Assessment Center works to improve JMU colleges

The Center for Assessment and Research Studies requires freshmen taking assessments the first Saturday they are on campus every year.

CARS helps programs throughout the university, including all academic colleges and student affairs, to set goals and objectives and to test students to make sure the objectives are being met.

"JMU cares about student progress," said Donna Sundre, executive director Assessment Specialist and a professor of psychology. "We collect information about all programs at JMU. We work with the faculty to guide them through a process to determine their goals and objects. We then help them to locate and create assessment tools.

"There is no institute in Virginia that takes assessment as seriously as we do," Sundre said. "We help faculty collect data to improve the university’s programs."

The main days CARS collects information about JMU academic programs and information about the student body in general is during freshman testing at the beginning of the year, and then in the spring when sophomores and juniors are tested after finishing most of their General Education credits.

"We have found that the more classes a student has in a subject, the higher their score will be," Sundre said. "It’s not just about overall credit hours."

The faculty at CARS will take the information collected during testing and conduct research on it.

According to Sundre, the information is then given to a university steering committee that will look at the information and send it on to the different colleges and departments so that the colleges can reorganize classes or their General Education program.

According to Sundre, CARS has been helping to reorganize cluster three to make the courses more fitting for all students.

CARS also works with programs under student affairs. "Student Affairs has all these programs that have learning and developmental outcomes," said Sara Finney, assessment liaison to Student Affairs.

"We assess their objectives and gather data to see if each program is meeting their objectives, so the program accomplishes what it wants," Finney said.