University Assessment
Weave Education
Weave Education is utilized for all Educational Program, Student Support Service, and Administrative Unit annual assessment, as well as core curriculum and core course assessment.
These annual assessments are an integral part of SACSCOC compliance, specifically Sections 7 (Institutional Planning and Effectiveness) and 8 (Student Achievement) of the Principles of Accreditation.
2021-2022 Academic Unit Results Spreadsheet
2021-2022 Administrative Unit Results Spreadsheet
2020-2021 Academic Unit Results Spreadsheet
2020-2021 Administrative Unit Results Spreadsheet
2019-2020 Academic Unit Results Spreadsheet
2019-2020 Administrative Unit Results Spreadsheet
2017-2018 WEAVE Plan Rubric
Weave Education Assessment Instructions
Online Course Evaluations
Lamar University uses SmartEvals, an online course evaluation software, which provides colleges and universities with instructor and course evaluations. A web-based software application, SmartEvals is designed with cutting-edge technology that provides tremendous levels of flexibility and customization for different divisions and course types in both survey setup and reporting.
The goal of online course evaluations is to improve the culture of course evaluations, by offering a customizable internet-based solution that will provide better information for faculty and administrators to make data-driven decisions. Research indicates that students perceive a third party as offering greater assurances of anonymity compared to a program hosted by the school. The results are higher participation, more thought out responses, and a larger bank of usable data.
Course Evaluation Schedules:
5-Week Terms - 1 week before the last scheduled class day
8/10-Week Terms - 2 weeks before the last scheduled class day
15-Week Terms - 2 weeks before the last scheduled class day. Does NOT include finals week. Evaluations end the day before the first full day of finals
2019-2020 SmartEvals Response Rates
2018-2019 SmartEvals Response Rates
2017-2018 SmartEvals Response Rates
2016-2017 SmartEvals Response Rates
Core Curriculum Assessment
The new core curriculum was fully implemented across the State of Texas beginning Fall 2014 with all incoming freshmen students to Texas public institutions completing the new core curriculum requirements.
Lamar University's General Education Core Curriculum Satisfies the criteria for compliance with the Mandates of the Texas State Senate and the rules, recommendations and statement of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board found in Chapter 4 B §4.28-4.31. The required objectives are stated as:
- Critical Thinking Skills - to include creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information
- Communication Skills - to include effective development, interpretation and expression of ideas through written, oral and visual communication
- Empirical and Quantitative Skills - to include the manipulation and analysis of numerical data or observable facts resulting in informed conclusions
- Teamwork - to include the ability to consider different points of view and to work effectively with others to support a shared purpose or goal
- Social Responsibility - to include intercultural competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities
- Personal Responsibility - to include the ability to connect choices, actions and consequences to ethical decision-making (Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, 2013
Elements of the Texas Core Curriculum Student Learning Outcomes Matrix
Undergraduate Academic Policies and ProceduresCore Curriculum Assessment Committee
Assessment Resources
What is the difference between objective and outcome?
From DePaul University: The difference between objectives and outcomes lies in the emphasis on who will be performing the activities.Learning (or course) objectives generally describe what an instructor, program, or institution aims to do, whereas, a learning outcome describes in observable and measurable terms what a student is able to do as a result of completing a learning experience (e.g., course, project, or unit).
Examples of Course Objectives:
- We will cover historical perspectives and debates about the role of mass communication in the 20th century.
- Students will understand the impacts and effects of new media on identity formation.
Examples of Learning Outcomes
- As a result of participating in Quantitative Reasoning and Technological Literacy I, students will be able to evaluate statistical claims in the popular press.
- As a result of completing Ethics and Research I, student will be able to describe the potential impact of specific ethical conflicts on research findings.
- As a result of completing Money and Banking, students will be able determine the cost benefits and shortcomings of various cash management strategies.
Differences Between Course Objectives and Student Learning Outcomes
Revised Blooms Taxonomy Action Words
The following are the VALUE (Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education) rubrics from the AAC&U (American Association of Colleges and Universities).
From the AAC&U: VALUE rubrics are open educational resources (OER) that enable educators to assess students’ original work. AAC&U offers a proven methodology for applying the VALUE rubrics to evaluate student performance reliably and verifiably across sixteen broad, cross-cutting learning outcomes.
Please use these for programatic and core curriculum assessment:
Foundations and Skills for Lifelong Learning
Intercultural Knowledge and Competence
For core curriculum/general education, please see Texas Core Objectives and Associated Value Rubric Chart, to see how the VALUE rubrics align with the Texas Core Objectives.
University Institutional Effectiveness Committee (UIEC)
The responsibility of the University Institutional Effectiveness Committee is to develop, continuously improve, and provide oversight for the university's assessment procedures and practices at every level and in every aspect of university operations, and to make pertinent recommendations to the appropriate university entities and personnel.
Charge: The University Institutional Effectiveness Committee shall report to the provost and president on expected outcomes, assessment, and evidence of improvement in all divisions and areas of university operation. Members are appointed by the president and include faculty assessment representatives from each college, the Deans’ Council, the Faculty Senate, the Staff Council, and office of planning and assessment. In addition, each administrative unit evaluated shall have a representative. The chair is also appointed by the President.
Membership & Reporting: Members are appointed from each college, Faculty Senate, Staff Senate, & representative administrative units. Chair is appointed by the President; charge to Committee given by President; recommendations from Committee presented to President.
National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)
Through its student survey, The College Student Report, NSSE annually collects information at hundreds of four-year colleges and universities about student participation in programs and activities that institutions provide for their learning and personal development. The results provide an estimate of how undergraduates spend their time and what they gain from attending college.
NSSE provides participating institutions a variety of reports that compare their students' responses with those of students at self-selected groups of comparison institutions. Comparisons are available for individual survey questions and the five NSSE Benchmarks of Effective Educational Practice. Each November, NSSE also publishes its Annual Results, which reports topical research and trends in student engagement results. NSSE researchers also present and publish research findings throughout the year.
2019 Lamar University NSSE Data
2019 NSSE Engagement Indicators
2019 NSSE High Impact Practices
2019 NSSE-FSSE Combined Report
2018 Lamar University NSSE Data
2018 NSSE Engagement Indicators
2018 NSSE High Impact Practices
2018 NSSE-FSSE Combined Report
2017 Lamar University NSSE Data
2017 NSSE Engagement Indicators
2017 NSSE High Impact Practices
2017 NSSE-FSSE Combined Report
2016 Lamar University NSSE Data
2016 NSSE Engagement Indicators
2016 NSSE High Impact Practices
2016 NSSE-FSSE Combined Report
2013 Lamar University NSSE Data
2013 NSSE Engagement Indicators
2013 NSSE High Impact Practices
2013 NSSE-FSSE Combined Report
Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE)
The Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE) was designed to complement the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), which is administered to undergraduate students. This instructional staff version (for faculty, instructors, and graduate students who teach) focuses on:
- Instructional staff perceptions of how often students engage in different activities.
- The importance instructional staff place on various areas of learning and development.
- The nature and frequency of instructional staff-student interactions.
- How instructional staff organize their time, both in and out of the classroom.
The project is coordinated by the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research. FSSE is designed to measure instructional staff expectations for student engagement in educational practices that are empirically linked with high levels of learning and development.
Since 2003, more than 250,000 instructional staff from more than 800 institutions have responded to FSSE.
2019 Lamar University FSSE Data
2019 NSSE-FSSE Combined Report
2018 Lamar University FSSE Data
2018 NSSE-FSSE Combined Report
2017 Lamar University FSSE Data
2017 NSSE-FSSE Combined Report
2016 Lamar University FSSE Data
2016 NSSE-FSSE Combined Report
2013 Lamar University FSSE Data
