Outcomes Assessment
Outcomes assessment illustrates the effectiveness of a program in relation to program goals. With its focus on student learning, outcomes assessment indicates the extent to which students can demonstrate knowledge, skills, and behaviors that are consistent with program goals. Like teaching, the purpose of assessment is to ensure that students are learning what you intend for them to learn.
The traditional method of assessing quality by focusing on input doesn’t reveal the knowledge students have when they graduate. We need to have a way to describe the value they attain from the university. For academic units, value is defined by outcomes.
What are the fundamentals of outcomes assessment?
- Outcomes assessment begins with understanding student learning
- Outcomes assessment is an ongoing process, not a one-time event, that relies on collecting valid evidence
- Outcomes assessment results should be used for improving student learning
What are some benefits of outcomes assessment?
- Demonstrate program effectiveness
- Evaluate effectiveness of instructional methods
- Understand the impact of program changes
- Evaluate curriculum and make changes
- Advise students with a set of learning outcomes
- Prepare for accreditation
What other outcomes assessment learning opportunities are available on the UT Austin website?
- Instructional Assessment Resources (IAR): The in-depth site is a fully-searchable storehouse with information on assessing students, teaching, and technology and evaluating programs.
- Workshop Power Point slides: Developing and Applying Tools: Exam Questions and Rubrics
- Workshop Power Point slides: Using Assessment Results to Drive Improvement
- Workshop Power Point slides: Basic Assessment Techniques for Academic Units
- Workshop Power Point slides: Basic Assessment Techniques for Administrative/Support Services Units
To discuss your outcomes assessment needs, please contact the Research, Evaluation, and Assessment team at rea@utlists.utexas.edu.
We provide consulting services to help UT Austin faculty, staff, and administrators conduct outcomes assessment for academic programs, helping to:
- identify what students should know, think, or be able to do when they have completed a program
- determine whether program activities have produced the desired outcomes
- identify the impact the program has had or what results it has achieved