Office of the Provost and
Vice President for Academic Affairs
February 23, 2005
To:
Jeryl L. Mumpower
Interim Provost and Vice President
for Academic Affairs
From: Bruce Szelest
Chair, Provost’s Assessment Advisory Committee, and
Assistant Vice President for Strategic Planning and Assessment
Re:
Recommendation of Institutional Assessment Plan
On behalf of the Provost’s Assessment Advisory Committee, I am pleased to recommend the
attached Institutional Assessment Plan (IAP) for your consideration. Per your charge to the
committee, this proposed assessment framework is one that builds on UAlbany’s past and current
assessment activities, encompasses the multiple missions of the University, prescribes procedures
and protocol tailored to the UAlbany context, and satisfies Middle States and SUNY expectations for
assessment guidelines. The major highlights of the IAP are:
1. The IAP reflects the consensus direction of the Provost’s Assessment Advisory Committee,
which includes representatives from each VP, each dean, undergraduate and graduate student
bodies, and the chairs of eight major Senate councils.
2. Although the various activities and missions of a research university are very much
interrelated, for organizational purposes the IAP lays out procedures and expectations for
assessment in the areas of: 1) Student learning – which encompasses overall educational
outcomes, assessment in the major, and General Education assessment; and for 2)
Institutional effectiveness in research, public service, academic support, and administrative
services.
3. Each vice president will be asked to develop an assessment plan that describes how his/her
division supports and measures the achievement of divisional and institutional goals.
4. Divisional and unit assessment plans, and annual activity reports, should be shared with or
made available to various campus constituencies to promote collegial review of assessment
processes and promote community awareness of assessment efforts. We have traditionally
not done a very good nor systematic job of sharing and coordinating assessment information,
and what we do to improve, with faculty or students.
5. Divisional plans should include a detailed listing of units that will develop unit assessment
plans, and a timetable for doing so.
University Administration Building, Room 401
1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12222
PH: 518-437-4920 FX: 518-442-4927
www.albany.edu
6. The IAP incorporates existing frameworks for assessment in the major, as prescribed in the
program review process by the Council on Academic Assessment, and for assessing the
General Education Program, as specified in the General Education Plan previously developed
by the General Education Committee of the Undergraduate Academic Council, and approved
by the SUNY General Education and Assessment Review (GEAR) group.
7. The IAP makes it clear that annual unit activity reports are required to ensure that assessment
becomes a continuous rather than episodic process. It also makes it clear that reflection,
discussion, and describing how results are used to affirm or improve what we do are part of
the assessment process.
8. Undergraduate and Graduate Deans are responsible for developing assessment plans for
University-wide programs in their areas (e.g., project renaissance, presidential scholars,
graduate student satisfaction surveys, etc.)
9. Institutional Research and the Provost’s Office will be responsible for developing an
assessment plan for institutional level learning outcomes (e.g., retention and graduation rates,
the Albany Outcomes Assessment Model, student satisfaction surveys, etc.)
10. The Provost’s Assessment Advisory Committee is charged with annually reviewing the IAP
and promoting the flow of assessment information toward an end goal of developing a strong
campus culture of assessment.
The Assessment Advisory Committee is cognizant of the fact that the IAP is only the
opening salvo in a long campaign to develop a strong institutional culture of assessment, and looks
forward to working with you and President Hall on assessment issues in the months and years ahead.
Attachment
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