Annual Program Assessment

What is program assessment and why do we do it?    

How is program assessment useful?    

Goals of program-level assessment of student learning     

The program improvement cycle

The difference between program assessment and program review

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What is program assessment and why do we do it?

Program assessment examines student learning of program learning objectives (PLOs) across the curriculum and their department/program experiences.  Program assessment is a cyclical and iterative process where data on student learning informs program-level decision making.  Outcomes of this process may include: revising instructional approaches across the entire curriculum, in specific courses, or in course-level assessments; revising a PLO; providing data for department-level discussions on effective teaching and learning; and/or revising your Curriculum PLO map.  This report allows departments to document their successes and areas for improvement as they relate to student learning and program objectives.  (For a summary of what goes into a program assessment report and the differences between program assessment and program review, please click here.)

Our accrediting body, WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), requires regular assessment of student achievement of PLOs as part of their criteria for review (CFRs) of member institutions including:

• CFR 2.4 The institution conducts periodic reviews of its degree programs.  The program review process includes analysis of student achievement of the program's learning outcomes.
• CFR 2.7 The faculty are responsible for creating and evaluating student learning outcomes and establishing standards of student performance.
• CFR 2.9 The institution demonstrates that graduates consistently achieve stated learning outcomes and standards of performance.  Faculty elevate student work in terms of stated learning outcomes.
• CFR 3.1 The institution employs faculty, staff, and administrators sufficient in scale, professional qualifications, and background to achieve the institution's educational and student success objectives, to propose and oversee policy, and to ensure the integrity of its academic, student support, and co-curricular programs and services and administrative processes.
• CFR 4.3 The institution examines the extent to which its climate supports student success and acts on its findings.  The institution regularly assesses the characteristics, experiences, and performance of its students and uses this evidence to improve student success.
• CFR 4.6 The institution, with significant faculty involvement, engages in continuous inquiry into the processes of teaching and learning, and the conditions and practices that ensure that the institution's standards of performance are being achieved.

How is program assessment useful?

• Assists programs in documenting and building on program/department strengths.
• Helps programs identify areas of improvement and action plans to address them.
• Offers a systematic and collaborative process for program/department decision-making.

Goals of program-level assessment of student learning

• Equitable: Ensures that all students, no matter their background, have the same opportunities for educational achievement.
• Improvement-focused: Aims to improve student learning of PLOs and program-level assessment of learning.
• Useful: Starts with clear, meaningful, measurable goals.  Assists curriculum revision and improvement, program review and/or accreditation.
• Continuous: Builds on previous assessments and "closes the loop" (i.e., making data-informed program adjustments and using future assessments measure their effectiveness).  All PLOs should be assessed every program review cycle (aim to evaluate 1 or 2 PLOs each year).

The program improvement cycle

1. Identify Goals: Which PLO(s) or program-level assessment question(s) do you want to explore this year? 
2. Identify Assessment Methods and Measures: Your curriculum map identifies the courses where you expect students to develop PLO knowledge and skills.  What specific course activities and assessments allow students to demonstrate proficiency in the PLO (direct evidence)?  Are there other relevant data to gather (e.g., student perceptions of learning or dashboard data; indirect evidence) that could contextualize direct evidence?
3. Collect Data:  Collect direct evidence that is valid, equitable, and ideally already embedded in the courses.  Additional data collected outside of courses may also be relevant to your research question (e.g., student exit or alumni surveys.)
4. Analyze and Interpret Results:  Examine what the evidence tells you about the progress in PLOs or other program goals.
5. Share Results:  Discuss the data with faculty, students, college level assessment committee and/or other relevant stakeholders to identify course of action.
6. Use Data to Inform Improvements:  Based on the various discussions of the evidence, what adjustments should be made to improve student learning in specific courses and/or across the entire program?  What is your plan to measure the effectiveness of changes?

The difference between program assessment and program review

Program assessment is a continuous process to evaluate student learning and student achievement of the program’s learning objectives/outcomes (PLOs) as posted in the university catalog.  Assessing programs is intended to be helpful to the students and the faculty in the program: it helps evaluate how well students are learning the concepts and skills that are central to the program, and it helps faculty in preparing and adjusting their courses to improve student learning of key concepts and skills in the program.  The outcomes of assessment help a program continuously improve by identifying ways to enhance student learning.  This work is led by program faculty, and results are shared with program stakeholders, including students, staff, college and university leadership, and alumni / advisory boards.

Program review is a comprehensive faculty-led process that analyzes and evaluates the overall health of a program, and is typically conducted every five to seven years.  Program review includes the review of the assessment of student learning, program effectiveness (e.g., persistence and graduation rates of students in the program, post-graduate success), curriculum, program environment, resources (e.g., faculty, staff, equipment, facilities, information), instructional capacity, budget, student demand, and employer demand for the program’s graduates.  Program review outcomes inform strategic planning and resource allocation, supporting long-term program improvement and sustainability.  The review usually includes a site visit by a team consisting of internal and external reviewers.

Academic program review, based on Academic Senate Resolution AS-845-18: Resolution on Academic Program Review, is a key component of Cal Poly’s commitment to programmatic excellence and continuous improvement.  It is a faculty-led process which is designed to support departments as they reflect on program effectiveness, recognize accomplishments, evaluate student success, and identify needed or desired program improvements.  Program review provides a chance for faculty to evaluate and enhance the quality and currency of programs; to identify distinct program-level strengths, challenges, and opportunities; and to invite experts in the discipline to provide peer review and evaluation.  Outcomes of our program review process regularly include improvements like curricular redesign, the refinement of program learning outcomes and the assessment of student learning, the redesign of advising or other student support systems, and strategic reallocations of resources.

 

Comparison of Program Assessment and Program Review

Aspect	Program Assessment	Program review
Focus	Student learning and student achievement of PLOs: Ensures that students are learning what they need to succeed.	Overall health of program: Facilitates collaborative reflection on program strengths, opportunities, future directions, and sustainability.
Topics included in report	A program assessment report includes: Statement of current program assessment goals, including how the goals relate to PLOs Description of how results from previous program assessments inform current program assessment goals Description of assessment instruments, benchmarks, results data, and analysis Description of how assessment data improve the understanding of how or why students are successfully achieving a specific PLO or how achievement of a PLO will be improved Description of assessment of diversity learning objectives (DLOs) and its results Plans for next year’s program assessment and how it will build on past assessment	A program review report includes: Program history Description of progress since last program review Statement of program’s mission, goals Curriculum Assessment of student learning (of all PLOs) Program effectiveness (e.g., persistence and graduation rates, post-graduate success) Description of program resources Instructional capacity Program environment Budget (revenues and expenditures) Student demand for program Change of major data Employer demand for program graduates, labor projections
Audience	Faculty, students, staff, and other program stakeholders	Faculty, college and university leadership, external stakeholders (e.g., industry reps, accrediting agency)
Frequency of report submission	Annually (Exception: Program assessment reports are not due during the years when a program is undergoing program review.)	Every 5 – 7 years The program review process is a two-year-long process: The self-study report is due at the end of the first year, and a site visit occurs during the second year.
Outcomes	Curriculum adjustments, teaching improvements, increased achievement of PLOs	Strategic planning for next period of review (action plan), strategic reallocation of resources, renewed focus on program strengths and areas for improvement

Created in collaboration with the Academic Assessment Council (AAC).

Last updated: 9/24/2025