Stage Three— Maturing stages of continuous improvement:  The DSU assessment plan and processes are mature enough to place the institution in the third stage of assessment per the NCA guidelines. 

Mission:  The institution recognizes the importance of assessment through its strategic planning process.  The DSU academic catalog includes a discussion of appropriate student learning and identifies the specific assessment activities that students participate in during their college enrollment.  To accommodate institution-wide assessment activities, classes are dismissed for one day in the fall and spring semesters.

Structure/Administration:  The assessment of student learning has become central to DSU's culture.  Faculty annually review the major-field assessment plans and revise them if necessary.  Assessment policies also require that the plan, in its entirety, be reviewed every five years.  During the 1999-2000 academic year, the institution's comprehensive assessment plan (originally approved by NCA in 1995) underwent a five-year evaluation and was modified to reflect changes in the institution, in BOR mandates, and in institutional assessment practice and policy.  Class syllabi typically include specific student outcomes, which relate to program or general education assessment goals.  The results of assessment activities are incorporated into faculty review of academic programs, and assessment results are now part of the discussion process when faculty propose course and/or program changes.

Faculty Involvement / Efficacy: An assessment culture has emerged at DSU, sustained by faculty and administrative commitment to use assessment data for institutional improvement.  For example, both the Academic Council and the Curriculum Committee request assessment data to justify curricular changes prior to approving them.  DSU has also put considerable effort into increasing campus- and community-wide recognition of students' assessment achievements.  The results of the 1999 Employer Survey were published in both the University's newspaper and the local newspaper.  The results of proficiency testing and other general education assessment activities are regularly published on the web and in the University's newspaper and, on occasion, in the local newspaper.  The faculty continuously document changes made in pedagogy, curriculum, and course content as a result of assessment data. 

Resources:  The Assessment Office budget is reviewed annually and has been expanded in FY00 and again in FY01 to cover the additional costs related to institutional research and evaluation.  The Assessment Office staff has also been increased to include a half-time secretary in addition to the work-study position that has traditionally been assigned to the office.