Assessment at UF
Institutional Assessment at UF
Assessment is a common practice across the University of Florida campus. Faculty assess their students’ exams, papers, projects, presentations, performances, productions, and other assignments to (a) gauge their students’ learning, (b) identify gaps or weaknesses in student learning, and (c) modify instruction and/or curriculum to strengthen student learning. The Office of Institutional Assessment (OIA) assesses institution-level initiatives including UF Quest, the UF Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), and General Education. This page provides materials and instructions for UF faculty to assess student learning outcomes for institutional assessment.
Included Resources:
Faculty Role in the Assessment Process
Teaching is a primary mission of the University of Florida where evidence of student learning is a measure of success at our institution. UF faculty have engaged in responsible course and program assessment for decades because it is good practice. Continuous improvement is the goal of evaluating results and making decisions about how it can be better next time. UF collects evidence of student learning not only for accreditation purposes, but to also demonstrate that assessment in the teaching and learning process are important efforts for continuous improvement that remain with the faculty. Below is an outline of the faculty's role in the institutional assessment process.
Assessment Process Overview
- Student Selection: Select students for assessment. UF Quest uses a 20% random sample of students from their course that is determined by the Office of Institutional Planning and Research. The UF QEP assesses all students.
- Use of Existing Rubrics: The assessment does not require you to replace your existing rubrics. Instead, apply the appropriate rubric developed by your program in addition to your current rubrics for your selected assignment.
- Assignment Selection: Choose at least one existing assignment for the assessment. Each of the programs have developed rubrics for various types of assignments, including papers, presentations, projects, performances, reflections, dissertations, theses, or any other assignment focusing on the main knowledge and skills described for the institutional assessment SLOs.
- Assessment Criteria: Each rubric uses a four-point scale where three (3) is the target. A score of four (4) exceeds the target, while scores of two (2) or one (1) are below the target. These criteria are added to the bottom of your existing rubric and assessed simultaneously with the assignment grading (in SpeedGrader).
For more information about the assessment, please review the resources provided at the top of the page.
Canvas: Technology-Facilitated Data Collection
Instructional designers are assigned to assist each faculty member with the technological setup and data collection in Canvas. Here’s how the process works:
- The Instructional Designer will add the criteria to the bottom of your existing rubric and set up data recording in Canvas. Scoring the program rubrics does not affect students' grades.
- Faculty will assess the institutional criteria while grading the assignment (in SpeedGrader, if used). Faculty will rate the SLO rubric criteria at one of four achievement levels described in each rubric. These ratings are not associated with the student’s grade.
- The levels of achievement assigned by faculty will automatically load into Canvas.
Once the assessment is complete, the Office of Institutional Assessment will collect the ratings from Canvas.
Summary
To summarize, faculty will:
- Review the guide and rubrics.
- Select one or more assignments for the program assessment.
- Work with the instructional designer to set up the rubric in Canvas.
- Apply the rubric to the selected assignment submitted by the sample of students.
- Submit ratings, which will automatically load into Canvas.
- Provide feedback on the process for continuous improvement.