Requirements & Reporting

In 2002, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), NYU's accreditation-granting agency, introduced new accreditation standards focused explicitly on assessment.¹   The new standards require institutions to provide both direct and indirect evidence of student learning at the course, program, and institution levels, as well as to show proof that programs and policies are directly informed by assessment results.²  

Assessment Compliance at NYU

To comply with federal and state accreditation regulations, each school must annually assess all active degree and certificate granting programs.  Each major at each degree level must be assessed. 

What are the annual expectations for program-level assessment?

1. For each program, faculty must develop and administer an assessment plan.  Faculty may use one of the suggested templates crafted by the Office of Academic Assessment, or develop their own.  The assessment plan must include the following components:

• Student Learning Goals & Outcomes -  For the program being assessed, clear articulation of 3-5 student learning goals/outcomes.  The program learning goals should be consistent with the University and School goals for all graduates.  If possible, programs should identify which courses in the curriculum align with specific objectives of the overall program.
  
• Methods & Measurement - Programs are expected to assess 1 student learning outcome each year, with the assessment of all learning outcomes (associated with the assessment plan) within 3-5 years.  For the specific outcome assessed in a single year, programs should identify the research design to be employed.  Specifically, what method(s) will be used to collect information for the assessment, and what measures will be used?  If relevant, what standards/targets/benchmarks will be used for comparison?  
• Results - Programs should aim to collect both direct and indirect evidence for student learning assessment.  Federal regulators require at least some of the evidence to be direct.  Programs should determine how results will be collected, analyzed, and reviewied by program faculty and administrators. 
  
• Action Taken  - Referred to as the "feedback loop," an assessment cycle is not considered complete without this 4th step - use of results.  How will the program actually use the results of the assessment to improve opportunities for student learning?  What action will be taken?  What improvements or changes have been made based on the assessment findings?

2. On an annual basis, programs must submit completed assessment reports to their Deans/Directors, who will submit all files to the Office of Academic Assessment.  Reports may be completed using the same templates suggested for recording assessment plans, or programs may elect to devise their own.  Content matters over form.  Ideally, programs should submit supporting documentation with their assessment reports (i.e., summary of data, results, use of results), though this is not a requirement.