Assessment Process

This page explains the roles and responsibilities within the assessment process, the assessment of assessment and outcome assessment day at the university. 

Assessment of institutional effectiveness and student learning is an integral part of the planning and implementation of university activities.  

The model below illustrates the ethos and structure of Institutional Effectiveness at the American University of Paris. 

The figure is a model for the Institutional Effectiveness process at AUP. The outer ring, filled by the large arrows represents the process calendar with the different phases of the assessment cycle, the second ring shows the data gathering and reporting process, the third ring shows the different stages of the budget cycle, and the fourth ring shows the associated consultation and communication process that accompany budgetary development. The inner circle, in red, represents the fact that the Institutional Effectiveness process is intended to support the mission, objectives and learning outcomes at all institutional levels. 

The assessment process is a continuous annual cycle involving data gathering, analysis, planning, and budgeting. It starts with individual administrative units and academic departments collecting data to measure their objectives and learning outcomes. They use this data to plan future actions and make budget requests, which are included in their annual reports. 

These reports are reviewed by the Provost and the IRAE Office, in consultation with the Institutional Effectiveness Steering Committee, to draft an Institutional Effectiveness report. This report is presented to the University Leadership, which allocates the budget accordingly. The planned actions are then implemented, and the cycle begins again with a new assessment phase. 

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

Heads of administrative units and chairs of academic departments and research center directors are responsible for planning, implementing, and timely reporting on assessment processes within their areas. The chair of the Global Liberal Arts Core Curriculum Committee (GLACC) is responsible for producing the GLACC Brief (general education assessment report), supported by the committee and the chairs of departments offering general education courses (e.g., English, French, Mathematics, Science). 

The planned actions based on evidence analysis should be visible, realistic, and implemented, with subsequent assessments of their impact. 

The IRAE Office provides support and guidance for assessing student learning and institutional effectiveness.The Dean, supported by the Institutional Effectiveness Steering Committee, collaborates with all units to ensure that assessment processes are effective and informative.   

ASSESSMENT OF THE INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS PROCESS 

The Institutional Effectiveness Steering Committee (IESC) monitors and evaluates the implementation of the Institutional Effectiveness process, often called the "assessment of assessment." 

The IRAE Office uses various indicators to assess the quality of the Institutional Effectiveness process. Simple indicators include the average delay in report drafting, the number of on-time reports, and the percentage of courses with quality assessment data. Complex data are derived using three specific rubrics developed by the IESC for evaluating departmental reports, administrative unit reports, and the overall Institutional Effectiveness Process. 

UNIVERSITY OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT DAY 

At the end of each academic year, the University hosts an Outcomes Assessment Day, open to the entire community and attended by the President, Leadership Team, and heads of all departments, programs, and units. During this event, assessment leaders report on achievements and challenges, focusing on assessment-based planning for their units. They share lessons learned, discuss effective and challenging measurement methodologies, and highlight particularly interesting results. A report of the event is shared with the community. 

The University Outcomes Assessment Day has three main objectives: 

1. To help members of different units understand each other’s work, plans, challenges, and achievements. 

2. To share assessment best practices and support continuous improvement and adaptation of assessment processes. 

3. To provide the President and Leadership Team with an overview of each unit’s plans and resource needs requested to implement these plans, initiating a new cycle of the Planning-Implementation-Assessment process at the institutional level.