The Office of Assessment and Accreditation (OAA) manages assessment and accreditation in support of the University’s mission through continuous improvement of robust institutional assessment processes, compliance with standards of accreditation, management of a comprehensive program review schedule, and through the support and coordination of internal survey. The OAA serves to assure university stakeholders (e.g., students, faculty, employers of alumni, other schools to which transfer students or graduates apply, accreditors) and the public of the quality and integrity of higher education at Christopher Newport.
Accreditation serves to assure university stakeholders and the public at large of the quality and integrity of higher education institutions. Christopher Newport is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award degrees at the baccalaureate and master’s degree levels. Management of institutional accreditation is a vital task for all institutions. To this end, the OAA ensures that the University complies with all SACSCOC’s accreditation requirements. The OAA guides the University through a continuous, rigorous review process in which all aspects of university functioning are evaluated in accordance with the comprehensive list of SACSCOC standards.
Assessment is defined at Christopher Newport as the ongoing circular process of gathering, interpreting and discussing empirical data from multiple and diverse sources in an attempt to quantify or qualify any gains the university has made through continuous improvement. Further, it allows the university to determine the degree to which students are able to demonstrate mastery of learning outcomes and to determine the extent that each administrative or student support service unit is meeting its goals.
The OAA aspires to bolster a culture of empirical-based decision making and continuous educational improvement. We advise faculty and administrators on all aspects of the assessment process from writing student learning outcomes and/or key performance indicators to implementing results. We seek not only to support instructors and administrators with their navigation of the assessment process, but also aim to enable them to leverage the process to build a more robust institution.
Assessment is defined at Christopher Newport as the ongoing circular process of gathering, interpreting and discussing empirical data from multiple and diverse sources in an attempt to quantify or qualify any gains the university has made through continuous improvement. Further, it allows the university to determine the degree to which students are able to demonstrate mastery of learning outcomes and to determine the extent that each administrative or student support service unit is meeting its goals.
Assessment is defined at Christopher Newport as the ongoing circular process of gathering, interpreting and discussing empirical data from multiple and diverse sources in an attempt to quantify or qualify any gains the university has made through continuous improvement. Further, it allows the university to determine the degree to which students are able to demonstrate mastery of learning outcomes and to determine the extent that each administrative or student support service unit is meeting its goals.
Every three years, the Academic Assessment Liaisons from each department will submit a Triennial Assessment Report to the Office of Assessment and Accreditation by mid-December. The academic programs are divided into three triennial assessment groups, each on a staggered reporting schedule.
The report should include:
- Three years of findings related to each Student Learning Outcome
- An action plan that specifies how faculty members intend to improve mastery of the stated Student Learning Outcomes
- A discussion of the impact previous action plan had on student learning
General education at Christopher Newport University occurs through our Liberal Learning Core. The Liberal Learning Core Curriculum consists of the Liberal Learning Foundations and the Liberal Learning Areas of Inquiry. Like the academic programs, the Foundations and the Areas of Inquiry are on staggered reporting schedules. Assessment of the liberal learning core is guided by the Office of Assessment and Accreditation and the Liberal Learning Council.
Related Information
Every year, the Administrative and Student Support Service Unit Assessment Liaisons from each unit will submit an Assessment Report to the Office of Assessment and Accreditation by July 1.
The report should include:
- One year of findings related to each unit’s Key Performance Indicators (Outcomes)
- An action plan that specifies how each unit intends to improve their effectiveness on each KPI
- A discussion of the impact the previous action plans had on unit effectiveness
To help clarify the flow of the assessment data in this process, and to better aid the faculty and administrative units in their assessment endeavors, the Office of Assessment and Accreditation has developed the following flowcharts:
Assessment liaisons, appointed by each department or unit, guide the assessment process within Academic Programs, the Liberal Learning Core, and Administrative and Student Support Service Units. The university is able to use the gathered assessment data to inform decisions leading to improvements upon the students’ subsequent educational experiences and improvements in the effectiveness of each administrative or student support service unit.
The OAA’s serves Christopher Newport through the guidance of faculty and unit administrators in the advancement of a robust institutional assessment process, in maintaining compliance with standards of accreditation, in the management of a comprehensive program review process, and through the support and coordination of internal survey.
The OAA seeks to assure university stakeholders (e.g., students, faculty, employers of alumni, other schools to which transfer students or graduates apply, accreditors) and the public of the quality and integrity of higher education at Christopher Newport through ongoing data-driven initiatives while maintaining SACSCOC’s high standards of accreditation.
In order for assessment to be a worthwhile undertaking, the process needs to be driven by faculty and our unit administrators– by their fundamental drive to enhance student learning and services at Christopher Newport.
Further, assessment needs to reflect faculty and administrative unit members’ values: their values about what constitutes meaningful education or service in their field and their values about what methods generate credible, actionable knowledge.
The Office of Assessment and Accreditation is committed to respecting the commitments of faculty and administrators by exclusively engaging them in activities that result in tangible educational improvements and observable increases in unit efficiency.
The Office of Assessment and Accreditation will:
- Coordinate the implementation of comprehensive assessment programs for the university’s academic, co-curricular, and operational units.
- Educate the CNU community about best practices in assessment through online documents, one-on-one discussions, presentations and training.
- Showcase CNU’s effective assessment practices across the campus, regionally and nationally.
We invite you to draw on the provided assessment resources and to contact us for support for your assessment activities.