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Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning - George Mason University
George Mason University Mason
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Planning

Data with purpose. The qualitative and quantitative information OIEP curates, analyzes, and publishes illuminates trends, forecasts potential and contributes to the ongoing planning initiatives of the university including strategic institutional goals, program planning and innovation, and student success.

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institutional Effectiveness

How do we know what we are doing works? Defining and assessing student learning outcomes, engaging in rigorous program review, conducting surveys to understand experience and satisfaction and student evaluations of teaching are all ways in which Mason can learn more about how we are doing and what we can improve.

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Mason's Assessment Framework
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Data Analytics and Research

Want to learn more about Mason? Explore the reports here to learn more about applicants to graduates, survey outcomes, human resources and planning.

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Student Evaluations of Teaching

George Mason University uses Blue by Explorance for the student evaluations of teaching process.

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Student Success

What does the student lifecycle at Mason look like? From where do our applicants come? Where do our admitted students enroll? Once enrolled, how many students are retained to the on the path to graduation? What are the career outcomes? Learn more with these resources.

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Hub
Resources

Find how to use our reports, answers to common questions and how to request data not already available

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About Us
About Us

OIEP advances the strategic goals of George Mason University through collaborations and partnerships that engage stakeholders (senior leaders/administration, faculty, staff and students) in data-informed strategic, operational and tactical decisions. OIEP does this by capitalizing on our experience and professional judgment drawing upon quantitative and qualitative analytic information.

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Student Learning Outcomes Assessment – Best Practices

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Assessing student learning outcomes is a process that is best done by faculty in the academic program. Learning outcomes are discipline-specific, and are appropriate to the degree level.
 
Best practices* in assessing learning outcomes include:
 
Clearly articulated statements of expected student learning outcomes

  • Outcomes are appropriately integrated with one another
  • Outcomes articulate with the university’s mission
  • Outcomes are congruent with the relevant discipline
  • Outcomes are expected of all the program’s graduates

 
A systematic, well-documented assessment process

  • Measures clearly match the outcome statement
  • Uses multiple, direct measures of learning, both quantitative and qualitative
  • Maximizes existing data and information
  • Process can be repeated by other reviewers, and in the future to produce consistent results

 
Assessment results must provide convincing evidence that students are achieving learning outcomes

  • Results are meaningful demonstrations of student learning
  • High quality, robust assessment that allows results to be used with confidence

 
Assessment results are used to inform decision making and program improvement

  • Results are used by faculty to improve teaching and learning
  • Results are used by institutional leaders to improve programs, institutional goals, and resource allocation

 
Strategies for Assessing Student Learning Outcomes
 
Direct measures are best

  • Tests and exams: standardized or discipline-specific; locally produced, course-embedded
  • Portfolios of student work can demonstrate learning over time
  • Final projects, performances, or presentations for courses or programs
  • Capstone experiences, theses, and dissertations

 
Indirect measures can be used, but be careful about what they measure

  • Surveys can measure student experience, satisfaction, and their perception of their own learning
  • Post-graduation outcomes can be used as proxy evidence for student learning, but do not actually measure learning

 
* Generously drawn from Middaugh, M. F. (2010). Planning and assessment in higher education: Demonstrating institutional effectiveness. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.