Institutional Assessment

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, FSU's regional accreditation agency, describes the concept of institutional assessment:

"The institution has developed and implemented an assessment process that evaluates its overall effectiveness in achieving its mission and goals and its compliance with accreditation standards" - Characteristics of Excellence. 2006. Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

In 2006, a Middle States Evaluation Team conducted a campus visit and affirmed that Frostburg State University continues to meet the eligibility requirements for accreditation. The visiting team made four recommendations that must be addressed in the 2011 Middle States Periodic Report. One of these recommendations is tied to institutional assessment:

Standard 7: Institutional Assessment. Frostburg should move quickly to adopt and implement its draft Institutional Assessment Plan. Full implementation requires evidence that results from the institutional assessments are used in the decision-making process.

In 2008, the Office of Planning & Assessment was formed with the merging of Information Services and Institutional Effectiveness. This office oversees and assists the institutional assessment functions at FSU.

Assessment in the Strategic Planning Process

In its Final Strategic Plan (2009), Frostburg State University demonstrates commitment to institutional assessment:

Core Value #6: "Frostburg State University values responsibility: a comprehensive accountability system through clear standards for teaching, learning, and working with outcomes assessment for greater individual and institutional effectiveness"

Master Goal #9: "Develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive system of assessment for all institutional functions".

Strategic Direction #16: "FSU assesses all of its programs and activities utilizing the best institutional effectiveness practices".

Resources on Assessment

Assessing Student Learning and Institutional Effectiveness - This guide helps in developing an understanding of Middle States' expectations pertaining to Standard 7 (Institutional Assessment) and Standard 14 (Assessment of Student Learning).

Assessing and Designing an Institutional Assessment Strategy - From the National Center for Postsecondary Improvement, this toolkit provide users with three different tools for diagnosing their institution's current approach to and support for student assessment, as well as guidelines for designing an organizational and administrative support pattern that works. The three diagnostic tools are: (1) An Institutional Self-assessment of Organizational Patterns, (2) A guide to Conducting an Institutional Case-study, and (3) An instrument for Measuring Campus Climate for Student Assessment.

Internet Resources for Higher Education Outcomes Assessment - A list of planning and analysis resources compiled by NC State University. This list contains general resources, assessment handbooks, assessment of specific skills or content, individual institutions' assessment-related pages, state boards and commissions, accrediting bodies, and student assessment of courses and faculty.

Institutional Effectiveness Biography - A list of suggested readings on assessment of institutional effectiveness complied by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.