From Spring 2012 to Summer 2015, our program-level goals for assessment include:

• Inventorying existing assessment practice, as reported by programs.
• Establishing credible and useful assessment activity in each degree-granting program.
• Integrating program assessment and academic program review.
• Incentivizing assessment capacity building while sharing/promoting best practices.

These goals and resulting activities, taken as a whole, are grounded in doing assessment for the purpose of improvement, as opposed to accountability. This purpose leads to an internal orientation that accepts our relationship with our accreditors while prioritizing the interests of our students, an approach that appreciates different disciplinary strengths and traditions, and a commitment to engage faculty and administrators in constructing assessment that is, first and foremost, useful, as well as manageable and sustainable.

Details about our future activities were shared at the 2012 All Faculty Day. The program-level assessment packet distributed at All Faculty Day included:

• Goals and Timeline for Degree-Granting Programs
• Checklist for Program-level Assessment
• Fall 2012 Program Assessment Inventory Questions
• Spring 2013 Program Assessment Plan Questions
• Summer 2014 Program Assessment Report Questions
• Summer 2015 Program Assessment Progress Report Questions
• Guidelines for Reviewing Assessment Plans
• Fall 2012 Assessment Grant Program Call for Proposals
• Purpose in Doing Assessment Handout
• SMC Library Assessment & Evaluation Collection Handout

Department chairs are encouraged to refer to the Checklist for Program-level Assessment each year until Summer 2015.

All faculty and staff are welcome to contact Chris Procello, Director of Educational Effectiveness/Assoc. Director, Institutional Research, with questions about program-level assessment.