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Summaries of 2024 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 2024 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 2024, 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 2020-2025 System Strategic Plan “Goal 2: Student Experience” objective of enhancing the quality of the undergraduate academic experience, 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.

2024 WSU-wide Areas of Strength

Programs demonstrated strong engagement and leadership in assessment practices, with substantially all reporting active faculty participation, leadership involvement, use of assessment data for decision-making, collection of indirect measures, and maintenance of up-to-date program learning outcomes.

Substantially all programs reported that two or more faculty engaged in program assessment activities in 2024 (98%), such as evaluating student work, discussing assessment results or findings, and making decisions based on assessment data. Substantially all programs also reported that assessment was discussed by program leadership (97%) and by a faculty committee or the majority of faculty who teach (100%) in 2024. Further, substantially all programs reported using any program assessment (direct or indirect) to inform any decision-making in 2024 (92%), including decisions about curriculum and instruction, as well as advising, scheduling, assessment processes, etc.

Substantially all programs also reported collecting indirect measures in 2024 (94%) and at least one indirect measure near the end of the curriculum within the past two years (92%). Indirect measures include perspectives, input, and other indicators (from students or others) that provide evidence related to student performance on program learning outcomes (e.g., students’ perceived gains or confidence in specific skills or knowledge, motivation, satisfaction, the availability or quality of learning opportunities, student progress through the curriculum, etc.)

Additionally, substantially all programs reported having up-to-date program-level student learning outcomes in place within the past two years (95%).

2024 WSU-wide Areas for Improvement

While programs continue to make meaningful progress in assessment practices, with nearly every metric showing some improvement or remaining met in 2024, 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 74% 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 79% 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 forms of assessment 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 69% of programs reporting having an up-to-date curriculum map within the past two years and only 82% 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 AY2024-25 include:

  • delivering programming around engaging faculty with assessment data and using assessment data to inform interventions
  • updates to resources and examples on the ACE website
  • recognizing program assessment work at the WSU Celebration of Assessment Excellence and via spotlight blogs
  • individual consulting tailored to meet specific program needs, such as assisting several interdisciplinary programs in developing new measures, providing data analysis to support use of assessment data, and facilitating discussions around program-level student learning outcomes and desired skills and knowledge for graduates

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. As always, ACE staff are available to answer questions and consult with undergraduate degree programs on program assessment efforts; contact us for more information.