Assessment

Assessment is the ongoing and systematic process of evaluating school operations with the aim of continuous improvement. The process entails documenting mission statements and goals, collecting evidence, and making data-informed decisions and improvements based on results. At CUNY SPH, assessment is conducted at all levels, in both academic and non-academic areas.

At the institutional level, assessment exists primarily through a Strategic Framework, the University’s Performance Management Process (PMP), and annual reporting to the school’s professional accrediting bodies. Program-level assessment is managed for both academic programs and administrative and educational support units, overseen by the Curriculum Committee and Assessment Committee, respectively. Finally, at the course level, instructors develop assessments that are aligned with each program competency mapped to a given course.

Assessment practices at CUNY SPH are directly aligned with the expectations of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), the school’s regional accrediting body. According to MSCHE’s standards, institutions must demonstrate a “systematic, organized, and sustained assessment process” that provides “meaningful and useful evidence” to support institutional mission fulfillment, planning, and continuous improvement. Assessment is embedded across all seven MSCHE standards and is essential to demonstrating institutional effectiveness, academic quality, and the achievement of educational goals.