Parts of a Program Assessment
Unlike many of the artifacts on this site, I cannot post an example program assessment report since that information would be proprietary to the institutions for which these reports were created. Each of the following sections describes the elements of such a project and provides fictional examples of each section.
Mission Statement
A mission statement defines the purpose and focus of the program or organization. Since every element in a training program should support this mission, the mission of the organization is usually included in the report.
Outcomes
Based on the Mission, program outcomes are developed. Some outcomes may be determined by outside organizations such as accrediting agencies or professional license boards. There will be numerous outcomes identified in a program assessment.
Evidence to support each outcome is collected by measures. In an educational program, these may be course assignments, formal grades, survey questions or responses to a comprehensive exam.
Measures are often pulled from multiple parts of program rather than from a single course or department.
Measures are often pulled from multiple parts of program rather than from a single course or department.
Measures
Success is defined for each measure and if the target is met, action may or may not be planned to revise the measure.
If the target is not met, an Action plan is determined, This is detailed in the Action section of the report and is assigned to an owner for completion.
The full assessment report concludes with a summary of the findings and planned actions. This report guides the program development activities for the next iteration.
The full assessment report concludes with a summary of the findings and planned actions. This report guides the program development activities for the next iteration.
