Student Outcome Assessment Benchmarks and Procedures for the Interior Design major
Benchmarks for Student Outcomes Assessments
The Interior Design program assesses student outcomes in the following ways:
1. Faculty interaction with students
2. Internal assessment of student entry skills
3. Internal/external assessment of student skills
4. Pre-Professional Experience: Internships
5. Post-Graduation Assessment
1. Faculty interaction with students
Meeting with prospective students during the academic year and advisee/advisor meetings each
semester helps students understand the major requirements, career opportunities, and criteria
needed to succeed.
2.
Internal assessment of prospective students for entry into the program
We seek motivated and promising students who are able to demonstrate the following:
knowledge of design theory as indicated by understanding of the design elements and principles
awareness of concept development and execution
creativity of solutions
technical skills as indicated by lettering, hand-drafting, overall appearance, layout and
craftsmanship
depth, detail, completeness and clarity of technical drawings
In addition, we assess students’ ability to express design solutions verbally and graphically in a clear
and professional manner.
3.
Internal/external assessment of student skills
In the final semester of design coursework, student skills are assessed both internally and by external
reviewers. The following competencies are assessed:
Ability to demonstrate the relationships between research in design, program development and
the design development of a project.
Ability to understand the relationship between health/welfare/safety, function and creative
solutions to design problems.
Ability to express one’s design solutions verbally and graphically in a clear and professional
manner using manual and digital media.
Ability to demonstrate technical skills.
Ability to accurately develop contract documents and specifications.
Understanding of basic business concepts: marketing, management, and financial as they apply
to the day-to-day operation of a design firm.
4. Pre-Professional Experience: Internships
Provide students with a realistic view of a design career through actual work experience.
Provide students with an awareness of the importance of public relations and ethical behavior
through interaction with the public, co-workers and supervisory personnel.
Provide students with an understanding of the operational procedures and policies relevant to a
particular type of business structure.
5. Post-Graduation Assessment
Level of accomplishment in Interior Design.
Skills used in the work place.
Opinions regarding program efficiency.
Procedures.
The following procedures are used for assessing student outcomes.
1. Faculty Interaction with students.
Interested students meet with a faculty member prior to becoming a prospective major. At this time,
the faculty explains the criteria the student must meet to be a declared Interior Design major
including specified G.P.A., submission of a portfolio after the completion of four required classes with
a C- or better grade in each, and a personal interview with the Interior Design faculty members. This
process helps assess the student’s understanding of the major and the criteria needed to succeed.
The four required classes are Design Foundations (31I:061), Drafting I (31I:063), History I (31I:067)
and Introduction to Economics (920:024). Once each semester, prior to registration, prospective and
declared majors are required to meet with their assigned faculty advisor to review academic
progress, to select courses, and to discuss future academic and professional goals. The Introduction
to Interior Design course (31I:065) and the Design Foundations course (31I:061) provides interested
and prospective majors with an overview of design and an introduction to the interior design
profession.
2.
Internal assessment of prospective students for entry into the program.
Students majoring in Interior Design must satisfy the admission requirements including GPA, portfolio
review, interview and the completion of specified courses before they can officially declare the
major. A copy of the Admission Policy can be obtained from the Department of Design, Textiles,
Gerontology, & Family Studies office in Latham Hall. Prior to completion of the admission
requirements, students may sign an intent to major in Interior Design and be classified as a
prospective (pre) major. Students must achieve a minimum of C- in all courses required for the
Interior Design major whether taken at UNI or transferred from another institution. If a major class is
dropped after the first week of classes, a student will subsequently be allowed to register to retake
that course only after all advanced registration is completed and if openings are still available. A
major course may be repeated only once.
3.
Internal/external assessment of student skills.
In the fall semester of their last year on campus, all students enrolled in Professional Practice of
Interior Design (310:164) submit a portfolio for review. The review process consists of both a selfassessment and a professional assessment of student performance skills. Each portfolio includes a
sampling of the student’s work from a variety of projects that relate to the career goals of the
student. The evaluation judges whether the projects demonstrated the appropriate level of
awareness, understanding or competency as adapted from the Council for Interior Design
Accreditation (CIDA) criteria. The reviewers are comprised of two practicing residential designers
(each review the portfolios with a residential emphasis), and two practicing commercial designers
(each review the portfolios with a commercial emphasis) and the full-time faculty on staff who review
all of the portfolios. The reviewers utilize a quantitative instrument to rank students in the following
five categories - conceptual thinking, graphic representation, space planning, finishes, materials and
furniture on a five point scale. The reviewers’ evaluations and a compilation of their comments are
given to each student. This facilitates summarizing results and is consistent with the review sheets by
CIDA. There are also opportunities to make general statements to each student. All students are
given an opportunity to discuss their assessments with the design professionals and faculty
individually.
4. Pre-Professional Experience – Internship.
All majors are required to complete an Internship (310:195) which is a 320 hours (4 credit) internship
under the supervision of an interior design professional with the approval of the academic advisor.
During the internship, weekly journals are kept by the student and shared with both academic and
on-site supervisors. The journals include: hours worked; billable and non-billable breakdown of
hours accrued according to project, design phase and specific tasks done; goals of the week,
responsibilities and tasks given, new knowledge or skills acquired, evaluation of one’s knowledge and
skills needed for this job, difficulties and successes incurred on the job, insights gained on the
operational procedures and policies in the work environment; management styles, marketing
practices, photographs of the workplace and other work settings and any other information the
student wishes to document. Two sets of assessments are done during the Internship. A student and
site supervisor each do a mid-point progress report and a final evaluation which is forwarded to the
academic advisor. The final evaluation is not only a review of the student and the work site but also
an evaluation of the preparedness the student and the field supervisor felt was needed to enter the
work force. All four evaluations elicit both numerically scalable responses and open ended questions
that assess the students’ ability to perform in the work space and information that needs to be taught
in the academic setting. Students are also required to do a 20 hour project of their choice on
something that would be beneficial to them in making the transition from student to professional.
5. Post-Graduation Assessment.
The academic advisor collects data on graduates who remain in a permanent position after
completing their internship or first job employment status. The UNI Career Center also collects
employment information from current graduates at the commencement ceremonies and in one year
follow-ups. Additionally, the Department sends a survey three years after graduation that enquires
about employment history, skills used in the work place and overall perceptions of their experience in
the Interior Design program.