Criteria for Success

This list of indicators of successful programs and assessment strategies was developed by participants at the 2005 workshop on Developing Pathways to Strong Departments for the Future. While no single indicator demonstrates the success of a program, the presence of many of these indicators, taken cumulatively, may be considered to do so.

Criteria for Success

• Quality of instruction and research
• Happy, productive students, faculty, staff and grads
• Highly valued degree
• Fundraising capacity and success
• Appropriate skills and knowledge acquisition
• Successful graduates who are able to pursue employment, grad school or other opportunities
• Recognized by employers, other departments and community
• Balance between research, teaching and service appropriate to the institution
• Students meet stated program and learning goals
• Successful recruiting of students leads to appropriate numbers of students, majors, and a diversity population of students
• Successful recruiting of faculty leads to a diverse faculty with appropriate balance of skills and interests
• Engaged in community
• Curriculum/program is continually striving for improvement and shows innovation
• Department is dynamic and responsive
• Alumni are loyal

Strategies and Tools for Evaluation

• Student Satisfaction measured with exit surveys and alumni tracking
• Job placements—works only if goal is limited to professional training or if jobs are matched to student goals
• Enrollments in classes and majors
• Evaluation of teaching using both students and peers
• Successful tenure and promotion decisions and recommendations
• Engagement of students in appropriate communities (teaching, professional, local)
• Number of recruiters visiting campus
• Number of internships
• Number of grant proposals written and funded
• Results of Teacher Certification or other credentialing tests (must be matched to dept goals)
• Student portfolios
• Success in capstone course
• Alumni giving
• NRC rankings
• Faculty curricular development activity
• Survey information from transfers in and out of the program
• Faculty retention and successful recruiting
• Absence of grievance