Reporting Program Assessment Activities in Activity Insight for Faculty Annual Review

Beginning in 2018, updates to WSU’s faculty manual provide recognition for faculty participation in assessment in the annual review process, as part of Teaching or Service accomplishments, depending on the activity. This update aligns with the university’s EPPM policies on assessment, which include recognizing assessment work in annual review at all levels.

Now, in 2020, the faculty annual review software, known as Activity Insight, has also been updated to reflect these changes. The current iteration of Activity Insight now includes drop-down menus and built-in prompts for assessment activities connected to teaching and curriculum in the Teaching/Mentoring section, as well as the continued ability to report work coordinating assessment and serving on related committees in the Service section.

To assist with the annual review process, the Provost’s Office has provided support for the use of Activity Insight in the form of the 2020 Activity Insight Reference Guide (a downloadable Word document). In this guide, detailed, step-by-step instructions—including screenshots—are provided for faculty adding entries to report assessment activities (see page 35 “Engagement in Program Assessment Activities” and page 53 “University Service”).

Teaching: As noted in the faculty manual, engagement in some program assessment activities or uses of assessment results can be reported in the Teaching/Mentoring section (see the AI Reference Guide, page 35). The AI screen (viewable in these screenshots) includes options to report on development of learning outcomes, curriculum mapping, development of assessment measures, norming on a program rubric, scoring student work on program learning outcomes, and participation in evaluation of program-wide assessment results – in connection with changes faculty make to their own courses or instruction.

Service: In the Service section, faculty may report other assessment activities, primarily related to managing assessment (for university, campus, college, departmental, or units (see the AI Reference Guide, page 53). For an at-a-glance list of applicable activities in each category, consult ATL’s 2019 blog post on the subject.

The following table, abridged from the Activity Index by Screen section in the Activity Insight Reference Guide to include only assessment-related items, may also provide a helpful resource in determining which assessment, curriculum, course, or instruction-related activity should be reported in which section.

As faculty begin to reflect on activities undertaken over the past year, ATL extends its appreciation to the many faculty and assessment coordinators who contribute to program-level assessment for their degree programs. Through these activities and uses of data, faculty can collaboratively develop, maintain, and improve an effective curriculum that promotes student learning. WSU’s goal of a transformative undergraduate education is stronger for your efforts, and annual review can now better recognize those important contributions.