Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes at Western

Western Washington University’s assessment plan defines a set of developmental steps leading to a continuous institutional system for assessing student performance. The developmental steps include

  1. Departmental and program-level mission statements derived from the University Mission and Strategic Action Plan
  2. The establishment of departmental and program-level student learning outcomes
  3. Opportunities to learn (curriculum) aligned with the student learning outcomes
  4. Measurement of student performance relative to student learning outcomes.
  5. The collection, analysis and sharing of data derived from these assessments.
  6. The systematic use of this data to improve programs and operations.

At Western assessment is continuous in that it is structured as an iterative feedback process of ongoing program improvement.

Assessment Learning Cycle

  1. Define intended learning objectives
  2. Measure selected learning outcomes
  3. Compare outcomes with intended objectives
  4. Redesign program to improve learning

In order that faculty have ownership of assessment efforts, Western’s assessment structure is decentralized: faculty-driven department and program assessment plans form the foundation of our assessment efforts. Departmental assessment plans, assessment of student learning outcomes and reports on continuous improvement efforts can be found on our SharePoint site.

Additional Assessments: