{"id":1584,"date":"2026-07-21T16:03:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T21:03:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/assessment-committee\/?page_id=1584"},"modified":"2026-10-09T11:30:05","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T16:30:05","slug":"decennial-cycle-process-description","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/assessment-committee\/decennial-cycle-process-description\/","title":{"rendered":"Decennial Cycle Process Description"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-modular-content-collection>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Decennial Assessment Cycle is designed to make assessment relevant to your department\/program\u2019s long-term goals, directly link assessment activities to your <a href=\"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/provost\/program-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">program review<\/a>, and ease your workload by allowing each department\/program to craft an assessment plan most attunded to their needs, rather than requiring everyone to follow the same assessment cycle. Assessment activities, and a department or program\u2019s response to assessment, are important aspects of every <a href=\"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/provost\/files\/2020\/08\/Self-study-table-of-contents-and-resources_2020.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">self-study<\/a>. The Decennial Cycle is therefore a key piece of your program review, though the two should not be conflated; a program review also involves compiling information about and reflecting on many other aspects of your program (mission, history, budget and resources, scholarly work and service, etc.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left\"><strong>Overview of the Decennial Cycle<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In brief:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Your department\/program develops a multi-year Assessment Plan following your external review, integrating assessment activities with department\/program goals and recommendations from the external reviewers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Assessment work done during the middle years of your Decennial Cycle helps you make improvements to your curriculum and\/or pedagogy and directly supports your next self-study.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The self-study and external review are the two <a href=\"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/provost\/files\/2023\/09\/Program-Review-overview-23-24.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">main components of every program review<\/a>; your Decennial Cycle concludes with these two activities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"726\" height=\"704\" src=\"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/assessment-committee\/files\/2026\/10\/Decennial-Cycle-Diagram.png\" alt=\"This image shows a circle with key points in the Decennial Assessment Cycle around the outside and the words &quot;Respond, Assess, Anticipate&quot; inside.\" class=\"wp-image-1818\" style=\"width:491px;height:auto\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The following sections provide more detail on the Decennial Cycle, framed around the key steps of Respond, Assess, and Anticipate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Respond: Year 1<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Each Decennial Cycle begins after your most recent external review. The department\/program considers how the external review and their response connects with their intended learning outcomes (ILOs) and broader goals for student learning. This may lead to a process of revising ILOs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The next step is to devise a specific Assessment Plan for assessing ILOs in Years 2-8, with Years 9-10 reserved for the self-study, any final assessment activities, and the external reviewers&#8217; visit (see below). Your Assessment Plan should also incorporate time to reflect on assessment findings and implement any necessary curricular or pedagogical changes in response. The Assessment Plan is designed by members of your department\/program with your students\u2019 learning in mind. Plans differ significantly among departments\/programs and ideally reflect their specific concerns and aspirations as they develop in the period following the program review. The Assessment Plan should be designed to produce useful information that will be incorporated into the next self-study in Year 9. Some guiding questions include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What are the department\/program\u2019s broader goals for student learning over the next several years? How will these goals be met through curriculum, pedagogy, hiring decisions, etc.?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How might current or revised ILOs reflect these broader goals, and how can student learning be effectively assessed?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Assess: Years 2-8<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During this phase of the Decennial Cycle, you will carry out your Assessment Plan&#8217;s activities. Ideally, assessment activities will together assess all department\/program ILOs prior to the next program review. Keep in mind that a single assessment activity might be used to assess more than one ILO. Learning outcomes may be assessed directly and\/or indirectly; in general, direct assessment looks at actual examples of student performance (e.g., essays, presentations, exams) and indirect assessment gathers student self-reported data (e.g., surveys). The IE&amp;A website has more details about <a href=\"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/iea\/types-of-assessment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the distinction between direct and indirect assessment<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You may find you need to adjust your Assessment Plan mid-cycle; perhaps you have encountered surprising findings in your assessment data or have compelling reasons to revise your ILOs before your next program review. Periodic review of the Assessment Plan will also help orient new colleagues to the department\/program&#8217;s goals for student learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Anticipate: Year 9<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The penultimate year of the Decennial Cycle is dedicated to preparing your self-study in anticipation of your external review. &#8220;Student learning and development&#8221; is one section of a department\/program\u2019s self-study, and the assessment evidence you have collected and changes you have made during Years 2-8 contribute to this component. You may also wish to incorporate a final assessment activity in Year 9, which could take the form of a survey (of current students and\/or alumni) or direct ILO assessment. Among the questions to consider:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What assessment activities has the department\/program already done? Is there a significant missing piece? How might the final assessment activity create a more comprehensive picture of student learning overall?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Are there specific questions the department\/program is asking in anticipation of the self-study that might be answered by a specific assessment activity?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Decennial Cycle concludes in Year 10 with the external reviewers&#8217; visit and report. <strong>Departments that are externally accredited<\/strong> may be on a different program review schedule (i.e., fewer than 10 years between reviews); your Decennial Cycle and Assessment Plan should be adapted accordingly and incorporate any assessment-related requirements of your accrediting body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left\"><strong>Assessment Plan Details<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As noted above, the Decennial Cycle begins with a response to the external reviewers and the creation of an Assessment Plan, which typically involves three or more assessment activities that provide information for the next program review. New Assessment Plans should be submitted via the appropriate <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/drive\/u\/0\/folders\/0AOItW6yYzMggUk9PVA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Decennial Cycle Google Drive folder<\/a>; the Academic Assessment Committee and the Associate Deans have access to this folder along with chairs and directors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A full Assessment Plan should:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Create specific action plans to address student learning-related items raised during the external review or in the final years of the previous Decennial Cycle.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Schedule conversations around potential changes to your department\/program ILOs, if appropriate.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Incorporate assessment of each of the department\/program ILOs in Years 2-8, with a possible additional assessment in Year 9 if needed.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Remember that you do not need to plan separate assessments of each ILO; a signature assignment or exam may address more than one.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Within your plan, you may wish to repeat similar types of assessment activities from your previous cycle, or you may need to move in a different direction (especially if you made any changes to your ILOs).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Schedule re-assessment of student learning in areas where curricular changes were made earlier in the current or previous cycles, thus closing the loop on prior assessment work.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Identify two years within the Decennial Cycle in which you will write an <a href=\"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/assessment-committee\/plans-and-reports\/\">Assessment Report<\/a>, which can also be uploaded to the Decennial Cycle Google Drive. Reports can be submitted at the same time as department\/program Annual Reports (first week of July).\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The primary purposes of Assessment Reports are to preserve a record of your assessment findings and provide a space to reflect on what you plan to do in response. You can then refer back to these reports during the rest of your Decennial Cycle and when writing your self-study.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Academic Assessment Committee may summarize recent department\/program Assessment Reports in its Fall <a href=\"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/assessment-committee\/reports\/reports-to-the-board-of-regents\/\">report to the Board of Regents<\/a>. These reports also serve as supporting documents when reporting on our assessment efforts to St. Olaf&#8217;s accrediting body, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hlcommission.org\/accreditation\/policies\/criteria\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Higher Learning Commission<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Examples of different ways departments\/programs may approach the Assessment Plan<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Some departments\/programs may decide that they need to revise one or more of their ILOs because they are not easily assessable &#8211; perhaps too broad or too vague to translate to assignments or other artifacts students produce.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Some departments\/programs may initiate significant curricular changes in response to their external review. Such changes may also involve revising ILOs as a first step.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Another strategy may involve assessing a given ILO prior to, and again after, curricular changes are made.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Some departments\/programs may have grown or changed in relation to recent hires. Such departments may consider how these changes might intersect with student learning (e.g., new content areas covered in the curriculum) and consider ways to assess that learning.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Departments\/programs that already use external assessment instruments or credentialing activities may consider how best to incorporate these into their Assessment Plan.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Departments\/programs that contribute to the OLE Core curriculum in unique ways may consider the value of assessing an ILO meant specifically for the OLE Core.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Departments\/programs might look back at past assessment activities and consider the success or appropriateness of continuing those activities, and ask what might have been overlooked in past assessments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/assessment-committee\/decennial-assessment-cycle\/\">Examples of department\/program Assessment Plans<\/a> can be found on our resources page.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you would like assistance with any part of this process, please reach out to Kelsey Thompson, Assistant Director of Assessment (<a href=\"mailto:thomps22@stolaf.edu\">thomps22@stolaf.edu<\/a>), or any <a href=\"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/assessment-committee\/members\/\">member of the Academic Assessment Committee<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Decennial Assessment Cycle is designed to make assessment relevant to your department\/program\u2019s long-term goals, directly link assessment activities to your program review, and ease your workload by allowing each [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2679,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1584","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/assessment-committee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/assessment-committee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/assessment-committee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/assessment-committee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2679"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/assessment-committee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1584"}],"version-history":[{"count":61,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/assessment-committee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1932,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/assessment-committee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1584\/revisions\/1932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/assessment-committee\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}