West Virginia University College Portrait

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 West Virginia University Assessment Council (WVUAC) works with the WVU-Main Campus and its regional divisions to provide resources devoted to sharing best assessment practices, and enhancing student learning through assessment activities. The WVUAC holds monthly meetings to review and provide counsel to program-level assessment activities submitted as part of BOG Program Reviews, and its goals include strengthening the effectiveness of assessment programs at all levels aimed at enhancing students learning; assisting and helping to create an institutional culture of assessment; aligning the institutional assessment plan with the WVU mission, and serving as an institutional clearinghouse for assessment best practices from around the country.  The goals and activities of the WVUAC serve as a conduit to the following student learning activities:

 • Ability to critically examine information and solve problems

• Communicate effectively, both written and verbal

• Apply methods of critical reasoning to the understanding and analysis of issues across disciplines

• Establish skills of life-long learning and scholarly inquiry

Student learning outcomes assist faculty to develop courses, syllabi, learning activities, and to employ methods to gather evidence about learning and progress. Student learning outcomes also provide a framework for discussions and planning for students' undergraduate programs at West Virginia University.

Learning Assessment Examples

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: 1059
Senior Score: 1170
CLA score range: 400 to no maximum score.

Average EEA scores for tested students
Freshman Score: 1091
Senior Score: 1108

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: 1117
Senior Score: 1284
CLA score range: 400 to no maximum score.

Average EEA scores for tested students
Freshman Score: 1091
Senior Score: 1108