Guiding Principles

The university recognizes that the primary motive for co-curricular assessment is to improve student learning.
The assessment of student learning should be meaningful to all stakeholders:
1. Students will be better position to take responsibility for their own learning if educational goals and objectives are clearly defined and measured.
2. The University of Northern Iowa is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. A primary component of achieving accreditation is evidence of an active program of assessment of student learning within all academic and co-curricular programs.
3. Assessment provides staff and faculty with a forum to discuss student learning.
Staff and faculty are expected to be active participants in assessment activities.
As staff and faculty create common expectations for students, it may be helpful to consult the AAC&U value rubrics.
Departments will engage in the continuous direct assessment of student learning.
1. Activity-embedded assessment is an excellent example of a direct measure of student learning. For example, this may include direct observation of student performance in an activity or rubric-guided assessment of students’ written work.
2. While indirect assessment (or indirect evidence) of student learning can provide a department with useful information, it should not be the sole evidence used to assess student learning and does not meet HLC requirements.
The process of assessment begins with the establishment of measurable student learning outcomes (SLOs).
Staff members leading co-curricular programs will demonstrate student achievement by engaging in the institutional-level assessment plan and processes. Visit the Assessment Processes page to learn more.
Annual assessment reports, including the completed LOOP template and an updated assessment calendar, must be submitted on or before June 30 each year.