Skip to main content
Rutgers logo

Enter a Search Term

Rutgers logo
  • Visit Rutgers.edu
  • Social Media Directory
    • Staff Resources
    • Research and Assessment
    • Communications and Marketing
  • Contact Us
  • Invite the Senior Vice Chancellor
  • Donate
Rutgers logo
  • Resources
    • Scholarships
    • Student Volunteering
    • Diversity Peer Educators
    • Senior Vice Chancellor Office Hours
    • Bias Outreach, Restoration, and Education
    • Civil Discourse Resources
    • Free Expression for Students
  • Events and News
    • Campus Events
    • Stories
    • Student Blog
    • Senior Vice Chancellor Communications
    • Student Affairs Year in Review
  • Support Students
    • Donate to Student Affairs
    • Ways to Give
    • Ways to Get Involved
    • Giving Days
  • About Student Affairs
    • About the Division
    • Areas of Student Affairs
    • Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor
      • Divisional Leadership Teams
      • Senior Leadership Team
      • Organizational Chart PDF
    • Advisory Councils
    • Divisional Initiatives
    • Staff Recognition
      • Division of Student Affairs Awards
    • Professional Affiliations
    • Student Affairs Year in Review
  • Careers
    • Employment Opportunities
Rutgers logo
  • Resources
    • Scholarships
    • Student Volunteering
    • Diversity Peer Educators
    • Senior Vice Chancellor Office Hours
    • Bias Outreach, Restoration, and Education
    • Civil Discourse Resources
    • Free Expression for Students
  • Events and News
    • Campus Events
    • Stories
    • Student Blog
    • Senior Vice Chancellor Communications
    • Student Affairs Year in Review
  • Support Students
    • Donate to Student Affairs
    • Ways to Give
    • Ways to Get Involved
    • Giving Days
  • About Student Affairs
    • About the Division
    • Areas of Student Affairs
    • Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor
      • Divisional Leadership Teams
      • Senior Leadership Team
      • Organizational Chart PDF
    • Advisory Councils
    • Divisional Initiatives
    • Staff Recognition
    • Professional Affiliations
    • Student Affairs Year in Review
  • Careers
    • Employment Opportunities
  • Visit Rutgers.edu
  • Social Media Directory
    • Staff Resources
    • Research and Assessment
    • Communications and Marketing
  • Contact Us
  • Invite the Senior Vice Chancellor
  • Donate

Research and Assessment

  • Vision, Mission & Core Values
  • Assessment Cycle
  • Assessment Reports
  • Guiding Framework
  • Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership
  • Research and Assessment Workflow
  • Student Learning Outcomes

Assessment Cycle

Whether you are evaluating student learning or operational outcomes, assessment is an iterative process that provides important feedback about what and how well your constituents are achieving the objectives of your programs, resources, and services. If followed and conducted intentionally, your assessment can be a very powerful tool to optimize learning and enhance the quality of your services. Read through each step in the assessment cycle below.

assessment cycle infographic

Steps in the Assessment Cycle

Set Program Outcomes (Define Mission and Goals)

Assessment begins with identifying goals and learning outcomes. Ask these questions when you begin planning for assessment.

  • What am I trying to learn? 
  • What do I want to know?
  • Why is this topic important? 
  • How will the outcomes of the research make change within the department? 

The best goals are SMART.

  • specific
  • measurable
  • aggressive
  • realistic
  • time-bound

When assessing outcomes it is crucial that the goals you are assessing are measurable.

Develop and Implement Assessment Strategy

Remember that continued programming and assessment can happen at the same time!

  1. Articulate clear assessment questions
    • It’s important to ask clear and effective questions throughout the assessment. Get help with your assessment plan.
  2. Select method and conduct assessment
  3. Analyze and interpret results
    • This is the fun part! You know the data you need to begin reviewing and understanding your results. Plan how you will analyze the data in an organized manner. Coding is one of the strategies used to set classification and identifications to like results.
  4. Propose actions and changes
    • The actions and changes you propose should be aligned with the results of the assessment and the goals of the department. Consider what steps you could take to improve your assessment process as well.

Provide Program and Services

Continue with your programming and services as usual. Assessment should not stop and can be used in line with programming efforts. For example, if you are evaluating event attendance, continue having events throughout the academic year where you will assess the attendance.

After proposing actions to be taken, you can provide programs or services to align the actions with the department goals.

Determine Effectiveness and/or Assess Student Learning

Assessment is ongoing and should be continued in order to measure the effectiveness of the changes that you implemented.

Use Results for Continuous Improvement

Assessment and programming should be aligned, ongoing, and continuous. During this stage, it's necessary to:

  • look back at your defined goals and mission,
  • ensure your changes are aligned with the goals you initially defined, and
  • continue to use assessment to check that those changes are meeting the needs of students.

References: University of California, Los Angeles Westminster College

Site Footer

Rutgers logo
Do Something! Click to share a concern.
 

Report a Bias Incident

Division of Student Affairs
College Avenue Student Center, 4th Floor
126 College Ave
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
848-932-8576
 

Engage with Salvador Mena, PhD, Senior Vice Chancellor for the Student Experience

  @sbmena1
  @sbmena

Helpful Links

  • Contact Us
  • Student Open Office Hours
  • Donate to Student Affairs
  • Social Media Directory
  • Free Expression at Rutgers University

Areas of Student Affairs

  • Asian American Cultural Center
  • Center for Latino Arts and Culture
  • Center for Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities
  • Communications and Marketing
  • Compliance and Title IX
  • Counseling, ADAP & Psychiatric Services (CAPS)
  • Dean of Students—Student Support
  • Dining Services
  • Fraternity and Sorority Affairs
  • Graduate Student Life
  • Health Outreach, Promotion, and Education (HOPE)
  • Major Events and Programs
  • Off-Campus Living and Community Partnerships
  • Offices of the Dean of Students
  • Paul Robeson Cultural Center
  • Recreation
  • Research and Assessment
  • Residence Life
  • Student Activities Business Office
  • Student Centers and Activities
  • Student Conduct
  • Student Health
  • Student Involvement and Leadership
  • Student Legal Services
  • Student Orientation and Transition Programs
  • Student Volunteering
  • Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance

Follow Us

Rutgers is an equal access/equal opportunity institution. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to direct suggestions, comments, or complaints concerning any accessibility issues with Rutgers websites to accessibility@rutgers.edu or complete the Report Accessibility Barrier / Provide Feedback form.

Copyright ©, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. All rights reserved. Contact webmaster