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Assessment at Eastern

Eastern Connecticut State University’s assessment plan reflects its mission as Connecticut’s public liberal arts institution. Every year, the university works to build and assess its programs and curriculum to ensure students are prepared for work and life in the 21st century. Eastern’s mission, goals, and learning outcomes focus on skills that the university and external community value. As such, assessment of these learning outcomes serves several purposes:

  1. Identifying strengths and limitations of our institutions for purposed of targeted continuous improvement.
  2. Providing data to inform professional discussions about program curriculum and faculty development to improve learning inside the classroom.
  3. Ensuring the quality and integrity of an Eastern degree.
  4. Demonstrating accountability to our stakeholders.

Annual Assessment Cycle

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  • Eastern participates in a number of activities to evaluate the University's success in meeting its mission. This includes:

    • outcomes-based assessment, such as retention and graduation rates as part of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) survey
    • leading national surveys, such as the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), which offers insights into students' experiences
    • Connecticut-based, and system-level initiatives, such as the Preschool through 20 and Workforce Information Network (P20-WIN), which brings together employment and wage information with degree data to further understand student outcomes

  • As Connecticut’s only public liberal arts institution, Eastern’s Liberal Arts Core (ELAC) curriculum is the centerpiece of our mission. The learning outcomes for the ELAC drive instruction in our classrooms and provide students with the essential skills for employment and life in our increasing complex world. The learning outcomes that drive the curriculum are: Communication, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Ethical Reasoning, and Quantitative Literacy. For further information on the learning outcomes, please see Senate Bill 19/20-07.

    Learn more about the ELAC curriculum: https://www.easternct.edu/academic-affairs/student-resources/hands-on-learning/elac.html

    Read about ELAC assessment: https://www.easternct.edu/center-for-teaching-learning-and-assessment/elac-assessment.html

  • All programs are required to participate in programmatic assessment. The University Assessment Committee works to provide assessment resources to programs to help them build strong learning outcomes, assessment plans, and assessment reports. These resources include webinars and workshops, planning documents, and templates. Below are links to resources for program assessment.

    Links

    • Social Work Program
    • Teacher Preparation Program

      Eastern’s Initial Teacher Preparation Programs in Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, Secondary Education, and Physical Education were fully accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation in Spring 2022. Our accreditation status can be confirmed on the Spring 2022 page on the CAEP Accreditation Decisions webpage above.

      CAEP’s accreditation of our Initial Teacher Preparation Programs runs through Fall of 2028.