Getting Started
If you have not already, you are strongly encouraged to create a curriculum map (see Part 2 of this handbook) so you know where in the curriculum the outcomes and related content are introduced, reinforced, and emphasized. A curriculum map can also be utilized to “map” assessment to the outcomes. After you know what you expect students to do or know and when, you can select the right tools and develop an assessment plan. An outcomes assessment plan helps an instructor, program faculty and staff, and even an institution know what will be assessed, when it will be assessed, and how it will be assessed.
Developing assessment plans for an outcomes-based curriculum is far from unique to Palm Beach State College. It is good practice and commonly accepted in higher education, and many good resources are available, such as those found on websites such as the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment, the American Associate of Colleges and Universities Assessment and VALUE, James Madison University Assessment Resources, and the University of Hawai’i Manoa.