Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness

Assessment @ GCSU

Georgia College & State University's goal of continually improving its academic programs is facilitated by a systematic, multi-pronged assessment system. Georgia College & State University is committed to the belief that the quality of degree programs and support services improves as faculty and staff evaluate performance-based student learning outcomes and services and respond to that analysis of data. Click on the menu links to the right to access GCSU assessment materials.

Why Assess?

Assessment is not an end in itself; it's merely a tool for getting us, our programs and our students where we want to go. So it's essential to know what we are going to use it for. We have to think about our mission, about the educational values our program represents, what our aspirations are, and what kinds of learning goals for students flow from that vision. These considerations in turn influence both what we assess and how.

The primary purpose of assessment is to improve the educational experience so that students leave us better prepared for their professional, civic, and personal lives. This is no criticism of the status quo, but it is a recognition that as students, society, and the workplace change, education must also change. Every program, even the most successful, can benefit from a process of continuous inquiry, reflection, and improvement.

(Barbara Wright, from Guidelines for Good Assessment of Student Learning at the Department or Program Level, 2006, retrieved from AAC&U).