Not all goals have to be addressed every year! Developing an assessment plan is critical to achieving a systematic framework for collecting information to guide improvements. Plans cover a range of activities that are implemented over a one to three year period. Not all assessment activities are necessarily covered every year. Each year, goals, learning outcomes, assessment activities, and the results are shared with faculty to stimulate action for improving instruction.

Assessment champions from each program are important for this process. For academic programs, the assessment plan is developed by the assessment coordinator, chair/program coordinator and the tenured or tenure track faculty members in the program.

Some assessment activities are guided by accreditation requirements. The NEIU Assessment team and the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment is available to assist in these efforts. At the College level, assessment of student learning is often structured to satisfy the requirement of accrediting bodies while also satisfying the strategic goals of the University. At Northeastern certain colleges and/or programs have additional accreditation requirements. A list of those college and programatic accreditations can be found on the NEIU Accreditation page.

Baccalaureate and Master Goals. Northeastern adopted baccalaureate goals that all undergraduates will meet upon graduation. Master goals were adopted that all graduate students will meet upon graduation. The University has participated in the Higher Learning Commission Assessment Academy to help programs assess the degree to which their graduates are achieving these goals. The NEIU Assessment Team and Office of Institutional Research and Assessment is continually working on this task.