Assessment Documents

Assessment Documents and Resources

Watermark Insights – TK20
Fitchburg State University utilizes the TK20 direct assessment tool from Watermark Insights to gather and assess student work, to conduct Juried Assessment of collections of student work, and to assess portfolios of student work.

Login to TK20

Instructions for Creating Assessments Utilizing TK20

Steps for Creating, Sending and Linking an Assignment
This is an assessment that you will complete and possibly grade immediately after the assignment is due. This links an assignment in TK20 to Blackboard.

Rubric must be created in TK20

If you already have a rubric built in TK20, contact Director of Assessment to create an Assignment Template for you, if you have not already done so.

To Create a New Rubric:

1. Use the Rubric Template (MS Word) to create a new rubric. Send to Director of Assessment to be created in TK20.
2. Director of Assessment will upload rubric and create the “Assessment Tool” for you.

If You Have a Previously Used Rubric:

1. Send it to Director of Assessment to determine if it can be recreated in TK20.
2. Once in TK20, the Director of Assessment will create the “Assessment Tool” for you.

Create an Assignment Template

Create your Assignment Template in TK20 prior to creating the Assignment in your Blackboard Shell. Follow the instructions for Creating an Assignment Template (PDF).

Send the Assignment so it is active in Blackboard:

1. Follow the instructions for Sending an Assignment (PDF).

Create the Assignment in your Blackboard Shell:

1. Go to the course you wish create a TK20 assignment within.
2. Click the Assignments Tab.
3. Under Build Content, click TK20 Coursework.
4. Name your Assignment (NOTE: the name must match the Assessment Template that was created in TK20).
5. You may add information in the description box if desired.
6. You may attach a file if desired.
7. Under Enable Evaluation, click the YES radial button.
8. Enter the value of the points possible for the assignment. When you are assessing the submission you will have the option of sending a grade to the Blackboard gradebook.
9. Complete any other information as you would any other assignment created in Blackboard (e.g. setting due dates, etc.).
10. Click Submit.
11. Check the assignment and ensure the link to TK20 is complete. Click on the newly created assignment and it will transport you to TK20. If this doesn’t happen, first check that the assignment name and the TK20 Assignment Template have identical names. If that is not the problem, contact the Director of Assessment for help.

Assessing the Assignment once Students Submissions Have Been Captured:

1. Follow the instructions for Assessing an Assignment (PDF).
2. You will be able to send the grade directly to the Grade Book in Blackboard, if you choose.

Creating, Sending and Assessing a Portfolio

(This is done directly in TK20.)

Rubric must be created in TK20:

1. See Step 1 in Creating, Sending and Linking an Assignment (above).

Create an Assessment Portfolio Template and send the Assessment Portfolio:

1. Follow the instructions on Sending an Assessment Portfolio (PDF).

Assessing an Assessment Portfolio:

1. Follow the instructions on Assessing an Assessment Portfolio (PDF).

Students' Completion of an Assessment Portfolio in TK20:

1. Students must log-in to TK20 using their Falcon Key.
2. Follow the instructions for Completing an Assessment Portfolio (PDF).

Creating and Completing an Observation

This is an assessment that is done after the fact in TK20 – not linked to Blackboard.

Rubric must be created in TK20:

1. See Step 1 in Creating, Sending and Linking an Assignment (above).

Create an Observation:

1. Follow the instructions for Completing an Observation (PDF).

Juried Assessments

Juried Assessments are performed using TK20. These must be created by our University Administrator. Please contact the Director of Assessment to have yours created. 

NOTE: if you have problems creating any of the assessments in TK20 or in Blackboard, please contact the Director of Assessment for guidance!

Program Review

Fitchburg State University conducts Program Review for academic programs without external accreditation every seven years. The process begins with a Program Review Workshop in the Spring semester prior to the writing of the Self-Study Report. Once the Self-Study Report is complete, an external reviewer is invited to campus in late spring of the self-study year to conduct an on-site visit. The faculty in the program will use the comments of the reviewer to create a five-year Action Plan for the program.

Program Review Cycle

2018-19 Chemistry (will align in later years with Biology) Communications Media Criminal Justice Exercise and Sports Science Mental Health Counseling Psychological Sciences	2019-20 Environmental and Earth Science Geographic Science and Technology Industrial Technology Political Science Sociology
2020-21 Game Design Humanities (Interdisciplinary Studies) LA&S Review	2021-22 Economics Occupational/Vocational Ed. Technology
2022-23 First Year Experience Library	2023-24 English Studies Mathematics
2024-25 Biology Chemistry Criminal Justice History	2025-26 Communications Media Educational Studies* Environmental Public Health* Exercise and Sports Science Mental Health Counseling Psychological Science *New programs as of 2019
2026-27 Environmental and Earth Science Geographic Science and Technology Industrial Technology Political Science Sociology	2027-28 Game Design Humanities (Interdisciplinary Studies) LA&S Review

Program Review Workshop

• PowerPoint Presentation from April 2018

Program Review Documents

• Program Review Cycle and Procedures (AUC 176) (PDF)

Word Templates

• Action Plan – Table Format
• Faculty Credentials Table
• Faculty Demographics Table
• Dean’s Rubric
• Site Visit Agenda

Annual Report Templates

Academic programs complete an Annual Report each year and submit it to the Director of Assessment by May 31st. The Annual Report template is designed to capture evidence of student learning and to feed into the Program Review.

• Academic Program Annual Report 2018-19 (MS Word)

Non-Teaching units in the area of Academic Affairs complete an Annual Report each June and an Action Plan by July for the upcoming year.

• Non-Teaching Unit Annual Report Template (MS Word)
• Non-Teaching Unit Action Plan Template (MS Word)

Assessment Plans

Fitchburg State University has launched a new series of workshops to begin standardizing the assessment plans for the academic programs. The goal is that a written plan will aid the program in “closing-the-loop” in assessing all of their Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) over a five-year period. Workshops are offered bi-annually in December and May.

• Assessment Plan Template (MS Word)

Material from the May 2019 Workshop

• Program Assessment Plan Power Point Presentation
• Worksheet 1 – Mission Statement Discussion (MS Word)
• Worksheet 2 - Program Learning Outcomes Checklist (MS Word)
• Worksheet 3 – Curriculum Maps Activity (MS Word)

Rubric Resources

• Current LA&S Rubrics
• VALUE Rubrics
• Iowa State University – Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy document (PDF)

Other Resources

The following organizations publish work and give great advice to institutions regarding the field of assessment:

• Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education (AALHE)
• Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)
• National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA)
• New England Educational Assessment Network (NEean)

Externally Accrediting Organizations and Standards

Fitchburg State University is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), formerly known as NEASC. Our Computer Science/Computer Information Systems, Business Administration, Nursing, Human Services, and Education programs are additionally accredited by external accrediting organizations. The links to the organizations are below:

• New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) (Previously NEASC)
• ABET, Inc. (Accrediting Board for Engineering and Technology) – Computer Science and Computer Information Systems
• The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) - Nursing
• The Council for Standards in Human Services Education (CSHE) – Human Services
• The Council for the Accreditation of Education Preparation (CAEP/NCATE) – Education
• International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE) – Business Administration

Additionally, the Fitchburg State University Honors Program undergoes a review by the Department of Higher Education every five years. The next review will be during the 2019/2020 academic year.