Degree Level Assessment

The Four Year Cycle of Assessment

The goal of KU's four-year cycle of degree-level assessment is to support continuous improvement within the degree program.  The process is intended to support:

• the systematic measurement of student learning accompanied by results-based planning, which should include a holistic mix of summative and formative tools,
• the quality of the degree program itself, with dual focus on curriculum design and instructional practice,
• the support of all students’ learning, persistence in, and completion of the degree program, with a specific focus on examining and addressing possible inequities in performance across groups, modalities, and locations,
• the creation of a record of program quality improvement across the entire campus.

Comprehensive Assessment & Action Plan

All programs conduct a comprehensive assessment of degree-level learning outcomes once every four years, based on the self-identified measurement proposed by the unit.  The Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) provides one-on-one support to programs throughout the comprehensive assessment process.  

Assessment data is gathered for all modalities and reviewed by a representative faculty group for all learning outcomes identified for the program.  Once the comprehensive assessment has been completed and the data analyzed, each program develops an assessment action plan and timeline backed by data and focused on the improvement of student learning.  These plans provide the framework for the departments activities in the area of assessment over the next three years, until the next comprehensive assessment.  

School/College and department leadership have access to current and historical reports.

Annual Update

During the years between comprehensive assessments, programs monitor their action plans and submit an annual assessment plan report, which includes a brief update on the status of identified action items.

The Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) guides a degree level assessment subcommittee.  These faculty peers provide feedback designed to make the work of assessment meaningful, manageable, and sustainable.  The goal of the feedback is to:

• Link together year-to-year efforts such that a department’s prior annual report provides the basis against which the current report will be evaluated.
• Suggest areas of improvement in assessment practices, curriculum design, instruction, and students’ success in meeting learning outcomes that will create concrete action items for the department to pursue during the next assessment cycle.
• Disseminate examples of best practices and evidence-backed methods between peers by including a more narrative-driven response from faculty reviewers, providing examples and encouragement from their personal experience.

Program faculty are expected to document how they have collected, analyzed, reviewed and used the assessment results to enhance student learning outcomes in their program(s). 

Department Chairs and Program Directors are responsible for coordinating student learning outcomes assessment within their units and for engaging faculty in discussion and use of assessment results to improve student learning. 

Deans are responsible for coordinating student learning outcomes assessment within their schools, establishing internal reporting processes and schedules that ensure the assessments are occurring on a regular basis, and that the results are being used to improve student learning in their program(s) as appropriate. 

The Center for Teaching Excellence provides one-on-one consultation, workshops, and training to support assessment. 

Academic Affairs oversees the assessment process, provides strategic direction, facilitates the work of university-level committees on assessment, makes institutional assessment results visible to the KU community, and discusses general recommendations at the university level with deans, department, chairs, and undergraduate and graduate directors as needed. 

Spring 2025 – Academic Affairs and CTE host Orientation sessions for those units participating in Comprehensive Degree-Level Assessment in 2025-2026. 

July – September 2025 – Academic Affairs prepares customized templates for all programs. 

September 1, 2025 – Templates for those departments undergoing Comprehensive Assessment are available in the Degree-Level Assessment Teams site.

September 2025 – February 2026 – CTE is available for consultation on comprehensive assessment or annual assessment updates.  Departments undergoing Comprehensive should make every effort to schedule a consultation early in the Fall semester. 

October 1, 2025  - Templates for those departments completing an annual update are available in the Degree-Level Assessment Teams site. 

February 27, 2026 – Comprehensive DLA and Annual Updates must be submitted to the Teams repository by this date. 

March 2026 – Academic Affairs reviews the repository for submissions and prepares files for review. 

April – July 2026 – CTE Staff provide a detailed review of all Comprehensive assessment plans while a team of faculty review annual updates. Individualized feedback is prepared for each program and saved to the Teams repository.  

Degree-Level Assessment Repository (access restricted)

CTE Assessment Resources

Institutional Learning Goals 

Other Useful Links

Strategic Alignment Dashboard - Contact aire-help@ku.edu for assistance with the dashboard. 

Qualtrics - Survey Tool 

Contacts

For questions about the process, help navigating the Teams repository, or to schedule a consultation, please contact Drew Vartia vartia@ku.edu or Josh Potter joshuadpotter@ku.edu at CTE.    

If you have questions relating to institutional data, assistance is available at aire-help@ku.edu.