Assessment reporting at IUP is primarily done through Nuventive IMPROVE,
a planning and outcomes assessment software that is used by
universities around the country to meet accreditation standards.
This
web-based relational database allows IUP faculty and
staff to enter strategic plans or learning outcome goals, then track
specific indicators and results over time to assess where potential
changes would have the most impact. Reports can easily be customized
for individual programs or for entire colleges, depending
on assessment needs.
Data entry for program-level student learning outcomes and Liberal
Studies course-based student-learning outcomes will initially be done by
Karen Rose Cercone, the coordinator of IMPROVE assessment and
reporting for Academic Affairs. Program-level student
learning outcomes (along with indicators and a proposed timeline of
assessment) are currently being transcribed into the database to create
an initial assessment plan for all academic programs. Beginning in the
2018–19 academic year, the IMPROVE database
will then send out automated e-mails to the assessment point person(s) requesting assessment results in
the form of PDF or Excel data files. These will be uploaded and
archived for future use in the university accreditation and academic
program review process.
Any program that wishes to input assessment results directly into
IMPROVE and/or use it to track their strategic actions for review or
specific program accreditation purposes can apply for user-level access
to IMPROVE by contacting Cercone at
kcercone@iup.edu.
One-on-one training in the use of IMPROVE or individual consulting on
the development of assessment plans can be provided as well.
For more detailed information on the assessment and reporting features of IMPROVE, you can also visit the company’s website.