Assessment Projects

The Center for Educational Assessment examines the effectiveness of the university's academic programs. Assessment projects fall into three main categories, which are described below.

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT EXPERIENCE
The center engages in campus wide survey efforts to assess student expectations, academic and social experiences, and educational outcomes.

Senior Survey
The Senior Survey documents student views about the overall UCLA experience, student and campus life, academic majors and minors, the quality of faculty and courses, and research opportunities. The center partners with the Office of Analysis and Information Management (AIM) the Student Affairs Information and Research Office (SAIRO) to produce annual reports on the data collected through the survey.
Senior Survey 2008
Senior Survey 2007

Freshman Survey
UCLA participates in the annual Higher Education Research Institutes (HERI) Freshman Survey. The center, in partnership with the Office of Analysis and Information Management (AIM) the Student Affairs Information and Research Office (SAIRO), administers the survey to all freshmen who attend summer orientation. www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri/herisurveys.php

University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey (UCUES)
UCUES is the University of California system-wide survey of the undergraduate experience. The center partners with the Office of Analysis and Information Management (AIM) the Student Affairs Information and Research Office (SAIRO) to administer the survey and analyze the results. www.universityofcalifornia.edu/studentsurvey/about/ researchers.html

Honors Collegium 70A: Genetic Engineering in Medicine, Agriculture, and Law and Honors Collegium 70AL: Gene Discovery Lab
The HC 70A and 70AL series utilizes the Socratic Method to engage non-science majors and entering life science students in scientific discovery, teach them about the scientific process and how advances in biology affect society, and provide them with hands-on research experience working with genes. The center's evaluation efforts aim to document students' perspectives on their experiences in HC 70A and 70AL, assess the impact of these courses on student learning outcomes, and capture the gains of former students who became undergraduate Teaching Fellows and Peer Research Mentors in HC 70A and 70AL. HC 70A and 70AL Assessment Report

Undergraduate Student Initiated Education (USIE) Program
USIE is an innovative program designed to provide a select group of juniors and seniors in the College with the opportunity to develop and facilitate, under the close faculty supervision, a lower division seminar for their peers. The center assesses the experiences of students and faculty who participate in these seminars. www.college.ucla.edu/usie/assessment.htm

Capstone Experience Initiative
The undergraduate capstone initiative is being undertaken in association with UCLA’s Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) reaccreditation process. The long range goal is to enable all undergraduates at UCLA to have a capstone experience. The center is working with the campus-wide capstone committee and departmental representatives to develop plans for learning more about current course offerings and to help facilitate curricular change.

Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics Project
Funded in part by a National Science Foundation grant, the inquiry-based research lab program in microbiological ecology compares the effectiveness of discovery-based research courses and project-based research courses on student learning and student attitudes about science. The center is conducting the assessment of this program.

Information Literacy Assessment Project
The Information Literacy Assessment Project is being undertaken in association with UCLA’s Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) reaccreditation process. The goal of this program is to enhance teaching and learning using technology in the Freshman General Education Cluster Program through a partnership with the library. The center is evaluating how the partnership with the library benefits cluster freshmen, teaching fellows, and faculty.

Frontier Opportunities in Computing for Underrepresented Students (FOCUS)
The UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science created FOCUS for the purpose of increasing the number of underrepresented students in computing disciplines. The center is examining the pathways of underrepresented students majoring in Computer Science.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute Science Initiatives
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) grant supports innovative teaching and learning programs in the natural sciences with the goal of retaining underrepresented students as science majors. The center assesses the projects supported by the grant, including the Program for Excellence in Education and Research in the Sciences (PEERS), the Howard Hughes Undergraduate Research Program (HHURP) and the Biomedical Research Minor.

Fiat Lux Seminars
The UCLA Fiat Lux Freshman Seminar Program is designed to promote active learning early in the undergraduate experience by offering small classes that increase student interaction with fellow students and faculty. The center documents the experiences of students and faculty who participate in the Freshman Seminar Program. www.college.ucla.edu/fiatlux/archive/

Freshman General Education Clusters
The UCLA Freshman General Education Clusters are year-long, collaboratively taught, interdisciplinary learning community courses organized around broad topics such as interracial dynamics, globalization and biotechnology. The Center’s assessment efforts include the creation of new cluster course evaluation forms and efforts to document the experiences of students, teaching fellows, and faculty in the program. www.college.ucla.edu/ge/clusters/reports.html

Student Perspectives on the Academic Advancement Program (AAP)
AAP serves undergraduates from populations that have been historically underserved by higher education. Through counseling, tutorials, and mentoring, AAP promotes academic achievement and excellence. The center has documented the experiences of students who have used the services of AAP.

Transfer Alliance Program
The Transfer Alliance Program (TAP) is a partnership between UCLA and community college honors programs in California and is designed to increase transfer to UCLA. The center, along with campus and community college partners, conducts program reviews of community college honors programs. www.ugeducation.ucla.edu/tap/

Community College Honors Program Best Practices Study
The Community College Honors Program Best Practices Study is designed to gather data on best practices of the Community College Honors Programs that participate in the Transfer Alliance Program (TAP). The center is conducting the study and will disseminate a Best Practices Report to system-wide community college representatives.

Community College Partnership Initiative
A grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) has supported the partnership between UCLA and three community colleges in Los Angeles County and was designed to increase the transfer of underrepresented students to UCLA. The center has documented the impact of this project.