Office of Assessment Mission Statement

Mission

The mission of the Office of Assessment is to provide university-wide support for assessment of student learning, planning, and continuous improvement activities at the course, program, and institutional levels, and to develop and sustain across the university community a culture of assessment.

Values

Continuous improvement of student learning
Shared responsibility, shared resources, and collaboration
Use of technology to achieve efficiency
Responsiveness and communication
Rigorous, high-quality, and useful assessment data

Vision

The University of Kentucky’s Office of Assessment (OA) will work with faculty to establish a robust, university-wide assessment program, focusing first on undergraduate General Education. The OA will accomplish this primary goal through a commitment to direct (authentic), performance-based, and curriculum-embedded assessment of student learning. While assessment and improvement of student learning is the responsibility of all members of the university community, it is a particular concern of faculty. Yet an effective and functional assessment program must not be a burden to faculty; rather, it must be embedded within their established patterns of daily work. Towards that end, the logistical support for university-wide assessment will be available centrally within the Office of Assessment, as will be assessment data collection and dissemination. In addition, existing and emergent technologies will be exploited as fully as possible to increase efficiency and help relieve faculty and administrators of the day-to-day work of assessment. Yet it is equally, if not more, important that assessment is not an additional burden to students. For this reason, the OA will vigorously promote the use of assessment instruments and methods that are embedded within students’ normal learning experiences.

The OA thus envisions growing and nurturing a university-wide culture of assessment at the University of Kentucky. The OA expects to achieve this vision in part by establishing itself as the assessment resource for faculty and staff, offering consultation services to individuals, departments, and colleges/schools, and serving as an assessment information clearinghouse. Finally, the OA will establish a national presence in assessment through not only the presentations and publications of its staff, but through the development of UK-hosted regional and national assessment workshops and conferences.