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Purpose

This content was updated on November 2, 2026. 

Student Learning Assessment (SLA) is how UM's credentialed programs examine whether students are achieving their Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) and how well the curriculum supports that learning over time. The goal is continuous improvement. The process is designed to generate insight about your program and your students, and to capture work that programs are already doing so that faculty do not have to go back and dig for evidence. 

SLA is also part of the University's integrated review and assessment framework. It works alongside the annual Academic Portfolio Review and the eight-year Program Review, and it is a step toward Program Review. SLA is the current name for what was previously called Program Assessment. The process was redesigned in response to accreditation recommendations to build an inclusive, integrated framework for assessing student learning, distinct from student achievement data. 

SLA asks whether a program

  • Defines Program Learning Outcomes and shows where they are taught and assessed in the curriculum; 
  • Gathers meaningful evidence of what students can do, beyond grades and completion rates; and 
  • Uses what it learns to improve the curriculum, teaching, and assessment.

What has changed?

  • Programs assess learning at the program level, rooted in PLOs specific to each degree or major, rather than one set of outcomes for a whole department.

  • Three discipline-specific narrative templates replace the single narrative: Humanities and Arts; Social Science and STEM; Professional and Clinical. Every program still reports the same underlying elements.

  • Curriculum maps are required for every program in the catalog. The curriculum map lists all courses, including electives. It supports two progression frameworks (introduced, developed, mastered, assessed; or introduced, developed, creating or innovating, assessed), identifies the Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs) each course supports, and optionally identifies Career Readiness Competencies.

  • Programs should plan to assess every year and report every two years building to their Eight-Year program review to OCHE. The planning documents are are submitted February 1, 2027, with reports in late January or early February 2029 and 2031.

Process

This process applies to all credentialed programs. Programs with specialized accreditation may submit curriculum maps and narrative summaries from those processes. 

Step 1: Map the Curriculum 

Faculty complete a curriculum map workbook with one sheet for each program. The map lists every course, including electives, and shows where each PLO is introduced, developed, mastered or created, and assessed. Not every course will map to every outcome. 

Step 2: Plan the Assessment 

Complete Sections 1 to 4 of the narrative template for your discipline. Identify the evidence you will gather during 2027-2028 and review in fall 2028. A program may report on a portion of its PLOs in a cycle rather than all of them. Build a plan that is meaningful for your program, even if it does not yield data before the next submission. 

Step 3: Submit 

Academic units decide how they submit. At a minimum, submit at least one narrative file and one curriculum map file through the Microsoft Form by Monday, February 1, 2027. Each file may cover multiple programs. 

Step 4: Receive Feedback 

The AAC reviews submissions in February and March and sends feedback to unit chairs, program directors, and deans in April. 

Step 5: Assess Every Year 

Each year, programs gather the evidence named in their plan, analyze it, and make adjustments. These results and adjustments become Sections 5 and 6 of your future submissions. Maintain a centralized repository of accreditation materials that is shared among faculty and staff. 

Step 6: Report Every Two Years 

In January 2029 and again in January 2031, resubmit Sections 1 to 4, updated as needed, with completed Sections 5 (Results and Modifications) and 6 (Plans for Continued Assessment). 

Specialized Accreditation 

Programs with specialized accreditation may submit or summarize accreditation artifacts, including curriculum maps, in the narrative template, and should note which sections each artifact addresses.

Institutional Learning Outcomes

Undergraduate programs identify on the curriculum map which Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs) each course supports. The ILOs connect General Education, program learning outcomes, and institutional assessment. See the Institutional Learning Outcomes page for the current framework.

Academic Portfolio Review and the OCHE Pilot 

Complete Section 4.1 only if your program was identified by the 2026-2027 Academic Portfolio Review for a declining enrollment or completion trend. Programs flagged in the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education (OCHE) Ongoing Program Review pilot respond through a separate process and do not complete Section 4.1. 

Roles and Responsibilities

  • Build the curriculum map and narrative together. Gather and analyze evidence each year.

  • Coordinate the work, decide how to prepare the materials, and submit the files.

  • Review submissions and provide feedback to chairs, directors, and deans.

  • Oversee the entire process. Aggregate assessment findings into a campus report to Faculty Senate the following fall and maintain as evidence for institutional accreditation reporting.

Questions? Contact Amy Ratto Parks, Director of Assessment and Faculty Support

Preparing and Submitting Your Materials

    • Use the template for your discipline. If a unit spans disciplines, choose the template that fits best. 
    • Enter text in the gray boxes. Suggested word counts (250 to 500) are guidelines. You do not need to answer every prompt. 
    • Section 1: enter the mission statement the programs operate under, be it the college, department, or program mission. 
    • PLOs appear in your curriculum maps and are not repeated in the narrative. Cite them as they appear in the map. 
    • Do not complete Sections 5 and 6 now. They show what you will report in January 2029. 
    • When finished, delete the prompts and instructions and keep the section headings.
    • Copy the program sheet in the workbook so each program has its own sheet. 
    • List all courses, including electives. For a bucket of electives (for example, choose an additional 6 credits from this list of 12 upper-division courses), describe the bucket and the learning it develops. 
    • Use one of the two progression keys and mark A where a course collects assessment evidence. Note the type of evidence collected.
    • Mark the ILOs the programs support (undergraduate programs). Career Readiness Competencies are optional, except for Gen Ed courses. 
    • Don’t get bogged down in the first draft. Gaps and disagreements that surface during development are part of the process. Get as close as you can and submit it for feedback.

  • Submitted documents are posted on SharePoint and must meet electronic accessibility standards. Use built-in heading styles, add alt text to images, and run the accessibility checker in Word and Excel before you upload.

    • Upload at least one narrative file and one curriculum map file, plus any appendices, through the Microsoft Form by Monday, February 1, 2027. 
    • A file may cover multiple programs. The curriculum map workbook should include one sheet for each program. 
    • Use the following naming conventions:
      • UnitName_SLA_Narrative_2027.docx
      • UnitName_SLA_CurriculumMap_2027.xlsx

  • The AAC reviews submissions in February and March. Feedback goes to chairs, directors, and deans in April.

Schedule and Timeline

2026-2027 First Submission 

  • November 2. SLA launch. Templates, curriculum map, guide, and AAC Review Form available. 
  • November to December. Workshops, by arrangement. 
  • February 1. Narratives and curriculum maps due through the Microsoft Form. 
  • February to March. AAC reviews submissions. 
  • April. AAC sends feedback to unit chairs, program directors, deans. 

Ongoing 

Student learning assessment is intended to be an annual activity building to an eight-year Program Review. Once initial planning is complete, SLA analysis and reporting are biennial. Subsequent reports are due in January 2029 and January 2031. 

After the first submission, the work follows a repeating two-year cycle. 

  • Assess each year. Gather the evidence named in your plan, analyze it, make adjustments, and keep notes. The 2027-2028 academic year and fall 2028 are the first assessment period. 
  • Report every two years. In January 2029, resubmit Sections 1 to 4, updated as needed, with completed Sections 5 (Results and Modifications) and 6 (Plans for Continued Assessment). 
  • Receive feedback. The AAC reviews each submission and sends feedback in the spring. 
  • Refine the plan and repeat. Use the feedback to refine your plan, then begin the next cycle, assessing a different portion of your outcomes if planned. Each cycle builds toward the next Program Review.

Submitting Reports

The reports will be submitted in Microsoft Forms. You can submit to the form multiple times, but each individual submission will only allow one narrative template upload and one curriculum map upload. Please note that this form does not open in Safari. Apple users should open the form in Chrome or another browser.

Templates and Assessment Resources