Resources and templates to help you prepare, conduct, and communicate your assessments and evaluations.

Assessment Foundations

Assessment Cycle  - Use this framework to implement systematic and ongoing assessment of learning and programs.

Assessment Domains - Differentiate between four different areas for assessment in higher education: curricular, co-curricular, extra curricular and campus climate.  

Logic Models - Use this fillable worksheet to develop a logic model for your program or activity.  This can be used to coordinate efforts and develop assessment plans to measure intended outcomes.  

CAS Learning and Development Outcomes - Updated in 2023, this document created by the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education outlines domains of learning and development outcomes that can be used to assess the student experience. 

CAS Light: General Framework for Assessment and Continuous Improvement - In partnership with SSRI Central, A&R co-developed this accessible guide based on the CAS General Standards. The “CAS Light” 2-page document has been adapted for the University of Arizona student success context as an approachable alternative to the full CAS program review. Special thanks to Campus Health for piloting this toolkit item.

Data Collection

Data Collection Methods - Consider various methods of data collection for your assessment project.

Department Student Data Planning Guide - This guide helps you determine an effective strategy to collect, manage, and prepare department-level data to inform student experiences and their success. 

Student Learning Outcomes - Write measurable and useful student learning outcomes using the A-B-C-D method with Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy.

Methodology

Propensity Score Matching - a step-by-step guide to conducting your first PSM analysis, complete with a glossary and resources for continued learning.

Rubrics - Develop your own rubric or use available templates to measure intended outcomes.

Selection Bias - Explore strategies to mitigate selection bias in your assessment of student success programs and services.

Focus Group Template - Use these resources to create a consent form for student participants and formulate a script with guided questions for your focus group facilitation.

Survey Methodology

Survey Data Quality Control - Provides a checklist to prevent data loss and misrepresentation across data procurement, cleaning, analysis, and merging with other data sets. 

Accessibility in Survey Design - Summarizes 20 key principles of accessibility in survey design, along with A&R and DRC testing of survey platforms Qualtrics, Google Forms, and Microsoft Forms.
 
Survey Planning - Plan your survey using this guide that considers student privacy, response rates, and use of survey results. 
 
Survey Administration - If a survey is the right assessment tool for you, implement these survey distribution strategies to determine your sampling method and increase response rates. 
 
Surveys & Demographic Data: Guide & Question Bank - This document summarizes best practices for asking demographic questions and provides a bank of survey questions that you can utilize in your surveys. 
 
Surveys & Demographic Data: Race/Ethnicity Measures - Understand the different measures through which the University of Arizona collects race/ethnicity data and establish which measure your survey should adopt.
 
Surveys & Demographic Data: Gender - Learn about different ways of collecting gender data about your survey participants, from self-reporting to the integration of institutional IPEDS data. 
 
Survey Privacy Statement - Uphold the University of Arizona Privacy Principles by including a privacy statement in your survey such as the examples provided here. 
 
Likert Survey Questions - Review guidelines on how to best formulate Likert scale questions and responses to mitigate bias and produce valid and useful results. 

Communicate Findings 

Reporting Methods and Products - Tailor the communication of your assessment results to your audience using this matrix of options.

Data Visualization - Use this resource guide to enhance your data visualization skills.