College of Arts and Sciences Assessment of Student Learning

Assessment of the student learning experience provided by the College of Arts and Sciences follows from its mission and its purpose, values and expectations. The College plan is a combination of policies and procedures that allows the faculty and administration of the College to ensure that it is fulfilling its mission and serving its students with a meaningful, appropriate and effective learning experience that will satisfy the educational objectives set forth by the College and its degree programs.

Assessment, furthermore, affords the College and its faculty and students the opportunity to reflect formally on and measure the effectiveness of their engagement in a defined and directed learning experience that has clear and consistent goals. In addition, systematic formal reflection on the outcomes of the learning experience provides faculty and administration with guidance regarding curriculum and pedagogical development.

The College’s accrediting body provides guidance to the University and College with regard to assessment of the student learning experience. The Middle States Commission on Higher Education is Adelphi’s primary accrediting body which requires “that it [the University] assesses both institutional effectiveness and student learning outcomes, and uses the results for improvement; …” Middle States asks its member institutions to embrace Standards emphasizing that: “Educational courses, programs, and experiences are not static constructs. Their creation and lifespan may be characterized as part of a dynamic four-step cycle:

1. Developing clearly articulated written statements of expected learning outcomes;
2. Designing learning experiences that provide explicit opportunities for students to achieve those learning outcomes;
3. Implementing appropriate measures of student achievement of key learning outcomes, … ; and
4. Using the results of those assessments to improve teaching and learning, …”

It is with this cycle in mind that the College has developed its Comprehensive Assessment Plan, and which has informed the development of general and specific program learning goals, expected outcomes and related assessment measures.