Departmental Assessment of GS Program courses: The GS Program at UNK is based on a distributive model requiring students to select courses from various perspectives within the different categories. The courses are designed to assist students with meeting the objectives of the specific category/perspective. The intent of the distributed program organization is that all students will have the opportunity to engage in the exploration of a variety of academic perspectives while also accomplishing the general objectives of the program. Each department offering a GS course is required to assess student outcomes of those courses on a regular basis. The student objective on which the specific assessment is based depends in which category and perspective the course is offered. Some departments had developed assessment processes for measuring student progress toward meeting the specified objectives for their perspective prior to January, 2005. Most departments did not have a process of assessment; therefore, assessment plans had to be developed. All departments are required to have a plan developed by May 1, 2005 for implementation in the 2005-06 academic year.
The individual department plans are included in Appendix 3. Each plan follows the same general outline:
- Department name
- GS Course(s)
- GS Objectives
- Direct Measure
- Assessment Schedule
- Sampling process
The initial implementation of the departmental assessment process requires that the majority of courses be assessed during the fall semester of 2005. The assessment results are to be submitted to the GS Council by the end of January, 2006. Some departments will assess selected courses during the spring semester of 2006. Departments will maintain a regular and consistent schedule of assessment in succeeding years that is approved by the GS Council.
Each departmental GS course assessment report will be included in the annual department assessment report and incorporated into the GS Program Assessment Report by October 1 of each year.
Nationally-normed Standardized Test: Several norm-referenced assessment measures are to be reviewed and evaluated for their applicability as potential direct measures of the objectives in the GS Program. Identification of potential tests is to begin in the 2004-05 academic year with continued test identification and more specific analysis conducted during the 2005-06 academic year. The tests will be analyzed using the following criteria:
- Assessment of specific UNK GS Program objectives
- Content coverage (content validity) that generally reflects desired outcomes
- Content coverage and presentation in a format reflective of UNK students’ learning experiences
- The results meet assessment needs that are not addressed by locally developed measures
- Logistical format for administration can be met as simply as possible
- Test publisher provides acceptable validation and reliability data
Long‑term Timeline
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Academic Year
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Test
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2004-2005
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Identify tests, initiate evaluation and piloting
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2005-2006
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Evaluate tests, make decision if one is appropriate
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2006-2007
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NSSE administration; establish organizational needs and pilot on large scale the GS test if one is selected
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2007-2008
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GS test if selected
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2008-2009
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2009-2010
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NSSE administration
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2010-2011
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Introduction
Indirect Measurement of Student Outcomes
06/06/05