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Tyler Home Page
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U.T. System
Launches Academic Assessment Pilot Project
AUSTIN -- Campuses in the University of Texas System are gearing
up for a new method of assessing how well they are teaching the
basics to their undergraduates.
Five of the system's academic institutions will take part in a pilot
project in October to assess student learning and to identify areas
for improvement at the institutions. Student volunteers who have
completed the first two years of general education requirements
will be tested to measure their improvement in reading and critical
thinking, college-level mathematics, and college-level writing.
"We want to measure the value added by the institutions as
students progress through their college years," said Pedro
Reyes, associate vice chancellor for planning and assessment. "We
are hoping universities will identify strengths and weaknesses to
make improvements where needed. Although students will be taking
the test, we are really trying to measure the performance of the
academic programs and not the individual student."
Implementing the pilot program was approved by the U.T. System Board
of Regents in August. A report on the initial testing is expected
to be presented to the regents early in 2004, when a decision will
be made about the next steps.
The test will be an "Academic Profile" examination developed
by the Educational Testing Service and The College Board.
The pilot project will be administered at U.T. Arlington, U.T. Brownsville,
U.T. El Paso, U.T. San Antonio, and U.T. Tyler. At each institution,
the test will be administered to 200 students, to be selected at
random from among juniors who completed their first two years of
classes at the institution.
As an incentive, students who agree to participate will receive
a small stipend or have an opportunity to compete for a $1,000 scholarship.
The pilot project is one of three experimental approaches currently
underway in the U.T. System to assess student learning.
The U.T. System has 15 campuses, including nine academic and six
health institutions, an enrollment exceeding 170,000 students, more
than 80,000 employees, and an annual operating budget of $7.8 billion.
Contact
person: Emily Battle,
(903) 565-5604
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