Appalachian State University College Portrait

Learn More

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

Student Learning at Appalachian 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.

Appalachian has an obligation to provide relevant student information to the UNC System and periodically surveys and/or tests designated groups within its student population. Surveys/tests are used to assess academic programs, student achievement, student perceptions and attitudes, etc. The information obtained plays an important role in the determination of policy at the institutional level, and in the creation and continuation of programs. For program assessment purposes, examples of students’ work are routinely selected to provide evidence of student learning. This type of evidence is required for program improvement purposes and to document institutional effectiveness to the groups that accredit the institution. Students should understand that information obtained through the assessment process is protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, a federal statute that prohibits the release of student information in a form that identifies an individual student. Such information can be released, but only with the explicit written permission of that student.

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.

2010-11 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: 1219
Senior Score: 1266
CLA score range: 400 to no maximum score.

Average EEA scores for tested students
Freshman Score: 1190
Senior Score: 1198

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: 1191
Senior Score: 1290
CLA score range: 400 to no maximum score.