Conference Papers

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Studies indicate that the institutional characteristics of a campus can affect the success f its student outcome assessment program. Success requires administrative leadership and adequate resources. In California, success also requires that assessment programs be decentralized and run by faculty. This paper examines the extent to which the 22 campuses of the California State University (CSU) system are meeting these requirements. Findings indicate that campuses with more students and larger budgets spend more on assessment. However, campuses with lower ratios of budget dollars per student make stronger efforts at assessment than campuses with higher ratios. Programs placed under a unit Director committed the most resources to assessment, while those placed under a Dean committed the least. Student outcome assessment in California appears to be decentralized and faculty-run, but achievements are not uniformly high across the 22-campus system. More effort needs to be spent on developing campus-wide plans and articulation of assessment efforts with other ongoing activities such as strategic planning.

Michelle A. Saint-Germain
Graduate Center for Public Policy and Administration
California State University Long Beach
1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach CA 90840
msaintg@csulb.edu

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