Building a Sustainable Embedded Assessment System Through Program-Level Rubrics (Sociology)

Effective program-level assessment relies on meaningful evidence of student performance on program learning outcomes. Direct evaluation of authentic student work provides rich evidence of student learning while helping faculty identify opportunities to strengthen curriculum, instruction, and assignments. Recent work in the Department of Sociology offers an example of how faculty can develop and implement an embedded assessment system with program-level rubrics to generate actionable data and support ongoing improvement.

In 2025, Sociology faculty piloted an assessment approach centered around faculty-reviewed and faculty-informed program-level rubrics for two program learning outcomes: Quantitative & Symbolic Reasoning and Communication. Faculty teaching key courses in the curriculum applied the rubrics to major course-embedded assignments, including the recently redesigned capstone culminating project completed by students on each campus where the degree is offered (Pullman, Vancouver, and Global Campus). By creating shared rubrics and embedding them within existing coursework, faculty established a systematic approach to gathering consistent and comparable data across courses and campuses. Because assessment was embedded within existing assignments rather than added as a separate activity, the department was able to collect meaningful evidence of student learning while minimizing additional workload for students and faculty.

The development of the rubrics was itself an important part of the approach. The department’s faculty assessment coordinator drafted the initial rubrics based on the program’s student learning outcomes, with particular attention to using measurable, action-oriented language that could clearly distinguish levels of student performance. The draft rubrics were then reviewed by the chair of the Undergraduate Studies Committee and the department chair, whose feedback informed revisions. Following these revisions, the rubrics were shared with the broader faculty for discussion and comment before being implemented as part of the pilot assessment project. This iterative process helped ensure that the rubrics reflected shared faculty expectations for student learning while remaining practical for use across courses and campuses.

The pilot also helped identify opportunities to further clarify rubric language and improve scoring consistency. As a result, faculty refined the rubrics and decided to expand the embedded assessment approach to additional courses. Building on the success of the pilot, the department also initiated development of program-level rubrics for additional student learning outcomes, creating a foundation for a more comprehensive and sustainable assessment system.

Program faculty worked collaboratively with the assessment coordinator throughout the process to review rubric criteria, evaluate student work, interpret findings, and discuss implications for future assessment and curricular decisions. These assessment conversations occurred through regular faculty meetings and the Undergraduate Studies Committee, ensuring that assessment remained an integrated part of the department’s ongoing efforts to support student learning.

Overall, several elements contributed to the success of this work:

• Intentionally aligning rubrics with program-level student learning outcomes. Rubrics were designed to measure the knowledge and skills reflected in the program learning outcomes.
• Using authentic student work to assess learning. Assessment was embedded within existing coursework, allowing faculty to evaluate meaningful demonstrations of student performance while maintaining a sustainable assessment process.
• Gathering direct evidence near the end of the curriculum. Including the recently redesigned capstone culminating project in the evaluation provided data about student achievement of program learning outcomes on each campus where the degree is offered at the near-graduation level.
• Engaging faculty throughout rubric development and assessment. Faculty provided feedback during rubric development, participated in evaluating student work, reviewed findings, and discussed next steps for program improvement.
• Using pilot findings to strengthen the process. Pilot results informed rubric refinements, expansion of the assessment approach to additional courses, and development of similar rubrics for other program learning outcomes.

This example reinforces assessment as an ongoing, faculty-driven process intended to contribute to informed decision-making and continuous improvement. By embedding assessment into regular coursework and faculty review processes, the department created an approach that generates meaningful evidence of student learning while remaining practical and sustainable over time. For more information on evaluating student coursework for program assessment, see ACE’s Quick Guide: Approaches to Evaluating Student Coursework for Undergraduate Program Assessment (PDF). ACE is also available to collaborate with undergraduate degree programs to design tools to measure program-level learning outcomes; contact us for additional information.