Assessment

Assessment Overview
Assessment Plans
Assessment Resources

Program Assessment

UNC Asheville follows a three year cohort model.

In year one, the program finalizes its assessment plan and begins to collect data.
In year two, the program continues data collection, adjusting the plan (i.e. assessment methods, objectives) as needed.
In the former part of year three, the program finalizes data collection. The latter part of the third year, the program spends deliberate attention considering the programmatic strengths and weaknesses of student learning based on the data that has been collected, makes changes (if applicable) based on that data and reflection, and uses the data to develop the next iteration of the program’s plan. Programs must answer the following questions based on three years of data collection:
- (1) What do the data mean (a) in terms of data collection & the assessment process and (b) in terms of student learning in the program?
- (2) What questions does the program have about student learning that are not addressed by the data collected?
- (3) What does the program plan to do differently based on this data?

Liberal Arts Core Assessment

The Liberal Arts Core assessment plan assesses student learning across the LAC program rather than within any one particular course or individual unit on campus.

Assessment Plans

General Education – LAC

Year	Outcome	Assessment Method
17-18	Quantitative & Scientific Reasoning	Standardized test administered to sample of entering and graduating students in Spring 2018
18-19	Writing	Juried faculty assessment in summer 2019 of student work collected in Fall 2018.
19-20	Critical Thinking	Juried faculty assessment in summer 2020 of student work collected in Fall 2019. Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA+) administered to sample of entering and graduating students in Spring 2020.
20-21	Intercultural Understanding	Juried faculty assessment in summer 2021 of student work collected in Fall 2020.
21-22	Interdisciplinary Perspectives	Juried faculty assessment in summer 2022 of student work collected in Fall 2021.

Programs – All credential granting programs

Program Assessment takes place across a three year cohort – based cycle. A list of programs by cohort can be found here.

UNC Asheville follows a three year cohort model.

In year one, the program finalizes its assessment plan and begins to collect data.
In year two, the program continues data collection, adjusting the plan (i.e. assessment methods, objectives) as needed.
In the former part of year three, the program finalizes data collection. The latter part of the third year, the program spends deliberate attention considering the programmatic strengths and weaknesses of student learning based on the data that has been collected, makes changes (if applicable) based on that data and reflection, and uses the data to develop the next iteration of the program’s plan. Programs must answer the following questions based on three years of data collection:
- (1) What do the data mean (a) in terms of data collection & the assessment process and (b) in terms of student learning in the program?
- (2) What questions does the program have about student learning that are not addressed by the data collected?
- (3) What does the program plan to do differently based on this data?

Phase in Cohort Cycle	Action Items
Year 1	Implement assessment plan Collect data
Year 2	Oversee assessment plan for relevance, workload, and usability Collect data
Year 3	Collect data Review and reflection upon 3 years of data collected for patterns of student learning Create new assessment plan based on data collected and reflection

Assessment Resources

Need Assistance?

If you are a member of UNC Asheville, to request data or information not available on our website, or to request assistance with surveys or other assessment activities, please contact us via our Data Request web portal.

If you are not faculty, staff, or a student, please email us at irep@unca.edu.

Institutional Research, Effectiveness and Planning
201 Lipinsky Hall (CPO 2205)
1 University Heights
Asheville, NC 28804

Data Request Portal