Winona State University

Office of Assessment

Faculty have been involved in the development of the assessment plan from its inception back in 1988. The WSU's Assessment Plan is based upon several documents, including the Mission Statement, the Long Range Plan, and the university-wide indicator base. Faculty were active participants in each of these efforts.

Development of WSU's comprehensive assessment plan began in the fall of 1988 with the formation and charge to the Long Range Planning Committee to develop a comprehensive, proactive plan for the university. The Long Range Planning Committee was an all-university committee which consisted of fifteen members drawn from faculty, administration, service units, and students. The Long Range Planning Committee replaced the Strategic Planning Committee.

Though eager to get started, Long Range Planning waited for the university to appoint a new president before beginning to undertake its assignment. Long Range Planning was the first university group to meet with newly appointed President Darrell Krueger in the Spring of 1989.

In the Summer of 1989, Dr. Krueger formed discussion groups with interested faculty, staff and administrators to discuss the state of higher education in the nation. These discussions helped create a common vocabulary and understanding of higher education issues.

Concentrated efforts toward the development of a university-wide assessment plan began in the Fall of 1989 with the creation of the Outcomes, Processes and Indicators committee -- another all-university committee. This committee divided into two subcommittees: one to work on a document clearly outlining the expectations for faculty, staff, administrators and students. The Expectations Document was endorsed by all constituency groups in January of 1990. The other subcommittee began working on identifying principles to guide the assessment process. This was an important document as it identified a student-centered faculty-driven approach to assessment.

Specifically, this document identified the principles and guidelines of an assessment program as:

1. The purpose of the academic assessment program is to support and improve student learning by developing methods to

a) articulate the goals of each academic program and support service,

b) gain feedback on each unit's progress towards achieving those goals, and

c) use the feedback to modify the academic programs and support services to

ensure that the goals are effectively achieved.

2. There are many valid approaches to quality enhancement, including the use of both quantitative and qualitative assessment measures. The faculty and staff of each academic program and support service area will identify or create assessment methods and instruments appropriate to their specific programs or units.

3. Student assessment will not be used as entrance or exit requirements from academic programs.

4. Quality assessment results are for the exclusive use of WSU. The integrity and level of support for campus-wide quality assessment requires that the confidentiality of the data be maintained.

5. Academic assessment data will not be used to make comparisons among faculty, departments, colleges, or other units within the university. Comparisons between current and previous performance of a unit is appropriate.

6. Assessment data will not be used for faculty or staff evaluation and, in particular, will not be used in making retention, tenure, and promotion recommendations or decisions by supervisors or administrators. Individuals may choose to use assessment data compiled on their own classes or services for documentation purposes.

7. The faculty and support service staff will receive assistance and financial support to implement their individual program/service quality enhancement and assessment programs.

8. Quality improvement is a long-range process. The goal for each program and service area is to establish and implement systems for ongoing program assessment.

The following general guidelines present characteristics of assessment programs which should guide university constituencies in developing specific assessment strategies and programs.

1. Quality assessment plans should be consistent with the mission and goals of Winona State University, indicating specifically how a program/service contributes to achieving the institutional mission and goals.

2. Assessment programs should be based on a conceptual framework which is consistent with the basic nature of the service, discipline, or program to be assessed. There is no one best framework nor is there any one best approach to quality assessment; however, assessment strategies need to be systematic and systemic.

3. The primary responsibility for developing, implementing, and evaluating assessment plans rests with the faculty and staff. Administrators and consultants are needed for essential assistance and support.

4. Effective assessment programs rely on multiple measures to demonstrate that the specified goals and objectives are being achieved. No one measure/instrument is adequately comprehensive to capture the wide range of achievements represented by students' academic experiences.

5. In order to justify the resources devoted to assessment programs, assessment data must be evaluated and used. The feedback obtained by departments, programs, and service units becomes central to an evaluation plan; evaluation results need to be applied so that weaknesses can be corrected and strengths can be maintained.

6. An assessment program must be cost-effective. The assessment data and information collected needs to be directly relevant to the specified goals and objectives.

7. Assessment is not an end unto itself&emdash;assessment leads to improvement. While there are numerous kinds of improvement, the ultimate improvement for academic areas is the improvement of students' learning, academic achievement, and personal development.

8. After planning and implementing an assessment program, a process is needed for evaluating the assessment program.

(Acknowledgment: A Proposal for Program Assessment at Kean College of New Jersey, Kean College, May, 1986.)

This document was presented and approved by faculty senate in the Spring of 1990.

During this same time period, the Outcomes, Processes and Indicators committee also developed a quality enhancement model for analyzing indicators of effectiveness within the context of the learning environment at three levels (institutional, program, and students), the resources needed at each level; and the desired outcomes. This Quality Matrix became a conceptual draft of WSU's assessment plan. (Insert Q here).

Meanwhile, the Long Range Planning Committee was working on its plan for the university which included visions and goals for incoming and graduating students, curriculum, facilities and space, faculty, staff and administration, graduate students, the Rochester campus, student development, relationship with surrounding communities, and national image. Through a series of all day workshops and retreats, the Long Range Planning Committee developed a "whole-system" approach to academic quality. WSU's Long Range Plan is clear evidence that Winona State's approach to educational quality is more than simply enforcing rigorous academic standards. It is an all-inclusive program encompassing not just the educational outcomes but the processes involved in educating students. The Long Range Plan was accepted by the constituency groups in Spring, 1992.

The University Quality Indicator data base evolved out of a collaborative effort of representatives of the various constituency groups over an 18 month period. The group of approximately 350 potential indicators was further refined by a faculty committee into the Quality Assurance and Assessment Plan (see appendix) which was approved by all constituency groups in May of 1993. The Quality Assurance and Assessment Plan is organized around the Goals and Objectives of the University Long Range Plan and contains approximately 250 quality indicators which have become the basis for Winona State's assessment effort.