For example, an alumni survey may reveal that not only are graduates getting jobs, but the majority of them are getting jobs in one particular type of firm or company. This information could allow the department to zero in on what job skills their graduates have that are making them so marketable with these companies. While useful to the department, this information may not be of interest to constituents such as accreditation teams or college curriculum committees. As with other aspects of assessment, the types of visual displays you use depend on the kind of assessment project and the audience for whom it is done. It is a good idea to keep assessment results for a few years.
Departments often find it useful to do longitudinal studies of assessment projects.
As the job market, the economy, technology, or even the department itself change with time, so will the results of assessment activities. Also, many assessment evaluations are on cycles. The General Studies evaluation is on a three year cycle. State commission or accreditation reviews may be every five to ten years. Similarly, some departments do alumni surveys annually, while others prefer to do them every five years.