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Summaries of 2025 Undergraduate Degree Program Assessment Reports Available to Support Planning and Decision-making

WSU’s undergraduate degree programs report annually on their system of assessing student learning, a practice begun in 2009. Again this year, ACE is providing 2025 annual undergraduate program assessment reporting summary dashboards for the university using Tableau, including a WSU-wide and College View and an Individual Program View, available to WSU employees (log-in required). A WSU-wide executive summary for 2025, intended to summarize the university-wide data presented in the Tableau dashboards, is also available for the broader WSU community, as well as the public. See the ACE website for more information about undergraduate program assessment reporting, including past summaries.

WSU-wide Targets for Program Assessment

One goal of the undergraduate program assessment reporting summaries is to provide a snapshot of assessment activities that shows the contributions that programs and colleges make towards the university-wide metrics and targets for undergraduate program assessment. In line with WSU’s Strategic Pillars in support of Academic Excellence and Modernization, Access and Student Success, and Systemwide Integration and Institutional Agility, WSU’s overarching goal is for program assessment to help faculty and programs collaboratively develop, maintain, and improve curricula that advance student learning. As such, WSU aims to have substantially all programs (≥ 90%) reporting that program assessment elements are in place and that program-level student learning outcomes data, including the achievement of program-level student learning outcomes near the end of the curriculum, are regularly collected and used to inform decision-making about teaching, learning, and curricula.

2025 WSU-wide Areas of Strength

Programs demonstrated strong faculty engagement in their assessment systems, with substantially all reporting active faculty participation, leadership involvement, collection of measures near the end of the curriculum, and use of those assessment data for decision-making.

All programs reported that two or more faculty engaged in program assessment activities, such as evaluating student work, discussing assessment results or findings, and making decisions based on assessment data, in 2025 (100%). Additionally, programs reported that assessment was discussed by program leadership (97%) and by a faculty committee or the majority of faculty who teach (97%) in 2025. Further, programs reported that assessment was discussed by the majority of faculty who teach within the past two years (92%).

Programs also reported collecting at least one direct measure (98%) and at least one indirect measure (95%) near the end of the curriculum within the past two years. Further, multi-campus programs reported collecting at least one direct measure (93%) and at least one indirect measure (100%) near the end of the curriculum on each campus, including online offerings, within the past two years. Assessment measures collected near the end of the curriculum provide information about student performance on program-level student learning outcomes and the related student experience as students are completing the curriculum. Additionally, programs reported using their program-level assessment to inform decision-making in 2025 (94%), including decisions about curriculum and instruction, as well as advising, scheduling, assessment processes, and more.

2025 WSU-wide Areas for Improvement

While programs continue to make meaningful progress in assessment practices, with nearly every WSU-wide metric showing improvement or remaining met in 2025, opportunities remain to deepen the use of learning outcomes data in decision-making and to strengthen foundational tools like curriculum maps and assessment plans — key elements that support high-quality teaching and learning.

Continued attention is needed to ensure that program-level learning outcomes data — including learning outcomes achievement data near the end of the curriculum — are regularly evaluated by program faculty and used to inform decision-making about teaching, learning, and curricula. Only 77% of programs reported reviewing representative direct assessment data for at least one program learning outcome that indicated the level of student achievement near the end of the curriculum within the past two years. Additionally, only 85% of programs reported using assessment of a specific program learning outcome (direct or indirect) to inform decisions about curriculum, instruction, assignments, or faculty development within the past three years. While all assessment activities and data can provide useful information for program improvement, using assessment of specific program learning outcomes to inform decision-making is crucial to supporting quality undergraduate curricula and student achievement, with decisions about curriculum, instruction, and faculty development, specifically, contributing most directly to improving student learning.

Additionally, the status of curriculum maps and assessment plans are areas for attention, with only 76% of programs reporting having an up-to-date curriculum map within the past two years and only 81% of programs having an assessment plan with an intended timeline for key activities. Curriculum maps help faculty understand how courses situate in the curriculum and the contribution that each course makes towards advancing program-level learning outcomes for the degree. An assessment plan articulates a program’s intended process for conducting program assessment activities, including collecting, analyzing, and using assessment data.

Summary Data Supports Planning and Decision-making

Another goal of the undergraduate program assessment reporting summaries is to help programs, leadership, and ACE identify needs and next steps. Each year, ACE reviews the report data and summaries and meets with program, college, campus, and university leadership to discuss potential actions that can support program assessment. Examples of actions taken in AY2025-26 included:

  • delivering programming around turning assessment findings and resulting decisions/actions into compelling narratives, using AI to support program assessment activities, interpreting National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) data for program learning outcomes assessment, and using assessment data to inform interventions
  • updates to resources and examples on the ACE website, including examples of direct measures, assessment plans, and uses of assessment to inform decision-making
  • recognizing program assessment work via spotlight blogs
  • providing disaggregated NSSE results to programs in which ten or more senior majors responded to the 2025 administration, as well as resources to help programs interpret and use their NSSE results for program assessment
  • individual consulting tailored to meet specific program needs, such as assisting several programs in developing new measures and assessment plans, providing data analysis to support use of assessment data, and facilitating student focus groups around program-level student learning outcomes and the student experience in the curriculum

ACE extends its appreciation to the college, campus, and university leadership that work to support program assessment, and to all faculty and chairs/directors that invest time in program assessment activities, as well as annual program assessment reporting. ACE staff are happy to answer questions and consult with undergraduate degree programs on their program assessment efforts; contact us for more information.