Current Assessment Activities
Current assessment activities include information on a full range of projects and activities recently completed or currently underway to gauge student learning, make improvements or respond to accountability interests.
What We Do in Assessment
Assessment Grants
Assessing student learning is an essential component of general education and in the major. Assessment grants support innovative practices in the assessment of student learning and are intended for faculty in their efforts to support and assess student learning in public affairs and general education.
- Fall 2022 assessment grant applications are now open!
- Since the Summer of 2017, 53 assessment grants have been awarded to curricular and co-curricular programs with qualifying assessment projects.
Consultations
Assessment strives to be a valuable thinking partner to faculty and staff to help further student success.
One-on-one
The Office of Assessment offers one-on-one consultations at all levels of the university—College, Department, and Program. We encourage any faculty member who has a question regarding assessment to contact a member of our team, Mark Woolsey or Dr. Keri Franklin, Director of Assessment to schedule a consultation.
Higher Learning Commission (HLC) Advisory Committee to the Provost
The Office of Assessment coordinates an advisory committee to help keep the Provost abreast of the assessment activities occurring on campus in response to the recommendations of the HLC. This committee gathers, organizes, and evaluates evidence of assessment at all levels of the university.
Oversee the Undergraduate Exit Survey (Formerly the University Exit Exam and GEN 499)
Assessment oversees the administration and evaluation of the Undergraduate Exit Survey. Student responses to the Exit Survey are evaluated by university committees as well as individual colleges and departments. Results of these evaluations and student responses inform instruction and planning decisions across the entire university. Undergraduate students at Missouri State who have successfully completed 102 or more credit hours are required to complete the Exit Survey prior to graduation.
Assessment of Student Learning Workshops
Public Affairs assessment is a non-intrusive system for assessing (not grading) student work related to the Public Affairs mission. Assessment will gather student work across disciplines so we may begin to acknowledge students' understanding and integration of the themes of the Public Affairs mission and our diversity goals.
The 2020 Annual Assessment Workshop was held on May 19 & 20, 2020.
- May 19-20, 2020 was geared toward graduate programs working on assessment of student of learning including but not limited to, reviewing comp exam questions, learning outcomes, and discussing student work.
The 2019 Natural World Assessment Workshop was held from May 21-22, 2019.
- May 21-22, 2019 was used to continue Missouri State's successful Quality Initiative Project. A group of faculty, staff, and student reviewers evaluated de-identified student work from general education courses in the Natural World group.
- Reviewers focused on General Goals 10 and 11 (life and physical sciences.)
The 2018 Human Cultures Assessment Workshop was held from May 22-24, 2018.
- May 22-24, 2018 was used to continue Missouri State’s successful Quality Initiative Project. A group of faculty, staff, and student reviewers evaluated de-identified student work from general education courses in the Human Cultures group.
- Reviewers assessed the assignments with rubrics based on General Goals 6, 7, 8, and 9, which are Information and Literacy, Collaborating, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Humanities and the Arts.
The 2017 Public Affairs Assessment Workshop was held from May 23-25, 2017.
- Faculty, staff, and student reviewers assessed de-identified student work samples submitted from courses in the Foundations and Public Affairs groups of General Education.
- Reviewers assessed the assignments with rubrics based on General Goals 12, 13, and 14, which coincide with the Public Affairs mission.
- In response to feedback, Assessment and Dr. Joshua Smith assembled a work group to revise the rubrics used and develop the rubrics for Human Cultures.
Institutional Surveys
National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)— It's that time of year again! NSSE will be administered Spring 2019. Invitations will be sent out February 13, and the survey will close May 15. For participating, you will be entered to win one of several prizes. To learn more about NSSE and the incentives, check out our NSSE 2019 webpage. NSSE measures how students spend their time and what they gain from attending college. At Missouri State University, NSSE was administered to first-year and senior students in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2016.
Diversity and Equity Campus Climate Survey— The climate survey will be administered Spring 2019 and asks students, faculty, staff, and administrators about their perceptions of their institution's climate, perceptions of how their institution supports diversity and equity, and experiences with discrimination and harassment at their institution. Missouri State can use the information from this survey to develop a better understanding of campus climate and to improve and support policies and practices related to diversity and equity.
Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE)— Missouri State University administered the BCSSE to samples of incoming students in 2008, 2011, 2014, and 2015. BCSSE is administered to incoming students prior to the start of fall classes and is paired with a NSSE administration at the end of the first college year.
Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE)— The FSSE complements the NSSE by asking instructional staff (faculty, instructors, and graduate students who teach) their perceptions of how often students engage in different activities, the importance instructional staff places on various areas of learning and development, the natural and frequency of instructional staff-student interactions, and how instructional staff organize their time, both in and out of the classroom. The information from faculty, instructors, and graduate students at Missouri State can be used to identify areas of strength, as well as aspects that we may decide warrant attention. The results are intended to be a catalyst for productive discussions related to teaching, learning and the quality of our undergraduates’ educational experience.