Automating Program Assessment Plans With LMS Data

Session Abstract: Program assessment is a crucial component of institutional planning and accreditation. However, the decentralized nature of program assessment often makes it a difficult process to manage, especially for small colleges and universities. Faculty may not have the training, time, or access to carry out assessment activities in a timely and systematic way. The institutional research office can play an important role in program assessment by streamlining the data collection process in program assessment, leaving faculty free to focus on the pedagogical and strategic issues raised by the data. The Goshen College IR office developed assessment plans for academic departments in the campus’s self-service reporting system that automatically connected data from existing Student Information System (Jenzabar) and Learning Management System (Moodle) databases. The result was improved department participation rates in program assessment, better quality program data, and consistent report formatting.

Keywords: program assessment, learning management system, student learning outcomes