Academic degree programs at Hostos Community College provide students with the preparation necessary for students to succeed in a diverse and changing work environment, enabling them to develop the skills and specialized knowledge critical for future academic pursuits and careers.
Assessment of academic degree programs focuses on assessing the program learning outcomes (PLOs) affiliated with each degree program. Degree programs undergo assessment of one of their PLOs each academic year. The assessment process for academic degree programs is supported by the faculty-led Degree Program Assessment Committee (DPAC). This committee consists of degree program directors who provide guidance to the faculty members in their programs as they undergo program learning outcome assessment throughout the academic year.
Types of Academic Program Assessment Activities
There are two interrelated categories of assessment that have aligned assessment guidelines: annual planning and assessment and academic program review. Below is a brief summary of each, with links in the menu to the left providing access to additional information and related resources.
| |
Annual Assessment |
Periodic Assessment |
| Assessment Activity |
Annual Planning and Assessment
Reporting Process |
Academic Program
Review (APR) Process |
| Who engages? |
All academic departments, including activities within units and assessment of degree programs |
All academic departments and degree programs |
| How frequently? |
Every academic year |
Once every four years |
| General timeline |
Planning in the early Fall semester; reporting by the end of the academic year |
Planning in the spring semester; self-study completion in the subsequent academic year; external review in the following fall semester |
| What's being assessed? |
- Results and learnings from departments’ annual activities
- Identified program learning outcomes (PLOs), including identification of the aligned institutional learning outcome (ILO)
- Results of changes implemented in degree programs based on assessment results
|
- Impact (over time) of major departmental activities on goals and mission or implementation of changes based on assessment of programs
- Department’s or program’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats
- Progress toward achieving department’s identified objectives and/or goals or student success in degree programs
|
Resources for Academic Assessment
The Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Research, and Assessment has developed two templates to guide the work of assessment for the academic departments and the academic degree programs.
The primary template used for the assessment process is the Annual Planning and Assessment Report Template (A-PART) that outlines the important areas critical for assessment of the functioning of a department and the degree programs within the department. The first section highlights the contributions and wealth of skills the faculty bring to the department, the second section outlines the activities and results of such activities that the department is engaged in on an annual basis with the subsequent next steps to close the loop, and the final section summarizes the degree program learning outcomes assessment conducted in the academic year.
The other template is the Program Learning Outcomes Template (PLOT) that enables degree program directors to plot a course to complete the assessment process on a single program learning outcome for the academic year. The PLOT provides an outline of three meetings and the various topics to discuss within each meeting to guide the work of faculty in this process for each degree program. The final table in the PLOT enables faculty to summarize the assessment results and integrate these findings directly into the department annual report (A-PART).
Supports for Academic Assessment
Currently, there are two primary entities that provide assessment support for academic departments and programs. Below are the entities and the types of support offered:
Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Research, and Assessment (OIERA)
OIERA provides institutional oversight, guidance, and support to academic departments regarding the use of assessment results for the enhancement of student learning. OIERA is responsible for:
- Developing and communicating resources to support academic assessment
- Providing training and support to unit, department, or program leadership undertaking assessment activities
- Providing data guidance and support
Degree Program Assessment Committee (DPAC)
DPAC's purpose is to provide support, guidance, and assistance of the assessment process to faculty across all of the academic degree programs throughout the college that undergo annual assessment and periodic assessment processes. DPAC members are responsible for:
- Promoting a culture of assessment through regular communication and collaboration
- Supporting program coordinators in their assessment process
- Reviewing and providing feedback on the Annual Planning and Assessment Reports
- Providing guidelines and support for the Academic Program Review process