Student learning is at the core of Temple's mission. Essential to measuring the university's overall effectiveness is the assessment of student learning and student success.
At Temple, approaches to assessing student learning are as diverse as our academic offerings. At the University level, for example, Temple has established eight core competencies for General Education, and has defined a number of strategies designed to determine success in these outcome areas.
At the school, college, and department level, programs develop and implement assessment plans and processes that assess student learning outcomes and program outcomes, communicate major findings, and describe continous improvements.
Institutional Effectiveness
Temple's strategies for assessing its academic programs and overall effectiveness are diverse and include:
- Periodic Program Review
- Student surveys
- Course and teaching evaluations
- Employee surveys
- Performance Development Plans
- Annual reports
- Specialized accreditation and external approval processes
- Licensure and professional exam pass rates
- Graduation and retention rates
- Internal and external surveys of engagement and satisfaction
Assessment of Student Learning
Assessment of student learning occurs in undergraduate, graduate and professional programs, and Temple has a number of resources to support assessment activities. The University-wide Assessment Planning Committee meets regularly to discuss assessment planning activities across the University. SLAM, the Student Learning Assessment Management System, is the repository for assessment reports.
Each school and college annually submits an assessment plan and report that includes the following:
- Student learning outcomes
- Assessment activities and results
- Planned assessments
Programs are asked to describe how assessment results are shared and used for continuous improvement.
Assessment of Administrative and Support Areas
Administrative and support areas are also responsible for the annual assessment of unit goals and outcomes. Units submit an annual assessment plan and report that includes the following:
- Mission and program outcomes
- Assessment activities (complete and planned)
- Findings, including with whom and how findings were shared
- Use of results for continuous improvement
Assessment & Its Relationship to Period Program Review
Regular assessment of a program will also contribute to a successful Periodic Program Review (PPR). Of the 10 key areas of Periodic Program Review, half are fundamental to the assessment of student learning (See Preparing the Periodic Program Review Assessment Section)
- Vision and Mission
- Curriculum
- Assessment Methods
- Student Qualifications and Performance
- Identification of Benchmarks
Good assessment practice enhances Periodic Program Review, improves Temple's programs and meets the standards and expectations of other accreditation agencies and professional associations that are relevant to your field.
A strong foundation of assessment practice includes the following:
- Articulating a mission statement
- Developing student learning outcomes that are logically connected to the mission statement
- Linking student learning outcomes to the broader mission and goals of the school, college and university
- Mapping where in the curriculum (courses/assignments/educational experiences) students have the opportunity to work toward the given outcomes
- Developing assessments to measure if students have met the outcomes
- Analyzing the results
- Communicating the results to faculty
- Using the results to make changes and improvements where needed
Institutional Research & Assessment
Temple University's Office of Institutional Research and Assessment is committed to providing institutional research leadership and data analysis in support of the university's strategic planning, decision making, and assessment of institutional effectiveness.