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The mission of the Office of Assessment at VCU is to promulgate good assessment practices across all programs at the university and to align assessment with other quality improvement initiatives to include the Strategic Plan 2020, program review, annual reporting, institutional effectiveness, and all requirements of the State Council of Higher Education (SCHEV) and external accrediting agencies.  However, the primary purpose of assessment remains the continuous improvement of student performance by providing faculty with methodologically sound information regarding student development in areas targeted by the curriculum so that programmatic adjustments may be made most effectively.

Assessment is an ongoing effort at VCU and is linked to the broader enterprise of continuous quality improvement.  External forces have shaped the direction of and impetus for assessment over the past decade including the planning and evaluation requirements of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and new requirements by SCHEV for the development of value-added assessment of general-education competencies by each undergraduate academic program at public institutions of higher education.  SCHEV requires all undergraduate programs at public institutions assess on an ongoing basis learning outcomes in six competency areas: quantitative reasoning, scientific reasoning, critical thinking, written communication skills, oral communication skills, and information/technological literacy (may substitute another competency for the latter).

Assessment Management Software Packages: