Assessment at WMU

Office of Institutional Effectiveness
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5253 USA
(269) 387-0399

Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Reports

The University Assessment Steering Committee (UASC), in conjunction with the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, requests information regarding student learning outcomes assessment as a part of the annual program review process for both academic and learner support programs, to monitor the progression of student learning assessment within each program and unit, and to determine where to focus assistance and support.

Historically, the Deans' Reports on Assessment provided an overview of assessment efforts within each college, but a lack of template resulted in inconsistent information across programs being shared, making it difficult to have a comprehensive understanding of assessment at WMU. As a result, the report format was re-evaluated by the UASC in 2015. Changes were incorporated based on recommendations made by the associate deans to streamline the process, and ensure the data was relevant and actionable, and a new template was created. The template, (and resulting reports), moved from being an overview to one where each program could share outcomes described through the entire assessment cycle.

The process was reviewed again in 2018, leading to significant improvements, such as expanding to include learner support unit assessment. This new 'culture of assessment' report asked departments/units to share their goals, learning outcomes, activities, measured progress, and to describe data-informed changes made based on assessment results. The new process and template focused on providing quantitative data to inform and measure assessment practices institutionally, the development of a four-point rubric to evaluate each submission, and methods to provide direct and personalized feedback on each report submitted. 

After all the changes that occurred during 2020 and beyond, the UASC determined that still more could be done to streamline this process. The group decided that the best way to do this would be to utilize assessment data that is already being collected through our annual Academic Program Review (APR) process. Since the assessment-related questions in APR are the same questions that were asked through the ‘culture of assessment' reports, the necessary information is already being collected. All that was needed was to develop a new review process. 

In 2023, the UASC embarked on a pilot project to create this review process. The group is still working out all of the details, but they hope to have the process in place in the fall semester 2024.

Utilizing the APR responses will save time for the programs as they will be sharing the information only once, making it more sustainable. It will also ensure that the UASC receives reports from every program, as all are required to participate in the APR process.

Currently, WMU is working on revising the Learner Support Program review process and cycle. Once this is implemented, we will be able to collect assessment-related data from all of the co-curricular programs in an ongoing basis as well. 

Click on the links below to view information and reports for the year of interest.

Coming soon!

Culture of Assessment Reports

In the fall of 2018, the University Assessment Steering Committee (UASC) embarked on a project to establish an institution-wide benchmark for evidence of an assessment culture at Western Michigan University. A new template was created to collect this evidence via report submission from the academic and learner support units. This new 'culture of assessment' report asked departments/units to share their goals, learning outcomes, activities, measured progress, and to describe data-informed changes made based on assessment results. The new process and template focused on providing quantitative data to inform and measure assessment practices institutionally, the development of a four-point rubric to evaluate each submission, and methods to provide direct and personalized feedback on each report submitted. 

Members of the UASC reviewed each report and prepared feedback reports that were shared with the Provost, the Vice President for Student Affairs, the Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, the deans of the colleges, and the individual programs/units who submitted reports. Below are the overall summary reports for the university as a whole, Academic Affairs units and learner support units.

WMU Assessment Culture Report: Summer 2020

Academic Affairs Assessment Culture Report Summary

Learner Support Assessment Culture Report Summary

Deans' Reports on Assessment for 2015-16

Purpose: One of the summary findings from the Academic Program Review and Planning process completed in the fiscal year 2014-15 was that there was a high variability in the quality of assessment of program student learning outcomes. To move this forward, the University Assessment Steering Committee (UASC) created a new template for the dean’s report on assessment. This report requested information from each program to further probe the quality of the assessment of program student learning outcomes. This was requested as part of the continuous program improvement process that all programs need to follow to improve overall quality as well as meet Higher Learning Commission criteria.

Tools: A cover letter and template were sent out to the deans, associate deans, chairs, directors and academic officers to request that each program (to include all majors, minors, certificate, masters or doctorate) complete the template and to share one student learning outcome that has gone the furthest through the assessment cycle.

Justification: This was a new report format and was to encompass the years July 1, 2012 – June 30, 2015 for each program. The intent was to build upon and supplement the information gathered in the Academic Program Review and Planning process that was completed in 2014-15. The UASC intentionally determined a need to gather data at the programmatic level, to better understand the extent to which WMU is actively engaged in the assessment of student learning process, and sought to meet this need through the information gleaned in the Deans’ Reports on Assessment of Student Learning.

Process: The members of the University Assessment Steering Committee set up four sub-committees to review the reports, prepare feedback and a compose a response letter to each college. The subcommittees were instructed to provide ‘sandwich’ style feedback to share constructive comments ‘sandwiched’ or surrounded by positive comments. The sub-committees received the reports in December 2015, reviewed them and prepared their feedback reports during the spring semester 2016. In May 2016, each dean received a cover letter along with the feedback report for their college as well as an overall feedback report for each of the programs that were submitted.

Future Intent: During the 2016-17 academic year, the UASC plans to provide more educational resources on assessment, as well as assistance to those who requested it via the comments section of the 2015-16 Deans’ Reports on Assessment.

Deans' Reports on Assessment for 2011-12

Below are the assessment reports shared with the University Assessment Steering Committee in the 2011-12 academic year.

Deans' Reports on Assessment for 2009-10

Below are the assessment reports shared with the University Assessment Steering Committee in the 2009-10 academic year.