Assessment and Student Learning Outcomes Assessment
at Assumption College

Dr. Catherine WoodBrooks
Vice President for Student Affairs

This page is created primarily for current and prospective students who want to understand more about the value of their entire educational experience. A quality student affairs program understands that learning is not confined to the traditional classroom experience, but manifests itself in various venues and experiences. When The Wall Street Journal chooses to examine assessment methods at a small liberal arts college in the south, we should hear a collective cheer from student affairs practitioners nationwide.1 The door is open for us to include a student development-based learning model that is integrally connected to the academic mission. We have been forward thinking in Student Affairs at Assumption College, leading a major assessment planning initiative. In the fall of 2005, each department within the division developed and implemented their first assessment plan. In the fall of 2006, student leaders had the opportunity to develop their own goals toward student learning goals, giving them both a voice and a stake in the process. From the beginning, our goal was to develop an inclusive model that reflects a curricular and co-curricular partnership in the process of student learning. Student affairs practitioners owe it to themselves to understand their impact on students’ learning, and students deserve to recognize their own gains in maturity and personal development. We know that students actively engaged in campus life have the best potential for academic success; by incorporating student learning outcomes into our work as student affairs practitioners, we all get smarter in the process.

Whether you are a prospective student or someone who would like to learn more about assessment, I invite you to click on the links that will bring you to the department web pages where you will read what the deans and directors have to say about their expectations of learning. You will also have an opportunity to view their assessment plans. On most of these web pages you will be able to read excerpts from students who have identified areas where they would like to grow and learn. Their advisors work with them throughout the year to help them reach their goals.

1Golden, D. (2006, November 13). Colleges, accreditors seek better ways to measure learning. The Wall Street Journal. p. B1.