The University of Montana College Portrait

Learn More

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

Student Learning at The University of Montana

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.

The University of Montana was one of the earliest participants in the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) Pilot Project. As stated by Roger Benjamin, President of the Council for Aid to Education, "The CLA presents realistic problems that require students to analyze complex materials varying in reliability and accuracy, and to construct written responses that demonstrate their abilities to think critically, reason analytically, solve problems and communicate clearly and cogently. The institution - not the student - is the primary unit of analysis. The CLA is designed to measure an institution's contribution, or value added, to the development of these competencies". The University of Montana remains committed to assessing learning outcomes to maximize the value we add to each student's educational experience.

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: 1048
Senior Score: 1204
CLA score range: 400 to no maximum score.

Average ACT scores for tested students
Freshman Score: 22
Senior Score: 24

Average EEA scores for tested students
Freshman Score: 1071
Senior Score: 1139

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

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

Freshman Score: 1023
Senior Score: 1193
CLA score range: 400 to no maximum score.