Assessment Resources

A well-designed syllabus can make your class more enjoyable for you and for your students. A well-written syllabus clearly demonstrates the connection between what the instructor says the course is about and what the students are expected to do in the course. The University of Texas at Dallas provides a syllabus template for all instructors that helps you structure your syllabus (https://oisds.utdallas.edu/syllabus-templates).

Syllabus Resources

• Eberly Center, Carnegie Mellon University. "Align Assessments with Objectives." Eberly Center: Teaching Excellence & Education Innovation. Accessed June 16, 2015. http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/designteach/design/assessments.html.
• Lang, James M. "The 3 Essential Functions of Your Syllabus, Part 1." The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 23, 2015. http://chronicle.com/article/The-3-Essential-Functions-of/190243/.
• ---. "The 3 Essential Functions of Your Syllabus, Part 2." The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 30, 2015. http://chronicle.com/article/The-3-Essential-Functions-of/228909/.

One of the more challenging tasks for new and experienced faculty alike is writing student learning outcomes. Course learning outcomes should make it clear to students what they will be able to do because of what they have learned by the end of the course. Strong learning outcomes are student-centered, comprehensive, aligned to program outcomes, degree appropriate, and measurable (please see the Learning Outcome Rubric for more detail about each of these characteristics).

Student Learning Outcomes Resources

• Program Learning Outcome Rubric https://dox.utdallas.edu/chart1223
• Course Learning Outcome Rubric https://dox.utdallas.edu/chart1224
• Office of Assessment Workshops (contact Gloria Shenoy, Director of Assessment, gloria@utdallas.edu, for the next scheduled workshop)
• Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching, "Grading Student Work." http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/grading-student-work/.

You may be asked on a semi-regular basis to write a report for your program about assessment in your course. To write this report you will need to gather information about student work in your class, analyze it, and then consider future changes.

At the program level, you may find that there are larger changes that need to be made based on the program assessment data that was gathered. Maybe your faculty see a need for a new course or another curriculum change, or perhaps the course descriptions need to be changed in order to address some new challenges. You should meet as a group to discuss possible changes based on assessment data.

Using Assessment Data Resources:

• Assessment Office University of Hawai'i at Manoa. "Using Program Assessment Results to Improve Student Learning," March 2013. https://manoa.hawaii.edu/assessment/workshops-events/using-results-to-improve/.

The word "assessment" often calls to mind ideas about external accrediting agencies and legislative oversight. On the most basic level, though, assessment includes what faculty members already do in the classroom every day. It is important that faculty drive how we do the assessment that affects your courses and programs.

Faculty Involvement Resources

• Hutchings, Pat. "What New Faculty Need to Know About Assessment." NILOA, Spring 2011. https://www.learningoutcomesassessment.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Assessment-Brief-Faculty.pdf.

• National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA): http://www.learningoutcomeassessment.org/
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC): http://www.sacscoc.org/