Need help?

Contact Stephanie Winters with questions or for help planning your assessment efforts. We’re here to make the process useful, manageable, and focused on what matters most—student success.

Academic Assessment at NAU

At NAU, assessment is about strengthening and celebrating student learning. We look closely at what students know, what they can do, and how we can make an already strong learning experience even better.

Instead of being a one-time “check the box” task, assessment is an ongoing conversation:

How well are our students learning?

What can we do to help them learn even more effectively?

There’s no single “right” way to do assessment. Every university finds its own approach.

At NAU, our process is:

  1. Faculty-driven – You know your discipline best.
  2. Meaningful and useful – Focused on changes that matter.
  3. Student-centered – Always about improving learning.
  4. Ongoing – Part of our regular rhythm, not a once-in-a-while chore.

Why It Matters for Faculty

Our assessment process helps you:

  • See what’s working well and what could use a boost.
  • Have meaningful curriculum conversations with colleagues.
  • Gather strong evidence to maintain and grow your program.
  • Explain your program’s value to audiences outside your field.
  • Show the impact of your teaching on student success.

Annual Academic Assessment Report

Every year, by May 31, all academic units submit an Annual Academic Assessment Report.

This is our way of:

  • Checking in on progress.
  • Documenting successes and growth.
  • Identifying areas where we can support you better.

The report is a chance to:

  • Share what’s working.
  • Highlight creative or impactful teaching practices.
  • Outline future goals for student learning and program improvement.

It also helps:

  • Keep departments organized.
  • Guide workload discussions.
  • Support leadership in setting clear expectations.

Each spring, a link to the electronic report form is sent to Directors and Chairs. 📂 Report Archive is available for reference.

Previous Assessment Process

The Degree Program Expectations (DPE) process outlined here reflects our former approach to assessment. We are currently updating our assessment requirements, and new resources will be available soon. In the meantime, the DPE How-to Guide may be useful in understanding the six steps of the previous assessment process.