A Programmatic Assessment System that Features Signature Assignments and a Longitudinal Rubric

Geoffrey M. Bowers, Pamela S. Mertz, Kelly Y. Neiles, Daniel T. Chase, Andrew S. Koch, Randolph K. Larsen III, Shanen M. Sherrer, & Troy K. Townsend   |    Volume 19 Issue 1  |   

Developing program-level assessment systems creates an opportunity for faculty to think deeply about their student learning objectives while creating structures that provide meaningful and actionable feedback. Unfortunately, many programs lack the expertise and/or support at the programmatic or institutional level to create efficient and effective assessment systems. We describe the development of a learner-centered programmatic assessment system. A backward design process enabled faculty to discuss their curriculum and identify in-class signature assignments that provide assessment data while a systems thinking approach helped faculty integrate their course, program, and institutional assessments. The resulting programmatic assessment system facilitates longitudinal tracking of individual students and cohorts within six program learning objectives through the use of a rubric that maps signature assignments within courses onto the program learning objectives (the megalo-rubric). Each semester, stakeholders analyze the student learning evidence and use those data to drive curricula reform at the course and program levels.

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