The Student Achievement Assessment Committee is Charged with the Following:
Increase awareness and understanding of the benefits and practice of effective assessment of student
achievement within undergraduate and graduate academic programs, distance-learning programs, and within the
general education program.
Ensure that students, faculty, and staff view assessment as part of the institution’s culture and
as a resource and tool to be used in improving instruction and student learning.
Assist the university in improving institutional effectiveness and in fulfilling its mission and vision
statements, particularly those portions directly focused on assessment and improving student learning.
Promote students’ knowledge about the institution’s assessment program through explicit
public statements regarding the institution’s expectations for student learning (accountability) and
the student’s role and responsibility in that effort. Assist faculty in the assessment of
student learning, specifically, the seven principles that promote student learning (i.e. collaborative
learning, teacher-student interaction).
Provide assistance to units in regards to planning, implementing, and utilizing effective assessment
plans, as well as monitor the success of these plans.
Work with Institutional Research (IR) to oversee assessment of the core goals for general education.
Based upon assessment findings, make recommendations to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and
colleges for improvements and the use of results.
Oversee the administration of student assessment questionnaires for first-year students, graduating
seniors, and baccalaureate and graduate alumni, as well as the Academic Profile and the National Survey of
Student Engagement. Disseminate the results throughout the campus community.
Distribute funds in the form of mini-grants to faculty for use in assessment research projects in the
areas of student achievement and student learning. Implement a “Request for Proposals”
submission and selection process, assessing proposals based on certain evaluative criteria.
Actively promote campus-wide integrated assessment (i.e. studies done at the course, unit, department,
and institution-level), aligned together for a single purpose: to achieve continuous program improvement as
well as dramatic increases in student learning.
Help integrate assessment strategies and efforts among various departments on campus so that such
assessment activities help guide institutional decisions and operational processes (i.e. planning, budget,
improvements in instruction, staffing, curriculum, and student and academic services).
Regularly communicate information about assessment activities and their results to the campus
community.
Continually advise the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs in matters affecting assessment and in
policies and practices that will promote effective student assessment throughout the institution. Also make
recommendations to the Vice Chancellor regarding advisement, student success, and other relevant areas, to
further improve student achievement and learning.