COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE (CASAC)
Achievements, Current Actions, and Challenges
(Rev. October 2, 2015)
Mission Statement
In collaboration with the EMU University Assessment Committee, CAS Dean’s office and
CAC, CASAC is faculty-led and focused on assisting administrators, faculty and programs in
building systems to evaluate student learning from programmatic perspectives.
Contributors to CAS’s Efforts to Assess Student Learning
 Degree programs submit assessment reports and plans to the CASAC, which
provides supportive responses and archives the documents.
 General Education courses: Through an agreement between CAS departments and
the General Education Program, all courses should assess student learning in terms
of the GEP’s student learning outcomes (for list of SLOs, see,
http://www.emich.edu/gened/gened/outcomes.php). Assessment plans and
reports are submitted to the General Education Subcommittee on Assessment
(GESA).
 Accredited programs (e.g., ones linked to College of Education) may use
accreditation reports for degree program submissions to CASAC.
What has CASAC accomplished in terms of assessment of student learning?









Toward reaccreditation efforts and EMU’s continuous improvement model,
coordinated efforts with IRIM, University Assessment Committee, Provost’s and
Deans’ offices, Faculty Development Center, and college assessment committees
Formed and sustained faculty-led assessment committees, which include
representative administrators (e.g., department heads, associate deans, and liaisons
from Halle Library, College of Education, Gen Ed, and CAS.)
Based on a decentralized model, and with faculty support, initiated, implemented,
sustained, and evaluated programmatic systems of assessing student learning.
Annually, solicited and reviewed assessment plans and reports for nearly 80% of
the 134 CAS programs
Increased capacity among faculty who contribute to assessment systems (e.g., 50-60
CAS faculty members directly contributed to plans and reports during 2014-15).
Trained faculty through University Assessment Institute (75 faculty over the past
three years).
Improved program submission systems (e.g., CASAC constructed an online
submission process).
Contributed to the University Assessment Committee, Steering Committee for HLC
Accreditation, and other accreditation efforts.
Submitted annual reports for review to the University Assessment Committee and
Deans’ offices.
What is CASAC in the process of accomplishing?






Configuring effective systems of assessment planning and reporting.
Building capacity among administration, faculty, and lecturers.
Coordinating efforts among the General Education Program, CAS degree programs,
and accredited programs to enhance efficiency and avoid unnecessary repetition.
Improving web presence (e.g., exemplars, resources to support instructor and
administrative efforts, and a calendar of due dates and events).
Encouraging EMU administration to include assessment in strategic and budget
plans.
Encouraging and demonstrating to administration and instructors how to use
assessment results (and methods of “closing-the-loop”) as part of public relations.
What challenges does CASAC face?







Improving methods of programmatic assessment of student learning. CASAC
urges a discipline-based approach, which makes sense for a comprehensive and
complex university; however, that also means unique approaches to assessing
student learning. GESA is in the process of encouraging departments to solicit
instructors who are willing to contribute to the assessment process.
Enhancing methods and increasing resources for instructor training and for
soliciting, responding to, and representing programs’ assessment efforts.
Improving quality and number of resources available on assessment websites.
Training instructors for sustained assessment practices and expectations.
Supporting administrators and instructors in their efforts to improve
assessments practices, including how to use findings to promote programs.
Seeking administrator, faculty, lecturers and student feedback on assessment.
Engaging students in programmatic assessment processes.
Overall, EMU is in the process of shifting the culture of assessment from efforts of
individual instructors only to programmatic and individual instructors.
CASAC Members for 2015-16
Faculty
Doug Baker, Faculty, English <douglas.baker@emich.edu>
John Dunn, Faculty, English <jdunnjr@emich.edu>
Jenny Kindred, Faculty, CMTA <jkindred@emich.edu>
Cynthia Macknish, Faculty, World Languages <cmacknis@emich.edu>
Department Heads
Arnold Fleischmann, Political Science <afleisch@emich.edu>
Jacqueline Goodman, Women’s & Gender Studies <jgoodma9@emich.edu>
Richard Sambrook, Geography & Geology <rsambroo@emich.edu>
Ex-Officio & Liaisons
Kate Mehuron, Associate Dean, ex-officio <kmehuron@emich.edu>
Chris Foreman, Liaison-Gen Ed, <cforeman@emich.edu>
Suzanne Gray, Liaison-Library, <sgray17@emich.edu>
Beth Kubitskey, Liaison-COE, <mkubitske1@emich.edu>