Academic Assessment

Mission

As part of COBA’s commitment to excellence in teaching and desire to create an educational environment conducive to the fullest development of an individual’s learning and scholarly potential, COBA will create a culture of evidence, by which data is annually collected and analyzed in order to conduct appropriate continuous improvement of all degree programs, majors, and their associated curriculum.

Intent

The intent of this Academic Assessment program will be for all program leads to establish and sustain an assessment plan according to the COBA Academic Assessment Guide, through annual collection of data, based on the schedule established by the program lead. Additionally, the program leads will conduct an analysis of that data and develop and implement an action plan to improve the program and curriculum based on the analysis. Finally, all planning information for each program within COBA will be documented in the Texas A&M University-Central Texas academic assessment repository – TaskStream.

COBA Assessment

Each program within COBA is assessed during an annual assessment cycle which begins in the fall of each new academic year. These assessments are conducted according to previously established plans which are based on a 5-year assessment cycle. Included in the plan are program goals, outcomes, measures, achievement targets, findings, analyses, statements of “closing the assessment loop”, and the 5-year assessment schedule. Please refer to the assessment guide for more detailed information. The program is summarized below.

• COBA Academic Assessment Guide

COBA Academic Assessment Guide The college requirements for each program is for the establishment of 3-5 goals, with 1-3 outcomes per goal.

• Program Goals: General statements of what the program intends to accomplish, and broad statements of students should achieve by the time they graduate.
• Learning Outcomes or Objectives: Statements of the knowledge, skills, and abilities students will possess and can demonstrate upon completion of the program.

Additionally, COBA requires that each outcome will be measured with at least one direct measure and one associated indirect measure.

• Direct Measure: Requires students to represent, produce or demonstrate their learning.
• Indirect Measure: Capture information about students’ perceptions about their learning experiences and attitudes towards the learning process.

Measurement is conducted each annual assessment cycle following the Measure – Intervention – Measure (M-I-M) model in which data for a particular outcome is collected and analyzed in one year. The analysis includes the determination of required interventions. During the next assessment year, these interventions are then implemented and assessed in the third year to determine the results of the interventions. The M-I-M model is conducted for each outcome, such that each program goal has been assessed at least twice in the 5-year assessment cycle.

Program Continuous Improvement: The M-I-M model for assessment ensures each program is assessed, the data are analyzed, and appropriate interventions are conducted and measured for effectiveness. This is the essence of “closing the assessment loop” and ensures the programs are in a constant state of continuous improvement.