Institutional Effectiveness
Academic Assessment
Page Content
As outlined in Section 8 of the SACSCOC Resource Manual, student learning and student success are at the core of the mission of all institutions of higher learning. Effective institutions focus on the design and improvement of educational experiences to enhance student learning and support student learning outcomes for its educational programs. The University of Southern Mississippi conducts annual assessments of its academic programs, certificates, minors, and general education curriculum courses. Faculty within the University’s four academic, degree-granting colleges, complete these annual assessments and record results and analysis in the Weave Education assessment platform. Program Review Committees from the Undergraduate and Graduate Councils review subsets of the reports annually.
All AY 2023-2024 reports are due on September 1, 2024.
Program-Level Assessment
Undergraduate Program-Level Assessment
Undergraduate program-level assessment (including undergraduate certificates and minors) reports are reviewed by the Program Review Committee of the Undergraduate Council bi-annually. In academic year 2024-2025, the Committee will review Schools in Rotation Year 1.
Rotation Year | 1 | 2 |
Schools Reviewed |
Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences Coastal Resilience Finance Humanities Interdisciplinary Studies and Professional Development Leadership Mathematics and Natural Sciences Music Ocean Science and Engineering Polymer Science and Engineering Professional Nursing Practice Psychology Speech and Hearing Sciences |
Graduate Program-Level Assessment
Graduate program-level assessment (including graduate-level certificates) reports are reviewed by the Program Review Committee of the Graduate Council bi-annually. In academic year 2024-2025, the Committee will review Rotation Year 1.
Rotation Year | 1 | 2 |
Schools Reviewed |
Accountancy Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences Coastal Resilience Leadership Leadership and Advanced Nursing Practice Management Marketing Media and Communication Music Ocean Science and Engineering Speech and Hearing Sciences STEM Education |
Child and Family Sciences Computing Sciences and Computer Engineering Criminal Justice, Forensic Science, and Security Education Finance Health Professions Humanities Kinesiology and Nutrition Library and Information Sciences Mathematics and Natural Sciences Performing and Visual Arts Polymer Science and Engineering Psychology Social Science and Global Studies Social Work |
GEC Course Assessment
GEC assessment reports are reviewed by the GEC Committee, a subcommittee of the Undergraduate Council, on a tri-annual rotation. In academic year 2024-2025, the Committee will review the categories in Rotation Year 3. Information regarding the General Education Curriculum can be found in the bulletin.
Rotation Year | GEC Categories |
1 | 04 / 05 |
2 | 01 / 03 / 08 |
3 | 02 / 06 |
- Program-Level Report Quick Instructions
- Program-level Report Detailed Guidelines
- Annual Program and Action Plan Analysis template
- Program-Level Compliance Rubric
- Certificate & Minor Report Quick Instructions
- Certificate & Minor Report Detailed Guidelines
- Certificate & Minor Compliance Rubric
- New Program Coordinator Orientation 2023-2024 Slides
- New Program Coordinator Orientation Video
- ABET: Do Grades Make the Grade for Program Assessment?
- Bloom's Taxonomy for SLOs
- Combining Graduate-level Academic Assessment Reports Policy
- Faculty First Week: Presentation on Assessment
- Faculty First Week (2023): Strengthening Our Core (GEC 04 & GEC 05 Panels) Notes
- Faculty First Week (2023): Program Coordinator 101
- Measures and Targets (Examples)
- Student Learning Outcomes (Examples)