* Assessment Council Review of Outcomes Assessment Programs. The Assessment Council reviews of outcomes assessment programs have resulted in greater communication and understanding of what outcomes assessment is about and what programs should be doing. Changes resulting from these reviews became very apparent in 2001-2002. This year, as a result of these reviews, three-quarters of all academic units revised their assessment plans or otherwise demonstrated greater commitment to outcomes assessment in their programs.

* Institutional Portfolios for General Education Assessment. Institutional Portfolios are now the primary tool for evaluating student achievement of the learner goals for general education at OSU. This year, the portfolios moved from a ‘pilot test’ stage to full implementation. Separate portfolios are developed for each general education learner goal, and each portfolio includes students’ work from throughout the curriculum. Groups of faculty members evaluate the work in each portfolio and assess student achievement of relative to the learner goal that is being assessed. The results provide a measure of student achievement of the expected learning outcomes for general education.

* General Education Course Database. This course database is used by the General Education Advisory Council to evaluate content of general education courses. Although it does not directly assess student achievement, it is an important component of general education assessment. In spring 2001, the database was pilot tested during the review of courses with Analytical and Quantitative Thought (A) designations. The reviews continued in fall semester, focusing on the courses with Humanities (H) designations.

* Survey of Students with 100+ Credit Hours and No Degree. This survey was a one-time study of students who were enrolled at OSU for several years but do not complete their degrees within six years. The purpose of the study was to determine what factors hinder students in the latter stages of college and may prevent them from completing bachelor’s degrees within a six-year timeframe. The study included an extensive transcript analysis and a telephone survey. Results have stimulated discussion about policies and programs that could be modified to facilitate students’ successful degree completion.

* New Student Survey. The new student survey was a new assessment effort in 2001-2002 that was aimed at providing feedback from first year students about their OSU orientation experiences. The web-based survey provided student perceptions of four distinct orientation programs (Summer Enrollment Program, Camp Cowboy, Alpha Program, and Transfer Days), students’ fall semester orientation courses, and general perceptions of first semester experiences and OSU services for new students.

* OSU Survey of Alumni of Undergraduate Programs. The Office of University Assessment coordinated the second university-wide survey of alumni of OSU undergraduate programs in 2001-2002. The survey provided data on careers, continued education, and satisfaction of alumni of OSU undergraduate programs who received their degrees in 1996 or 2000. A total of 1,544 telephone interviews were completed from a target population of 5,568 alumni, a response rate of 27.7%.