Educational Programs

The Office of Curriculum and Institutional Assessment (OCIA) has established a periodic assessment reporting process to ensure that all Educational Programs engage in the continuous improvement process thereby meeting SACSCOC expectations of Institutional Effectiveness (IE).

Administrative support service units are required to submit the following assessment reports:

• Comprehensive Assessment Plan
• Annual Assessment Report
• Continuous Improvement Review

Educational Program Student Learning Outcomes Assessment

Educational Program Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) assessment is the process of collecting and reviewing data related to the accumulated knowledge, skills, and attitudes students develop during a course of study and using that information to understand and improve an academic program.

Defining Educational Program Student Learning Outcomes Assessment

Educational programs are defined by the Southern Association of College and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) as a coherent set of courses leading to a credential (degree, diploma, or certificate) awarded by the institution (SACSCOC Resource Manual).

At UTRGV, student learning outcome assessment plans must be developed for each:

• Bachelors degree program listed in the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) program inventory.
• Graduate degree program listed in the THECB program inventory.
• Doctoral degree program listed in the THECB program inventory.
• Professional program listed in the THECB program inventory.
• Undergraduate stand-alone minor approved by UTRGV.
• Undergraduate stand-alone certificate approved by UTRGV and, when required, the THECB.
• Graduate stand-alone certificate approved by UTRGV and, when required, the THECB.

For more information about educational program definitions, see Assessing Student Learning Outcomes in Educational Programs: Definitions

This multi-year plan submitted once at the beginning of a reporting period and updated as needed, identifies expected student learning outcomes (SLOs) and assessment methods for evaluating student achievement of each SLO.

The multi-year plan is submitted once at the beginning of a reporting period and updated as needed.

• Reporting Templates

  • Comprehensive Assessment Plan

On an annual basis, units are expected to provide retrospective reports of assessment results, analysis of assessment data, and plans/actions for using results to maintain or improve the quality.

• • Reporting Timeline

    Over the four-year data collection period (2025-2026; 2026-2027; 2027-2028; 2028-2029) of the New Assessment Framework, units are expected to submit Annual Assessment Reports that detail assessment results, analysis of assessment data, and plans/actions for using results to maintain or improve student achievement from the previous year.

    Annual Assessment Reports for the 2024-2025 assessment period are due in Planning and Self-Study(PSS) beginning on November 1, 2025.

    • Multi-Year Reporting Timeline

  • Expectations

    Measures and Results

    Identify the measure(s) and benchmark(s) for the student learning outcomes assessed during the previous year and provide results for each measure.

    Summary of Results

    Identify whether the results from your measure(s) indicates that the outcome was met, partially met, or not met. If applicable, compare current results to prior results for this outcome. Also, describe how results were shared with faculty and others concerned with your program. Be prepared to provide documentation that results were shared. Examples of dissemination of evidence include program retreat, newsletters, reports, websites, emails, etc.

    Analysis

    Describe what desegregating the data revealed the pattern of strengths and weaknesses in student achievement for the outcome. Also, provide an evaluation of the program's assessment methods by describing the strengths and weaknesses of the program's assessment process. The information provided in this section will guide responses to the Improvements section of the Annual Assessment Results Report.

    Improvements

    Identify and describe any efforts to seek improvements/enhancements to the curriculum (e.g., course changes, program policy changes, personnel or resource allocation changes, changes in services, etc.) and/or the assessment processes (SLOs, measures, benchmarks, assessment instrument, etc.). If improvements/enhancements were implemented, be prepared to provide documentation of when and how they were implemented via meeting minutes, policies, and/or syllabi and reflect on any lessons learned from changes that are in progress or implemented.

  • Reporting Templates

    Optional Worksheet - Annual Results Report (example)

    Resources

    Watermark Planning and Self-Study (PSS) training resources

    Resource Title	Video	PDF
    1. Introduction to Planning & Self-Study (PSS)	Introduction to PSS Video
    2. How to Log in to PSS	PSS Login Video	PSS Login Guide
    3. How to Add and Edit an Organization's Mission in PSS	Mission Editing Video	Mission Statement QuickStart Guide
    4. How to Create and Edit Outcomes in PSS	Outcomes Creation Video	Outcomes Creation QuickStart Guide
    5. How to Enter Data in PSS	Data Entry Video Part 1 Data Entry Video Part 2	Data Entry QuickStart Guide

    Additional Resources

    • Examples of Assessment Targets
    • Guiding Questions for Measure Activity
    • Guiding Questions for Analysis
    • Guiding Questions for Follow Up Actions

The Improvement Report documents modifications/enhancements implemented by the support service unit or educational program during the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 assessment periods to seek improvements in student learning, departmental operations, service delivery, and/or its assessment methods. The focus of the Improvement Report is not on future modifications or planned enhancements. Instead, the report is a retrospective summary of improvements/enhancements that are implemented.

• Reporting Timeline

  2023-2025 Improvement Reports are due November 15, 2025, for Educational Programs.

• Expectations

  All support service units and educational programs participating in the institutional assessment process (master list) are expected to submit an Improvement Report . The Improvement Report will be submitted by the Assessment Coordinator for the unit or program. (If a new Assessment Coordinator has recently been appointed, then s/he may need the assistance of the previous Assessment Coordinator to complete the report).

  Improvements reported should be derived from data collected through the institutional assessment process (i.e., unit assessment and program assessment) implemented over the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 assessment periods. The report should be focused on improvements that support the mission of the institution, division, college, department, program or unit.

  The Improvement Report should not be based solely on anecdotal data; however, anecdotal may be included. Most units/programs at UTRGV were actively engaged in developing and evaluating policies, programs, processes, organizational structures, resources and the like. As a result, more efficient processes, clearer policies, new initiatives, additional resources, etc. have been put in place to support the continuous improvement of UTRGV. If your unit/program has made any of these types of improvements, you may include them on the Improvement Report in addition to your data-driven improvements.

• Reporting Template

  Improvement Report Reference Sheet

• Examples

  Educational degree programs are included in the UTRGV institutional assessment process. Through the student learning outcome assessment process, educational programs are asked to evaluate student performance to determine the extent to which students are acquiring the program's expected knowledge, skills, and values. Students are often assessed near the end of the program as part of a capstone experience; however, assessments may occur throughout the program experience. Through this evaluation process, educational programs should design and implement program modifications aimed at enhancing student performance. Examples of improvements made to Educational Programs include, but are not limited to:

  • New or revised courses
  • New or revised instructional approaches
  • New textbooks
  • New teaching delivery
  • Development of curriculum
  • New faculty
  • Faculty training
  • New faculty with targeted specialization
  • Program policy changes (e.g., admission requirements, progression policies)
  • Technology use in the classroom
  • Student’s out-of-class experiences (advising, workshops, internships)

  Recognition of student accomplishments and/or performance