University of Nebraska Kearney

Communication Disorders Assessment Report 2004: Assessment of the Assessment Process

Submitted Spring, 2004

During the spring semester of 2004 the faculty of the department considered the following points:

• Are the desired outcomes for the graduates of our department relevant and defensible? The faculty of the department believes the answer to the above question is yes.
   
• Does the current means of assessing actually assess the department's desired outcomes for graduates and provide information that allows for the continuous improvement of our program? Given that the process allows for assessment to occur at both the course level and at the end of the program (internships) the faculty believe that data collected will allow for improvement of the program.
   
• Is the scope and focus of our assessment process reasonable? The faculty believes that while the process is time consuming it is reliable. We have been required to do this assessment for a number of years in order to maintain accreditation. Analysis of our assessments over the past six years has prompted us to review and update our curriculum and clinical experiences.
   
• Do we need to discontinue or add any assessment activities? We are in the process of examining our curriculum and clinical experiences in light of the 2005 ASHA standards. The new standards require us to document student outcomes in very specific ways. At this point, we believe that our assessment practices are strong and provide excellent feedback to our program. While we feel that our assessment activities generally meet the new standards, it is possible that we will add a new activity or two within the next year.