Definition of Assessment

Point Park University is committed to ongoing and systematic assessment for the improvement of student learning in the classroom, courses, programs, and core curriculum.

Specifically, assessment is the ongoing process of:

• Establishing clear, measurable objectives (expected outcomes) of student learning.

• Ensuring that students have sufficient opportunities to achieve outcomes.

• Systematically gathering, analyzing, and interpreting evidence to determine how well student learning matches our expectations.

• Using the resulting information to understand and to improve student learning.

(Linda Suskie, Assessing Student Learning, 2004)

Center for Teaching Excellence

The Center for Teaching Excellence supports Point Park faculty and staff in efforts to improve student learning by providing resources, instruction and assistance in curriculum development and review, creation and implementation of outcomes-based assessment measures, and technology tools' instruction. Further information about the CTE can be found at: www.pointpark.edu/FacultyandStaff/CenterforTeachingExcellence.

The Core Outcomes Assessment Committee

The Core Outcomes Assessment Committee is a Faculty Assembly committee that conducts annual assessment of the core curriculum, reviews core outcomes data and makes recommendations for improvement of student learning.

Important Links

Point Park Annual Program Assessment Process

Point Park Core Curriculum Assessment Process

National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) 2009

Point Park University administers NSSE every other year as an assessment and improvement tool for many areas, including academic challenge in the Core and Majors/Degree Programs. The link below provides the 2009 NSSE Mean Comparisons Data, a report that is based on information from all randomly selected students for Point Park and our comparison institutions.

National Survey of Student Engagement Results (2009)

National Survey of Student Engagement Results (2011)

 If you have any specific questions about how Point Park uses NSSE data, please contact Diane Maldonado, Ph.D., associate vice president for academic and student affairs, at dmaldonado@pointpark.edu.

 Additional Information

** For additional information regarding Assessment of Student Learning at Point Park University, please contact:

Lindsay Onufer
Assessment coordinator
lonufer@pointpark.edu
(412) 392-4773