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Academic Affairs

Assessment and Program Review

Undergraduate and Graduate Learning Outcomes

The CSUMB Learning Outcomes state the knowledge, skills, and abilities that CSUMB students have acquired and demonstrate upon graduation. These outcomes are guided by the CSUMB founding vision, mission, core values, and academic goals, so CSUMB graduates can promote human rights, health and wellness, environmental integrity, and economic vitality to contribute to a just and sustainable world for present and future generations.

Undergraduate Learning Outcomes (ULOs)

ULO 1: Intellectual Skills

  • CSUMB graduates demonstrate competence in critical thinking, written and oral communication, information literacy, and quantitative reasoning.
  • Standard: Students graduating from CSUMB are expected to meet or exceed Level 3 (proficient) on the ULO 1 rubrics for each of the assessment criteria.

ULO 2: Personal, Professional, and Social Responsibility

  • CSUMB graduates engage in ethical reasoning and public action that is informed by historical, multicultural, global, ecological, and equity-oriented perspectives.

ULO 3: Integrative Knowledge

  • CSUMB graduates synthesize and connect knowledge, skills and experiences across disciplines, allowing them to address new and complex situations.

ULO 4: Specialized Knowledge

  • CSUMB graduates apply knowledge, theories, methods, and practices in a chosen field of study to address real-world challenges and opportunities.

Graduate Learning Outcomes (GLOs)

GLO 1: Intellectual Skills

  • CSUMB post-baccalaureate and graduate students apply critical thinking, written and oral communication, information literacy, and quantitative reasoning skills appropriate to their field of study.

GLO 2: Ethical Responsibility

  • CSUMB post-baccalaureate and graduate students reason ethically and contribute to the public welfare or common good as appropriate to their field of study.

GLO 3: Integrative Knowledge

  • CSUMB post-baccalaureate and graduate students integrate knowledge, skills, and experiences across disciplines appropriate to their field of study, and apply their training in complex, interdisciplinary contexts.

GLO 4: Specialized Knowledge

  • CSUMB post-baccalaureate and graduate students apply and synthesize knowledge, theories, methods, and research to address challenges and opportunities in their field of study.

  • Learning outcomes assessment at CSUMB focuses on several specific goals, organized by particular structures and processes, and supported by the resources needed to achieve those goals. These goals, developed by the Senate Assessment Committee, include the following:

    • Demonstrate student proficiency at the degree level.
    • Improve student learning at all levels of the curriculum.
    • Provide opportunities for faculty development that inform and improve teaching and learning practices.
    • Create a coordinated, integrated, flexible, efficient, and transparent assessment system that serves multiple assessment needs.
    • Provide a means for evaluating and improving student learning outcomes with regard to the relevance of those outcomes to the needs of students, the university, and society.

    ULO Assessment

    Institutional level

    Assessment of ULO1, ULO2, and ULO3 happens at the institution and program levels. For institution-level assessment, each of the five components of ULO1 (critical thinking, information literacy, quantitative reasoning, written communication and oral communication), ULO2, and ULO 3 has a faculty coordinator who is responsible for the following:

    • Selecting and leading professional development for faculty ULO scholars
    • Planning and facilitating ULO scholar meetings
    • Directing the selection of representative samples of student work from courses across campus
    • Facilitating norming sessions with the ULO scholars
    • Facilitating assessment of student work
    • Directing analysis of assessment results
    • Preparing the assessment report
    • Disseminating assessment results through campus presentations
    • Facilitating institutional-level responses to assessment results (e.g. workshops)
    • Supporting program-level responses to assessment results (e.g. Annual Assessment Plans)

    Program level

    Assessment of ULO 4 happens at the program level, with each program determining their major (or program) learning outcomes (MLOs) and reporting assessment results in their Annual Outcomes Assessments and 7-year Program Reviews.

    In most cases program-level assessment of ULO1, ULO2, and ULO3 is embedded within assessment of ULO4 as all programs are encouraged to align MLOs with each of the ULOs (e.g. identify which MLO most requires critical thinking). In cases where a ULO does not align with an MLO, within each cycle of program review programs conduct at least one assessment of that ULO in addition to an assessment of each MLO.

    Assessment support

    Faculty Associates for Assessment for the each of the six colleges are responsible for assisting programs in all phases of developing and implementing assessment of student learning for Annual Program Assessments and 7-year Program Reviews, and for helping programs integrate Annual Outcomes Assessment with Undergraduate Learning Outcomes Assessment.

    The Center for Teaching Learning and Assessment supports faculty-driven assessment of undergraduate and graduate learning outcomes (ULOs and GLOs) and major learning outcomes (MLOs).

    TLA Assessment Support page

    Read about all CSUMB Learning Outcomes