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106-1 - Assessment Committee

Title: Assessment Committee
 Owner: Office of the President
 Last Updated/Revised: 07/01/2024

Policy: The Assessment Committee (AC) works collaboratively with Colleges and Departments to ensure the use of best practices related to assessment. The responsibilities of the AC include, but are not limited to, the following key areas:

  • Assessment Planning and Policy Development/Revision. The Committee develops and updates assessment policies, plans, and schedules in collaboration with academic and administrative units to guide the assessment process and promote a culture of continuous improvement.
  • Monitor Quality Assurance and Improvement. The Committee monitors the quality of assessment practices and uses findings from assessment activities to recommend improvements to academic programs and student services.
  • Review and Approval of New/Revised Assessment Tools and Methods. The Committee reviews, provides feedback as appropriate, and approves new/revised tools (e.g., End of Program Survey, Faculty Engagement Survey, etc.) and methods to ensure they are valid/trustworthy, reliable, and aligned with intended outcomes (see 214 - Assessment Materials Approval Process).
  • Review and Approval of Measurable Course and Program Learning Outcomes. While faculty own the curriculum and are responsible for drafting course and program learning outcomes, the Committee is responsible for reviewing, providing feedback as appropriate, and approving all outcomes to ensure they follow best practices and are clear, consistent, assessable, and aligned with the institution’s goals. The process is highly collaborative (see 214 - Assessment Materials Approval Process).
  • Review and Approval of Rubrics. All new rubrics and revisions to existing rubrics are reviewed, feedback provided as appropriate, and approved by the committee (see 214 - Assessment Materials Approval Process).
  • Review and Approval of Signature Assignments/Key Benchmark Assignments. The Assessment Committee reviews any proposed changes to any assignments used for assessment purposes (typically called Signature Assignments or key benchmark assignments) as they are connected to assessment plans and/or accreditation standards. The committee's approval process is designed to maintain the integrity and alignment of these assignments with the intended learning outcomes and competencies. Before implementing any change, the committee considers the impact on the curriculum, faculty, and students. It seeks to preserve the continuity and progression of assessment benchmarks throughout the academic experience (see 214 - Assessment Materials Approval Process).

Exceptions: In the cases that one of the above items requires a correction, this is differentiated from a revision and does not require approval. For example, a grammatical error, missing instruction in an assignment prompt, etc.). In these cases, the change to curriculum process would be followed (see 402-1).

A quorum is required and is defined as one member of the Committee that is more than fifty percent of the total. Amended Robert’s Rules of Order shall constitute the Assessment Committee’s rules of order.

Members 

The Assessment Committee (AC) shall have representation, as detailed below. Each member of the AC is responsible for reviewing all materials submitted for discussion at each meeting. Members serve for two (2) year terms, and terms may be renewed for up to three (3) terms. 

Chair

  • Director of Institutional Research (non-voting) 

Voting Members include one member from each of the following unless noted below:

  • Academic Services and Assessment (two members: a faculty services representative trained in assessment and an assessment representative)
  • College of Nursing and Health Science
  • College of Business and Technology 
  • College of Education

Non-Voting Member (participation in the committee for visibility):

  • Academic Advising
  • Office of the Registrar

Purpose: The purpose of this policy is to explain the functions of the Assessment Committee (AC).

Procedures: 

Procedure for Monthly Meetings

  1. All meetings begin with determining that a quorum is present.
    1. If a quorum is not present, the meeting is rescheduled.
  2. The first agenda item is always the review and approval of the previous meeting's minutes.
    1. Once approved, minutes are uploaded into the USU Governance Meeting Minutes folder, which the Office of the President owns.
  3. Following the meeting minutes approval, agenda items are addressed in the following order: (1) Items requiring a vote, and (2) Items submitted for discussion (not requiring a vote).
  4. All items requiring a vote shall be presented to the Assessment Committee following appropriate approvals, if required (e.g., program learning outcomes would be first approved by the College’s Curriculum Committee).
  5. After presentations, the Chair shall open the polls to allow each voting member to vote.
    1. Each member shall vote to Approve or Deny the items in order for it to move forward.
    2. In the event of a tie, the Chair will cast their vote.
  6. The majority must vote “Approve” for the item to move forward. An asynchronous eVote may be used if deemed appropriate by the Chair (e.g., an item not approved requires revisions and revisions).
  7. Items that are denied shall be sent back to the responsible department for review and resubmission after all AAC comments and/or recommendations have been resolved.
  8. Items not requiring a vote are discussed once voting has commenced.
  9. Meeting minutes are recorded by the committee chair or designee and are reviewed for approval at the next meeting.
  10. The minutes are summarized quarterly to the Board of Trustees Academic Affairs Committee.

Procedure for Consultation Requests

  1. Any faculty or staff member creating assessment-related documents may request a consultation from the Assessment Committee by emailing the Chair (Director of Institutional Research). The request should include:
    1. The specific request (e.g., assistance writing course learning outcomes for a new course, assistance creating a survey to assess a departmental project, etc.)
    2. Timeline
  2. The Chair will review the request and assign an appropriate member or member(s) to work with the requestor. 

Scope: This policy shall apply to all assessment activities conducted at USU.

Documents and Forms: 
Assessment Committee Request