Undergraduate College Catalog

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Assessment

The University of Jamestown has a genuine interest in a continuing assessment of student learning as a way of measuring its success in meeting its mission and enhancing its academic programs. The assessment process is guided by the foundational values and the mission of the University. To clarify this connection, fourteen institutional objectives provide linkage between program outcomes and the university mission. These are listed below.

Institutional Objectives:

University of Jamestown:

  1. maintains academic, professional and pre-professional programs that prepare students for entry into the work force or for further education. (Academic Preparation)
  2. provides students with a general education curriculum rooted in the liberal arts to improve critical thinking skills and increase general knowledge. (General Education)
  3. provides opportunities for students to learn basic ethical principles and to engage in character-building activities. (Character Building)
  4. provides support services to assist students in achieving their academic goals. (Academic Support Services)
  5. manages financial resources to support its objectives and strategies in a manner that ensures the institution’s viability in the short and long-term. (Sound Fiscal Management)
  6. provides extra-curricular opportunities for students to learn and grow on a personal, social, and civic level. (Student Support Services)
  7. fosters an appreciation of difference through the integration of curricular and co-curricular experiences that are intentionally developed to help students integrate into a global society. (Diversity)
  8. operates within a system of shared governance in which the opinions and values of constituents contribute to decisions and responsibility for success is shared. (Shared Governance)
  9. recognizes and fosters opportunities to connect with, integrate into, and participate with the larger community in which it resides. (Community)
  10. maintains the infrastructure necessary to support both the academic program and student life. (Infrastructure)
  11. demonstrates its commitment to continuous improvement through discipline-specific and pedagogical faculty development. (Faculty Development)
  12. demonstrates its commitment to continuous improvement through staff development. (Staff Development)
  13. provides opportunities for students to be involved in Christian religious life activities and to explore their faith. (Christian Life/Religious Life Environment)
  14. uses current technology to enhance student learning, administrative efficiency, and institutional effectiveness. (Technology)

A partial list of assessment activities follows:

  1. administration of the Noel/Levitz Survey of Student Satisfaction and the University of Jamestown Student Survey of Institutional Effectiveness (SSIE);
  2. administration of standardized testing to graduating seniors in selected departments (e.g. MFT, CBE); graduating seniors complete these assessments as required by certain departments;
  3. analysis of reported performance on graduate and professional school examinations (including the Graduate Record Examination: General and Subject Tests, the Pre-Professional Skills Test and the Praxis II in Education); the Medical College Admission Test, the Law School Admission Test, and the National Council Licensure Examination in Nursing;
  4. internal academic program reviews rotating all departments on a 5-year basis, with periodic external reviews;
  5. analysis of placement information based on alumni surveys;
  6. administration of a faculty and staff survey to gain knowledge of the opinion of faculty and staff about the institution;
  7. analysis of exit surveys from graduating seniors and classroom assessment summaries from every academic department;
  8. analysis of student retention, experiential education, career planning between education and career;
  9. linking assessment results to program development, and;
  10. an ongoing evaluation of our assessment program.

While formal and informal reports from alumni, employers, trustees and other constituencies comprise additional information relevant to assessment, student input constitutes the critical source of assessment data. Therefore, all students will be expected at various junctures during their tenure at University of Jamestown to contribute to our assessment program by completing surveys, standardized tests, and exit surveys as required by their curriculum.

Watermark

The University of Jamestown utilizes Watermark products, a suite of web-based assessment systems, to capture data from rubrics, course evaluations, satisfaction surveys, field experience binders, and other electronic assessment tools. Reports on these data contribute to our assessment of program outcomes and institutional objectives by providing valuable insight into student learning, faculty performance, campus life, and much more.

For questions or guidance contact:

Mona Klose

Associate Dean for Institutional Effectiveness

mklose@uj.edu

701-252-3467 ext. 5495

Anna Munns Engdahl

Director of Assessment

amunns@uj.edu

701-356-9204