Once a school implements its assessment plan, it will begin collecting a lot of data, distilling it into results, and hopefully identifying recommendations for improving student learning based on those results.  That is a lot of data and information, and it’s easy for the work of a school’s assessment committees to end up sitting on a shelf, forgotten with the passage of time.  Assessment is not about producing reports; it’s about converting student data into meaningful action.

I developed a template for schools to use in keeping track of its assessment methods, findings, and recommendations.  You don’t need fancy software, like Weave, to keep track of a single set of learning outcomes (university-level metrics are another matter). A simple Excel spreadsheet will do.  For each learning outcome, list the following:

• The year the outcome was assessed.
• Who led the assessment team or committee.
• The methods used to complete the assessment.
• The committee’s key findings.
• Recommendations based on the report.
• For each recommendation:
  • Which administrator or committee is responsible for follow-up.
  • The status of that recommendation: whether it was implemented and when.
  • Color code based on status (green = implemented; yellow = in progress; red = no action to date).

This easy format allows the dean and faculty to ensure that tangible results are achieved with the assessment process.  In the template, I included examples of methods, findings, and recommendations for one of seven learning outcomes.  (These are made up findings and recommendations that I created as an example.  They don’t necessarily reflect those of St. John’s.)  Feel free to use and adapt at your school.  (LC)