Q1. Do all the Program Learning Outcomes have to be in every Syllabus? Or is it only the ones that particular course focusses on?
AIt is not required/recommended to have all program‐level learning outcomes included/listed in the course syllabus. Only course‐level learning outcomes are to be listed with their mapping to the program‐level learning outcomes.
Q2. The Program is refining its Program Learning Outcomes. Is there any formal notification requirement or can we just proceed with the amendments and use the new PLOs for the next report?
Changing the Program Learning Outcomes during a cycle may be allowed. In case of major changes, it is recommended that such changes be implemented at the end of the assessment cycle. However, if a strong rationale exists, the program may consider implementing major changes in the program‐level learning outcomes before the end of the assessment cycle. In such a case, as major changes in the program level learning outcomes will usually imply changes in the program curriculum as well, a comprehensive proposal should be submitted to the Academic Planning and Quality Assurance Office for review before proceeding with the implementation of the change.
Q3. We are a recently approved program. Do we have to submit an assessment report?
Assessment reports are expected from all programs including recently approved programs. For recently approved programs, if courses such as senior‐level courses, where planned assessment activities have not yet been offered, the annual assessment report should include information on the program specifications, the curriculum map, student SLO / OE achievement targets, the assessment plan, and other relevant information. A note can be added in the assessment implementation details section indicating that according to the assessment plan, assessment activities will be implemented starting
from a specified semester. Thus, in the assessment results & findings section and following sections you can also provide a narrative explaining that the program has not yet offered senior‐level courses and there will be no need to provide any assessment results or additional details.
Q4. The assessment results for our program show a high achievement level. Do we still have to adopt improvement actions?
The assessment results are expected to help the academic programs to identify areas of improvement. The appropriate analysis of the assessment results may lead to the identification of several kinds of weaknesses. Such weaknesses may be related to:
- The assessment validity and reliability
- The defined level of expectation
- A specific area associated with a dimension of the assessment rubric
Q5. Our academic program is offered in the Arabic language. Do we have to write our Annual Assessment report in the English language?
The Academic Planning and Quality Assurance Office is providing updated Arabic and English templates of the Annual Assessment report. The academic program can adopt the appropriate language according to the Accreditation requirement and the college recommendations.
Q6. What is the appropriate length of the assessment plan?
The assessment plan may be defined for two or three academic years. While defining the assessment plan the assessment coordinator should ensure that:
- The workload associated with the assessment process is acceptable to ensure the sustainability of the assessment process.
- All the learning outcomes are assessed at least in two assessment contexts by the end of the assessment cycle.
- There is a contribution of different assessors during the assessment cycle
Q7. Do we have to adopt a specific administrative structure to ensure appropriate implementation of the assessment process?
Each college at Qatar University may adopt an appropriate structure to ensure proper implementation of the assessment process. The college may need to define a clear set of responsibilities for each entity/position to avoid any confusion during the implementation of the assessment process.
Q8. Our accreditation agency is using specific terminology for the different levels of the learning outcomes. Do we have to adopt this terminology?
Qatar University does not recommend any specific terminology for the Program Learning Outcomes assessment. If the program is accredited / willing to apply for accreditation from a specific accreditation agency and this agency has specific terminology, the program should adopt this terminology. The Online Assessment System can accept all kinds of terminology that should be reflected in the annual assessment report submitted by the academic program regarding the implementation of the assessment process.
Q9. After adopting an improvement action based on the analysis of the assessment results, few faculty members are reporting that this improvement action is negatively impacting the students’ performance. What is the recommendation for this case?
Each academic program should report on the implementation of the previously adopted improvement actions. The impact of each improvement action needs to be analyzed by the academic program in order to ensure a positive impact on students’ performance. If the program identifies that the previously adopted action had a negative impact on students learning, corrective action should be adopted.
Q10. Through the analysis of the obtained assessment results, the program identified several validity issues. What is the recommendation for this case?
If the program identifies any validity issues related to any assessment activity, the results obtained from this activity should be excluded from the aggregated results. The assessment plan may need to be updated to ensure appropriate substitution of the excluded activity.
Q11. The number of enrolled students in our program is very low. What can we do to address this issue?
The assessment plan should be defined/ updated according to the number of students enrolled in the program to ensure that the obtained results can represent the real program performance. The final assessment plan may include more than three assessment contexts for each learning outcome.
Q12. Several courses offered by our programs include students from different majors. Can we include these students in the students’ sample?
The students’ sample adopted by a program should only include students from the same program. During the assessment activity preparation, the students should be selected based on their major as shown in the Online Assessment System. The program should also make sure that the identified course is a required course for the assessed program.
Q13. Our faculty members are offering courses for another program with high enrollment. Can we use these courses to assess our program?
Each academic program can only use the required course from the assessed program to assess the program performance. The courses offered by the faculty members reporting to a specific program to other programs cannot be used to assess the program learning outcomes.
Q14. Our program includes male and female students. Can we assess one of the genders?
The students’ sample selected by the program should reflect the program demography. If the program is offered for males and females, the students’ sample should include the two genders.