UAC Policy on Approval for Extension of Period between Reporting Due Dates

The University Assessment Committee recognizes that the time and resources required to report biennially on assessment activities may limit the time and resources available to implement program improvements based on assessment results, particularly when there is a substantial amount of experimentation, culture change and/or training involved.  Therefore, in order to reduce the reporting burden for those programs that have consistently demonstrated a strong culture of assessment over a period of time, the committee adopts the following policy:

The UAC may approve the extension of the time between reports to the committee when a program has achieved a rating of Mature (3) on 9 of the 11 primary rating criteria on at least two consecutive assessment reports.  The UAC may choose to extend the time to the next report from two years to either three or four years.  It is expected that the program will continue to demonstrate a strong commitment to the assessment of student learning to remain on the extended reporting cycle. 

Note:  if a program receives the minimum number of 3s on reports submitted in the two years after the adoption of this policy (through December, 2010), the committee will re-examine the most recent prior report according to the rubric to see if the program meets the criteria for the reporting extension.  Prior winners of the Assessment Excellence Award will also be reviewed according to the criteria. 

UAC January 15, 2009