» Statement of Principles

Assessment is the process of monitoring student learning for the purpose of improvement.
Chapman University engages in learning outcomes assessment in order to create a culture of evidence that will inform decisions about curriculum, institutional planning, budgeting and decision making.
Chapman University's assessment is driven by the faculty. Chapman's faculty bear the responsibility to demonstrate the educational effectiveness of courses and programs. They are responsible for evaluating student work, and for developing the criteria and standards that students must achieve. The faculty within each college, school, and department are responsible for developing and implementing assessment procedures that will be most useful to their respective disciplines. These various academic units then report to the Assessment Committee and the Office of the Provost on both the mechanisms and findings of their assessment activities, and on how the results inform the unit's plans to improve.
The Office of the Provost shall provide ongoing expertise and counsel on the development of each program's assessment activity and facilitate assessment processes. These efforts shall be supplemented by workshops, assessment resources, funding for attendance at assessment conferences, and a website that serves as a clearing house for assessment activities at Chapman.
The Office of the Provost will promote faculty engagement in assessment activities entailing the meaningful, sustained use of multiple assessment instruments that take into account a program's curriculum practices.