All units report the use of multiple measures designed to complement the traditional measures of student achievement, the completion of required and elective course work and the achievement of a minimum grade point. The measures used by specific assessment programs are detailed in the college reports which follow. Student Outcomes and Feedback to Students and the Institution Procedures for the implementation of assessment call for the sharing of the results with faculty, administration, students and other interested constituencies. For programs which carry accreditation with a professional body, the results of assessment are reported to most of the affected constituencies within accreditation review. All programs report on student performance as part of self-studies in the regular cycle of program reviews.
Some programs provide evidence of the success of their students in the recruitment of new students.
Cost Effectiveness of the SOA Program Because Iowa State has not constructed a bureaucracy to determine the quality of student outcomes and chosen instead to imbed responsibility for assessment in units already engaged in establishing academic goals and curriculum, the costs of the assessment are difficult to identify. No campus-wide assessment program which would depend on costly standardized tests is imagined at this time. It must be understood, however, that the best outcomes procedures make demands on the energies and time of faculty who are taking on this responsibility over and above their regularly assigned duties in teaching, research, and outreach. These are time consuming activities for faculty and staff. To be successful SOA cannot be assigned to a single individual but must be the work of a large percentage of the faculty.