Elements of a True Assessment Culture

The American Association of University Professors published an article titled “Establishing a Culture of Assessment” that discusses what elements are involved in creating a strong culture of assessment.  The Office of Assessment presented a poster at the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis this October that tackled this issue.   The major goal of the poster was to survey faculty and students to determine their understanding of assessment and how it functions within the College. It was clear from these surveys that more needs to be done to strengthen the College’s assessment culture. This article highlights some of the major components of a strong culture of assessment that serve as a guide for our assessment team.  These elements include:

• General Education Goals
• Common Use of Assessment Terms
• Faculty Ownership
• Ongoing Professional Development
• Administrative Support and Understanding
• Practical, Sustainable Assessment Plan
• Systematic Assessment
• Student Learning Outcomes
• Comprehensive Program Review
• Assessment of Co-curricular Activities
• Institutional Effectiveness
• Information Sharing
• Planning and Budgeting
• Celebration of Success
• New Initiatives

The Office of Assessment has been working towards achieving many of these components.  There have been efforts made to survey faculty in order to gauge their perspective on assessment and its effectiveness within the College.  Assessment workshops have been held that target students and a forum for Pharmacy faculty is scheduled for December.  Information sharing has been a major focus.  This has been achieved through Facebook, Twitter, WordPress and the Faculty Council Shared Drive.  The next step is to devise a plan for moving forward to further strengthen the culture of assessment.  It would be beneficial to continue our efforts to improve information sharing and look for more effective and creative ways to achieve this goal.  An assessment plan is in place but it would be helpful to consider how this plan could be further developed, improved and refined.  It is important for the assessment team to continue to devise innovative ways to assess programs and evaluate student learning.  Future research projects continue to be discussed as we plan to achieve more of these assessment goals.

2013 College Fast Facts

The College recently completed publication of its annual Fall fact document, the Fall 2013 Fast Facts. This document contains pertinent demographics and other useful information about the College. It is also published on the College’s web site: http://www.stjohns.edu/academics/undergraduate/pharmacy/about/fast_facts_about_the_college.stj