Academic Assessment Committee
The Academic Assessment Committee is a joint committee that provides faculty oversight for academic assessment at the University of Florida. The committee reviews all new program academic assessment plans, and the following types of requests:
- Mission updates
- SLO modifications (see the UF Guide for Developing Program Goals and Student Learning Outcomes for our expectations)
- Assessment methodology changes. Note: SACSCOC does not allow course grades to be used as SLO measures.
- Validity arguments for the use of 3rd party examinations as SLO measures.
- Curriculum map or assessment timeline updates.
- Justifications for double-counted credits for combination programs (see Appendix 2, UF’s Combination, Joint, and Dual Degree policy).
The Academic Assessment Handbook describes the committee's standard operating procedures and includes the definitions of actions on requests submitted. Members may want to review the Academic Assessment Committee Orientation Power Point as well.
What the Committee examines when it reviews Academic Assessment Plans
1. Adherence to UF Guidelines. The committee reviews the sections of the Academic Assessment Plans to ensure they follow UF guidelines for Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) and Program Goals (PGs), and present complete information for all of the plan sections (see the Guide for Developing Program Goals and Student Learning Outcomes, AAP Instructions, and Planning Resources for additional information).
2. Validity. The committee examines the validity broadly to examine the degree to which the intended measures provide information that is appropriate for its intended interpretation and use.
- SLOs. The committee examines the validity of SLO assessment measures by evaluating the appropriateness of the interpretation and use made of the results for the groups for whom the assessment is developed (Miller, Linn, & Gronlund, 2013; AERA, APA, & NCME 2014).
- Program Goals. The committee examines the validity of Program Goal measures by evaluating appropriateness of the interpretation and use of the measure's results for the goal.
3. Types of measures used for SLO assessment. The committee reviews the SLO measures to ensure that these are faculty developed and administered, and not third-party examinations (see Use of External Exams for Academic Assessment).
4. Use of grades as SLO measures. The committee reviews the SLO measures to ensure that course grades are not used (see Use of Grades for Academic Assessment).
5. Reliability. When reliability data are reported, the committee reviews these to ensure that they meet commonly accepted standards.
References
American Educational Research Association [AERA], American Psychological Association [APA], & the National Council on Measurement in Education [NCME]. (2014). Standards for educational and psychological testing. Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.
Miller, M. D., Linn, R. L., & Gronlund, N. E. (2013). Measurement and assessment in teaching (11th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson