Skip to Main Content

CTE - Assessment Workbook

This guide provides information, resources, and templates for assessing student learning outcomes at Central Penn College.

 

Following-up on recommendations made during the assessment process is the purview of the chair and should be tracked by the chair using a system of their own determination.  The College suggests using the following document to assist with tracking the recommendations as linked to benchmarks:

Seeking Approval for Implementing Recommendations

In general, following-up on recommendations will depend on the nature of the recommendation:

 

  • Recommendations that require program / department approval should be reviewed, voted on, and executed by the department. For example, a recommendation to make adjustments to the scheduling or offering of a particular course. 

 

  • Recommendations that require dean approval should be reviewed by the dean's office to determine if the school can support of recommendation. For example, a recommendation to add a faculty line or student support service.
    • If the dean's office cannot support the recommendation, the dean will provide a rationale to the chair. 
    • If the dean's office can support the recommendation, the dean will provide direction for next steps.

 

  • ​Recommendations that require approval by a shared governance committee should be reviewed by the appropriate body and follow their process. For example, a recommendation regarding a change to curriculum or a college-wide policy.

Timelines for Recommendations

The timeline for executing a recommendation is at the discretion of the chair and department making the recommendation. Generally, these timelines should not execute a normal assessment cycle (3-5 years).

 

A recommendation linked to a specific learning outcome may require a department reassess the learning outcome before the next institutional cycle. For instance, if a department altered a capstone experience course as the result of assessment data, they may want to reassess these alterations in the following year. 

​

For most recommendations, however, the normal assessment cycle (3-5 years) provides adequate time to procure necessary approvals, plan for implementation, and execute. 

Reporting Progress

It is the responsibility of the chair to track the progress of recommendations and provide regular updates to the department and the Dean's Office. 

 

  • Updates to the department should be reported during regularly scheduled departmental meetings.

  • Updates to the Dean's Office should be reported with the yearly programmatic assessment report.

 

It is the purview of the chair to determine how they track and report on recommendations to the Dean's Office. The College does recommend the following methods:

 

  • Updates can be provided as part of the yearly programmatic assessment report. The recommendations and updates may be cataloged in a separate section of the report and appropriately labeled.

  • Chairs can submit an updated Benchmarking and Recommendations Tracking form as a separate document to the Dean's Office at the same time as the yearly programmatic assessment report. 

 

Please note that the nature of the recommendation may require additional tracking and updating. These recommendations may include requests for new budget lines, facilities, or program changes. For these recommendations, the Dean's Office will provide more details on how to report progress.