ARN

Executive Summary

In response to President Daniel O. Bernstine’s charge to “address higher order questions about our assessment work,” the 2004-2005 Assessment Resource Network (ARN) directed and participated in a review of the assessment pages located in the Office of Institutional Research and Planning (OIRP) Program Review website. The ARN supplemented this review and sought feedback on its developing picture of assessment at Portland State by hosting a campus Town Hall meeting in February, 2005 and directing the Assessment Initiative Graduate Assistants to field a survey that was administered to 65 campus assessment leaders in March and April, 2005.

Six general student learning goals emerged from the ARN’s review of the OIRP database, and were received positively both at the Town Hall and by survey respondents. The ARN sees this inductive review of the assessment practices local to the academic programs and departments, and the subsequent inclusive campus outreach, as appropriate to any effort to develop general undergraduate learning goals for Portland State.

At President Bernstine’s request, the ARN also considered how assessment at Portland State might develop in the direction of shared governance. ARN members corresponded with their counterparts at six other institutions; consulted with the Faculty Senate Steering Committee and the Educational Policy Committee; and hosted a visit from the Presiding Officer of the 2004-2005 Faculty Senate. Based on this and on much discussion, the ARN recommends the formation of a University Assessment Committee that would be duly recognized as a faculty committee and appointed by the Committee on Committees. The University Assessment Committee would oversee the Center for Academic Excellence with regard to its provision of assessment services; develop policy with regard to the conduct of student learning assessment at Portland State, especially as it relates to faculty workplace issues; and continue the assessment planning that the ARN has moved forward this year.

	Report:	Student Learning Assessment at Portland State University: A Framework for the Future
	Appendix 1:	Review of the OIRP Assessment Database: Student Learning Objectives
	Appendix 2:	PowerPoint: Assessment Resource Network (ARN) Dialogue with the Campus
	Appendix 3:	Interviews with Campus Assessment Leaders: Internationalization and Diversity as Student Learning Goals
	Appendix 4:	Review of the OIRP Assessment Database: Assessment Methods and Use of Assessment Methods
	Appendix 5:	Interview of Campus Assessment Leaders: Response Frequencies

The ARN would like to thank Michael Cummings, the Presiding Officer of the 2004-2005 Faculty Senate, for his generosity in meeting with us; the members of the Educational Policy Committee for allowing us time at two of their meetings; the members of the Steering Committee of the 2004-2005 Faculty Senate for their advice; and everyone on Portland State campus who attended our Town Hall or agreed to be interviewed for our survey.