A. Student learning Undergraduate level Outcomes assessment examines the quality and effectiveness of academic programs through examination of student learning. CU-Boulder is known as a national leader in outcomes assessment, in some part due to our comprehensive assessment web site . This site has information on history, methods, results, use of results, and summaries of activities for individual units . In academic year 1987-88 academic units developed formal statements of knowledge and skills goals for undergraduate majors. Each year, faculty in schools, colleges, and departments implement assessment plans reported in previous years modify their programs, goals, and assessment processes as necessary based on formal assessments, student satisfaction data, retention and completion data, placement rates, and other information report what they found and what they did, or were planning to do in response.
Units use different assessment methods.
For example Our writing program collects representative samples of students' initial and final essays for evaluation by a panel of instructors and outside experts. Engineering, computer science, mathematics, and sociology compare their majors' performance on nationally standardized exams with national norms. Journalism interns are rated by their supervisors, who are working professionals in the field Units make changes in curricula and teaching based on assessment results. Theatre and dance revised the sequence of courses in theatre history and dramatic literature and now emphasizes these areas in the senior seminar. Classics added more sight-reading exercises in introductory Latin and Greek courses.