Southern Connecticut State University College Portrait

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Students
Find out more about the characteristics of students who attend SCSU.
Admissions
See how many students applied, accepted, and enrolled at SCSU. Learn more about students’ high school preparation and test scores.
College Costs & Financial Aid
Learn about costs to attend SCSU and how much financial aid is typically awarded.
College Cost Estimator
Estimate your cost to attend SCSU in a few simple steps.
Classes and Campus Life
Learn more about professors, where students live, and campus safety at SCSU.
Student Experiences
Discover ways to be actively involved in your education at SCSU – inside and outside the classroom.
Majors, Graduation and Next Steps
See which majors are most popular at SCSU and what recent graduates plan to do after earning their bachelor's degree.
Student Success & Progress
Discover how many students who start at SCSU 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 SCSU.

Student Learning at Southern Connecticut State 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.

Student success is the highest priority at SCSU. Thus, student learning assessment is a strong focus of the university. Learning is assessed in individual courses, at the program level in the major, in the Liberal Education Program, and institution-wide. A variety of methods are used by faculty and academic programs to assess student learning depending upon the discipline. These include not only traditional tests but successful completion of research projects and papers, licensing exams, portfolios of work over time, and performance in internships or practica. Results of student learning assessment are used by faculty and departments to make curricular or program changes if necessary. To assure the ongoing high quality of academic programs, each program undergoes a full review every five years.

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.

2009-10 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 above what would be expected at an institution testing students of similar academic abilities.

Freshman Score: 977
Senior Score: 1166
CLA score range: 400 to no maximum score.

Average EEA scores for tested students
Freshman Score: 950
Senior Score: 950

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: 1038
Senior Score: 1228
CLA score range: 400 to no maximum score.