ACE Assessment Digest

Current Issue

ACE Assessment Digest | March 2026

In this issue:

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2026 Assessment Champion Award Recognizes Clif Stratton

We are delighted to recognize Clif Stratton, Associate Professor in the Department of History, with the 2026 Assessment Champion Award in recognition of his sustained, exemplary contributions to undergraduate program assessment across multiple roles and at multiple levels of the university. The Assessment Champion Award honors faculty and staff members who promote meaningful undergraduate program assessment efforts that support student learning.

Across roles, Clif has consistently prioritized student success and embraced innovative approaches to improving undergraduate education. His leadership in advancing meaningful, large‑scale undergraduate program assessment reflects his commitment to supporting student learning, equity, and educational quality at WSU. >> Read More …

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Thank You: 2025 Undergraduate Program Assessment Reporting

We’d like to extend our appreciation to all faculty and chairs/directors who invested time in undergraduate program assessment activities, as well as into annual program assessment reporting for 2025. In April, assessment coordinators and chairs/directors will receive a PDF copy of their final report via email for their continued use and archive.

As we do each year, we will compile the data from the 2025 undergraduate program assessment reports and produce summaries for the university—keep an eye out for an announcement in a future issue of the ACE Assessment Digest! For more information about undergraduate program assessment reporting, including past summaries, visit our Annual Program Assessment Reporting webpages.

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New Curriculum Mapping Tool: Course and Program SLO Alignment AI Prompt

Curriculum maps help faculty understand the specific role courses play within the broader curriculum, clarifying how their teaching contributes to the advancement of program-level SLOs. Our new curriculum mapping prompt is intended to help program faculty review course materials to determine the alignment between courses and program-level student learning outcomes to support the development or updating of the program’s curriculum map. The prompt workflow will ask you to provide your program-level SLOs, as well as course materials to review, and then provide a draft alignment describing the relationship between the course and the program-level SLOs, to review with relevant faculty/instructors and revise/refine.

Our Curriculum Maps Toolkit also includes additional resources intended to help WSU programs and faculty as they develop or update their curriculum maps.

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Smith Teaching and Learning Grant Applications Due March 20

WSU’s Vice Provost for Academic Engagement and Student Achievement is soliciting Smith Teaching and Learning Grant proposals around innovative ideas that enhance teaching and learning at WSU. The focus area for 2026-2027 encompasses a broad range of teaching and learning transformations, including those connected to program-level assessment.

Successful proposals must address one or more of the Eight Principles of Effective Teaching that have been outlined by the Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Texas. For example, projects may address aligning program learning outcomes, assessments, and activities, scaffolding program learning outcomes across the curriculum, developing a variety of methods to assess program learning outcomes, and/or using program assessment data to support student learning and inform instruction.

Proposals, including a signed endorsement by the applicant’s chair, can be submitted through an online application form through March 20, 2026. Smith grants will be awarded in amounts up to $5,000 and announced in April. See the Request for Proposals (PDF) for more information.

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Updating Program-level Student Learning Outcomes in the WSU Catalog

As outlined in the university’s EPPM (PDF), undergraduate degree programs must publish program-level student learning outcomes (SLOs) in the WSU Catalog. If your program has recently updated its program-level SLOs, please inform the Office of the Registrar by completing the following steps:

1. Copy and paste the current presentation of your program’s SLOs from the catalog into a Word document
2. Use track changes (or strikethrough and underline) to update the document to reflect the program’s new SLOs
3. Email the document to wsu.catalog@wsu.edu and CC your chair/director

Alternatively, programs can update their program-level SLOs in the WSU catalog through the annual call for updates from the Office of the Registrar, typically sent in late spring to the administrative officer of each academic unit.

Where appropriate, please also be sure to update your program-level SLOs on departmental websites, in student handbooks, and any other locations where they are published.

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Transitions in the Faculty Assessment Coordinator Role in Your Department, School, or Program for AY 2026-27

If you will no longer be serving in the Faculty Assessment Coordinator role for an undergraduate degree for AY 2026-27, or are aware of personnel changes in the Faculty Assessment Coordinator role for AY 2026-27 for your department, school, or program, please let us know at ace.office@wsu.edu.

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FYI – Calendar of Spring 2026 Dates Related to Program Assessment

Month	Date	Activity
Dec	Mid Dec	Program assessment coordinators receive an email from ACE with a unique link to their 2025 Undergraduate Program Assessment Reporting form in Qualtrics. Assessment coordinators can submit their report during the open reporting window — anytime from mid-Dec 2025 through Feb 2026. ACE is also available to help assessment coordinators complete the report; contact us for additional information.
Jan	9th	Fall 2025 [CAPS] Assessment Reports for UCORE are due (i.e., reporting closes).
	12th	First day of instruction for the spring term.
Feb	1st	Spring submission deadline for major Curricular Change Requests for new and revised courses.
	Early Feb	Fall 2025 [CAPS] instructors receive a pdf copy of their [CAPS] Assessment Report for UCORE from UCORE via email. Note: Typically, assessment in a [CAPS] course for majors can contribute toward degree program-level assessment of student learning – see our resource related to [CAPS] Assessment Reporting for UCORE as part of degree program assessment.
	10th	Deadline for undergraduate students to drop a course without record.
	Late Feb	Spring 2026 [CAPS] instructors receive an email from UCORE with initial information about [CAPS] Assessment Reporting for UCORE for the spring term.
	28th	2025 Undergraduate Program Assessment Reports are due (i.e., reporting closes). Assessment coordinators (or another knowledgeable assessment contact) need to be available to answer questions until March 31st.
April	10th	Deadline for undergraduate students to withdraw from a course.
	Mid to Late April	Each program will receive a PDF copy of their final 2025 Undergraduate Program Assessment Report from ACE for their continued use and archive.
	Late April	Spring 2026 [CAPS] instructors receive their link to the [CAPS] Assessment Reporting for UCORE form in Qualtrics via email (i.e., reporting opens).
May	1st	Last day of instruction for the term.
	12th	Final grade submission ends.
	15th	Spring 2026 [CAPS] Assessment Reports for UCORE are due (i.e., reporting closes).

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ACE Support for Program Assessment Efforts

We work with colleges and programs to assess student learning towards the improvement of undergraduate degree programs. ACE also provides learning outcomes assessment support for university-wide undergraduate education, serving all colleges, campuses, and UCORE general education. See What We Do and Our Services for more information.

ACE’s Assessment Specialists are happy to answer any questions and consult with programs on their assessment efforts! For information about who to contact, see our ACE Staff page.

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Copyright © WSU Office of Assessment for Curricular Effectiveness (ACE), All rights reserved.

ACE Assessment Digest is a bite-sized email, sent twice a semester, communicating timely information about undergraduate program assessment at WSU. To send feedback, tips, or to opt out, email ace.office@wsu.edu.

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