Academic Assessment and Academic Program & Curricula Committee (APC)
The instrumental value of the outcomes of academic assessment depends on the proper conception of program goals and related SLOs. Program goals and SLOs must be articulated consciously through curriculum alignment. It is in this direction that policies and procedures pertaining to academic assessment have been subsumed under the functional activities of the Academic Programs and Curricula Committee (APC), beginning from the 2019/2020 academic year. As a Faculty Standing Committee within the interstices of Chesapeake Faculty Assembly, the APC
- oversees the academic program review process;
- tracks the implementation of proposed curriculum changes;
- reviews suggested changes to SLOs in alignment with curriculum mapping;
- examines for approval the introduction of new programs and courses in the context of Chesapeake educational purposes.
The functional roles of APC are germane to the outcomes of academic assessment. The Director of Assessment is an ex-officio member of the APC. In this case, the escalation of assessment activities to the Committee structures of the Faculty Assembly has enabled the Office of IRPA to present issues on assessment to a much broader section of faculty at the institutional level.
Academic Assessment Tools/Templates
At Chesapeake, the Nuventive online Assessment Management System (AMS) provides a one-stop center for the organization and management of all required steps for the assessment of programs and SLOs: https://chesapeake.tracdat.com/tracdat/faces/assessment/home/dashboard.xhtml
Program assessment liaisons, Chairs, and Deans have access to Nuventive to ensure collaboration on the preparation of assessment reports. As of now, Assessment Summary statements, which are prepared by the Deans and Vice-Presidents are organized outside the Nuventive platform.