Documentation for Assessment of the Student Experience
Self-Study 2012
- Executive Summary
- Introduction
- History and Overview of the University of Pittsburgh
- Summary of Major Accomplishments
- Challenges and Opportunities
- Why The University Chose the Topic of Assessment
- Assessment as a Strategic Tool to Advance the University
- Leadership in Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes
- Expected Outcomes of the Self Study
- Description of the Self-Study Process
- General Summary of Conclusions and Suggestions
- Using Assessment to Improve Institutional Effectiveness
- Introduction
- Using Assessment in University-level Planning and Budgeting, Annual Planning, and Benchmarking
- Using Assessment in Unit-level PLanning and Budgeting,Annual Planning, and Benchmarking, Selected Schools
- Using Assessment to Improve Institution-wide Infrastructure Investment
- Summary of Findings and Suggestions
- Using Assessment to Improve the Student Experience
- Introduction
- Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes
- Introduction
- Structure of Assessment of Student Learning Process at Pitt
- Building a Culture of Assessment
- Documentation of Assessment of Student Learning
- Examples of Developing a Culture of Assessment
- Examples of How Assessment of Student Learning Is Leading to Curricular Change
- General Education
- Examples of General Education Assessment
- How Assessment Is Used to Make Changes and Drive Progress
- Assessment of Student Retention, Satisfaction, and Graduation
- Assessment of Undergraduate Recruitment and Admissions
- Summary of Conclusions and Findings
- Appendices
A series of appendices and reports available in the document room provide complete documentation of the University’s ongoing process of assessing the student experience and using the results of those assessments to drive program development including the following:
• Copies of survey instruments and reports discussed above
• Annual reports on retention and graduation discussed above
• Report of the Working Group on Using Assessment to Improve the Student Experience (WGSE)
• Reports on new program development and assessments related to University efforts to improve retention, graduation, and student satisfaction
The following sections provide examples from these reports that illustrate how the University has developed a culture of assessment around the student experience and how that culture has improved the student experience. The WGSE report provides detailed documentation of specific assessment activities at the University related to retention, graduation, and student satisfaction; it links the development and modification of dozens of programs designed to improve the student experience directly to these assessment activities. The following examples were chosen to capture the variety of successful approaches taken to assessing the student experience at the University of Pittsburgh. This diversity of approaches reflects the diversity of cultures across the campuses of the University and further demonstrates the benefits of the decentralized approach to planning and assessment at Pitt.