At University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), we rely on a variety of continuity mechanisms – tools and practices that embed assessment in everyday work – to foster continuity across learning assessment cycles and programs. In addition to curriculum mapping, which builds the common ground needed to discuss results across programs, we create continuity by integrating academic processes and professional development.
Academic Processes
Best practices in learning assessment have become part of standard operating procedures in our processes:
- Strategic Planning;
- Academic Program Review;
- General Education Course Review & Reporting;
- Biennial Assessment Reporting;
- Closing-the-Loop Reporting;
- Middle States Self-Study; and
- Council of Deans and Directors, College, Program, and other Faculty Meetings.
Professional Development
In addition to embedding guidance in these processes, UMBC builds assessment expertise through the support of the Faculty Development Center, including for example:
- The Provost’s Teaching & Learning Symposium;
- Programs & Workshops;
- Individual Consultations on Course-Level Assessment;
- Facilitated Program-Level Assessment Planning and Curriculum Mapping;
- Closing-the-Loop Programs, which foster cross-disciplinary discussions of learning results and interventions.
Building Continuity with Curricular Alignment: How UMBC Creates Connections Across Cycles and Programs
Curricular Alignment
UMBC’s Assessment Plan presents an authentic approach to student learning assessment that relies on faculty-crafted assessments at the course level complemented by shared data and discussion at each level. Achieving integrated learning across programs—and continuity across assessment cycles—requires aligning learning at each level: institution, program, and course. Alignment enables faculty to aggregate learning data across assignments, courses, and programs; discuss results with colleagues; and collaborate on interventions to close the loop where the data suggests a gap between intended and actual learning outcomes.
Common Ground
UMBC’s mission creates common ground for learning across the curriculum. Our institutional-level learning outcomes, the Functional Competencies (FCs), express the mission in cognitive skills that students need to contribute to society: Oral & Written Communication, Scientific & Quantitative Reasoning, Critical Analysis & Reasoning, Technological Competence, and Information Literacy. Curriculum mapping helps us visualize where and how students demonstrate the FCs.