Assessment at UWM
UWM engages in a wide range of ongoing assessment activities across the institution as part of UWM’s commitment to supporting the academic success of all students. Assessment provides meaningful information about student learning and experiences that can help faculty understand strengths and weaknesses in their programs, make continuous improvements, and engage with stakeholders across campus and beyond. Assessment is integrated into the graduate, undergraduate, and general education program review processes, accreditation processes, and into the everyday fabric of campus life for both faculty and students.
Assessment is:
- Research into student learning and experience in relation to institutional and program goals.
- Faculty-driven: faculty determine what students should learn, how to gather evidence of that learning, how to interpret findings, and how to respond to them.
- An ongoing, and not episodic, process.
- Concerned with a broad range of student learning and outcomes that programs and institutions aspire to cultivate, including knowledge, understanding, skills, habits of mind, attitudes, and values.
- Most useful when based on a clear articulation of goals and outcomes, intentionally designed and aligned, and including processes for improving and seeking feedback on the assessment process itself.
- A crucial source of information for faculty, planners and decision-makers across campus, enabling a process of continuous improvement toward program and institutional goals.
- A way to engage relevant stakeholders (including students) by making learning outcomes, evidence of learning, and plans transparent and accessible to relevant audiences.
UWM Assessment Information and Resource Pages:
UWM Program Assessment Resources
Assessment of General Education at UWM
Other sources of information about UWM Assessment:
- UW System Board of Regents Policy on Assessment: https://www.wisconsin.edu/regents/policies/accreditation-and-assessment-of-student-learning/
- Student Affairs Assessment:
https://uwm.edu/saassessment/ - Office of Assessment and Institutional Research (OAIR):
https://uwm.edu/institutional-research/ - UWM DataHub: https://uwm.edu/datahub/
- Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) Course Assessment Resources:
https://uwm.edu/cetl/resources/instructional-design-resources/
https://uwm.edu/cetl/resources/instructional-development-booklets/
For more information, or to request a consultation with your department or program on assessment issues, please contact the Assessment Coordinator, Adam Andrews, at andrewsa@uwm.edu.