Stage Two—Making progress in implementing assessment programs:  Since 1995, assessment data has been collected and analyzed on an annual basis.  The data has been used to guide curricular changes and to guide the institutional budget process.  In addition, the general education assessment plan and the original major-field assessment plans have been reviewed and revised by the committee and/or the college faculty. 

Structure/Administration:  The assessment plan includes an annual calendar of assessment activities.  The Assessment Coordinating Committee actively works with colleges and with faculty to develop effective feedback loops so that information is shared with all institutional constituents and used for institutional improvement.  The assessment specialist, who reports directly to the vice president for academic affairs, works with the assessment committee and with subcommittees / task forces to ensure that assessment activities are planned and executed efficiently and appropriately.  The Assessment Coordinating Committee is a faculty-based committee but also includes student representation. 

Faculty Involvement / Efficacy:  The NCA Commission statement on assessment of student academic achievement does not prescribe a specific methodology for assessment.  Instead it calls on each institution to structure an assessment program around its stated mission and educational purposes.  Because of DSU's computer-oriented mission, each level of assessment at DSU includes at least one goal related to information technology / literacy.  College faculty are actively involved in every phase of assessment (from developing the plans, to helping with data collection, to analyzing the data and suggesting curricular changes to improve student performance).  Ample evidence exists that the colleges are using assessment data to improve student learning and teaching.

Resources:  The strategic initiatives for each college include at least one initiative related to assessment.  These strategic initiatives have a direct link to the budgeting process through the colleges' O&M funding.  In addition, the Assessment Office has a budget that is sufficient to provide the materials and technology / clerical support needed to sustain a viable assessment program.  In the last few years, the Assessment Office responsibilities have expanded into areas of institutional research and analyses, and the budget has been increased to accommodate this expansion.