficient, proficient, above proficient) to faculty for each of your assessments.  
    • Ensure that the program is on schedule to assess all of its required courses within a three year timeframe.   
  • By the end of fall term…
    • Collection of assessment measures and results from faculty that have completed their assessments.  .  
  • By mid-March…
    • Spring courses are administering and collecting data on their assessment measures.  Faculty have begun to discuss and reflect upon results from the fall data.
  • By the end of spring term…
    • Collection of assessment measures and results from program faculty that have completed their assessments 
    • Share and discuss results with faculty and staff prior to faculty leaving for the summer, if possible.  Identify any action items and implementation plan for the summer and/or next academic year.    
  • By October 1st
    • Share and discuss results with faculty and staff if not done so yet.
    • Finalize action items and set a timeline for implementation.
    • Submit your assessment report using the Google form.   
  • By end of fall semester...
    • Feedback will be provided back to programs and colleges, which may include: strengths and/or challenges, ways to strengthen your assessment plans, examples of best practice, etc.
    • Collegiate and University summary reports highlighting how students are achieving the SLOs based on the assessment reports.

Assessment Reporting Form (permissions granted to all DUGS by college to your form only)

Engagement in University survey efforts

The University participates in a number of critical University-wide surveys of faculty, staff and students each year, and your support of these efforts are crucial in collecting meaningful data that can be used for continuous improvement across the University.  Additionally, the greater the participation on these surveys potentially allows for generating program-level results (e.g. SERU).  

We strongly encourage you to have conversations with your faculty, staff and students about the value of these surveys, how the results can be used, as well as how the results have been used in the past for benchmarking and continuous improvement to promote participation.  This ensures that their voice is heard as part of our continuous improvement efforts.  

A few examples of these University-wide surveys include, the University Campus Climate Survey, the Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) Survey, the College Student Health Survey (CSHS), and more.  Feel free to reach out to the contacts within those links for resources, examples or to ask any questions.  

Every voice matters.