Auburn University College Portrait

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Students
Find out more about the characteristics of students who attend AU.
Admissions
See how many students applied, accepted, and enrolled at AU. Learn more about students’ high school preparation and test scores.
College Costs & Financial Aid
Learn about costs to attend AU and how much financial aid is typically awarded.
College Cost Estimator
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Classes and Campus Life
Learn more about professors, where students live, and campus safety at AU.
Student Experiences
Discover ways to be actively involved in your education at AU – inside and outside the classroom.
Majors, Graduation and Next Steps
See which majors are most popular at AU and what recent graduates plan to do after earning their bachelor's degree.
Student Success & Progress
Discover how many students who start at AU finish their bachelor's degree and how long it takes.
Student Learning Outcomes
Figure out what learning gains to expect in critical thinking, writing, and other important subjects at AU.

Student Learning at Auburn University

All colleges and universities use multiple approaches to measure student learning. Many of these are specific to particular disciplines, many are coordinated with accrediting agencies, and many are based on outcomes after students have graduated.

Auburn University's commitment to excellence in teaching and learning has long been reflected in the University's diverse course offerings and varied instructional approaches. Today Auburn also enjoys a reputation for data-driven assessment that adds value to learning. A recent Assessment Initiative concentrated attention on general education goals that all students should meet and has led to campus-wide focus on improving writing skills. Student learning is a frequent topic at public meetings of the Board of Trustees, and each degree program seeks to improve results by studying what really works. In addition to ongoing assessments in general education and the majors, Auburn demonstrates its commitment to excellence through means such as academic program review, professional licensure and accreditation, and strategic attention to retention, graduation, job placement, and graduate school aptitude and admission.

Learning Assessment Examples

Pilot Project to Measure Core Learning Outcomes

Colleges and universities participating in the College Portrait measure the typical improvement in students' abilities to think, reason, and write using one of three tests. This is part of a pilot project to better understand and compare what students learn between their freshman and senior years at different colleges and universities.

- Results from the Collegiate Learning Assessment

The Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) measures critical thinking, analytic reasoning, problem solving, and written communication using a performance task and an analytic writing task. The scores from the tasks are reported separately below.

Test Administration Process

Test Information

Performance Task Results for First-time, Full-time Students

The increase in learning on the performance task is at or near what would be expected at an institution testing students of similar academic abilities.

Freshman Score: 1153
Senior Score: 1230
CLA score range: 400 to no maximum score.

Average ACT scores for tested students
Freshman Score: 26
Senior Score: 26

Average EEA scores for tested students
Freshman Score: 1168
Senior Score: 1168

Analytic Writing Task Results for First-time, Full-time Students

The increase in learning on the analytic writing task is above what would be expected at an institution testing students of similar academic abilities.

Freshman Score: 1092
Senior Score: 1244
CLA score range: 400 to no maximum score.