Closing the Loop

Evaluating the Data

Data should be gathered on all assessments run in a given semester or following a cohort of students/faculty/staff/administrators.  The compiled data should then be reviewed by all program faculty/staff/administrators.  Questions faculty/staff/administrators may want to explore might include:

• Do you see gaps in the skills or abilities of someone utilizing your service(s)? If so, what is the cause?
• Do you see gaps in their overall experience with the service area? If so, where?
• Do you see gaps in the evaluation process itself? If so, why? 
• Do you see other issues in the experience of someone utilizing the services provided?

Planned Changes and Action Plan

What are the planned changes that result from the review of all relevant assessments and your department’s discussion.  Planned changes can include changes to the structure of a provided service, to the forms or other tools used as part of a service, to the evaluation of the sequencing of services, to the timeframe of the service provided, the request for new equipment or facilities, the request for new personnel,  etc.  Your Action Plan would include the planned changes as well as the proposed participants, timeline, and assessment plan to evaluate the planned changes.

Closing the Loop

Once the assessment has been run, staff and administrators should close the loop by meeting to discuss the results and to identify all needs of the service area, including personnel, equipment, supplies, necessary workshops/training, etc. which were defined as a result of the assessment data. These requests will then feed into the Integrated Planning process and resource requests through the Program Review process.