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Program-Level: "Closing the Loop"

 

“Closing the loop”: What have I learned from this process that can improve the program?

Closing the loop is the justification of all the investment of thought and time expended in the overall assessment process: how can the program be improved by what has been found through the analysis? As one faculty member has said, “Assessment helps us figure out whether our students are learning what we think they’re learning.” A very important factor in this final phase of assessment is that of sustainability:

  • Have the program faculty developed a process that is useful and beneficial to all
    involved—faculty members as well as students?
  • Can and will the process be practically replicated as time and circumstance require?
  • Has the process produced the kind of data necessary for critical decisions to be made?
    How will assessment lead to program improvement?

At the program level it is most effective to view the entire process and the results it produces in terms of the stakeholders: the program faculty and department. It is also suggested to limit the agenda of the response in this step: don’t try to do too much all at once. Look at the data gathered as observations about the program, rather than just abstract measurements of its effectiveness. Thus, the task in this phase of the assessment process is to summarize the student learning information rather than abstractly quantify something that is more holistic. What practical questions and concerns do the faculty have which they hope to resolve? Possible outcomes at this step include more clearly understanding and articulating program learning goals, and knowing how to recognize them in student work. The results can also be used to make decisions about curriculum changes and staffing needs when faculty members retire or new hires join a department, and can inform budgetary decisions.