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 Quick Reference Guide

Assessment Methodology 

Three Types of Evidence

Direct Evidence: evidence gathered from a performance-based observation or sampling of student work.

Example: (Academic) using a rubric to evaluate the quality of student papers. (Non-academic) using website traffic to evaluate how often students use library resources

Indirect Evidence: evidence that assesses the perceptions of students or faculty.

Example: (Academic) surveying students about the practicality of their writing curriculum. (Non-academic) using a survey to assess how students perceive the quality of mental health services

Authentic Evidence: evidence refers to assessment which measures a student's ability to apply his or her knowledge in real world applications (such as an internship). 

A multimodal assessment plan includes multiple forms of assessment. Consider a multimodal assessment plan for a well-rounded view of student learning! 
  Direct Evidence & Rubrics Resources

Direct Evidence demonstrates the students' grasp of the PLO being assessed. A primary method for academic programs to collect direct evidence is through assessing student assignments on a rubric. 

A single PLO rubric streamlines the assessment process across diverse assignments. By eliminating the need to create new evaluation criteria from scratch each cycle, this approach significantly reduces faculty burden while generating the reliable, multi-year data departments need to track student growth over time.

Rubric Resources

Developing Rubrics Tutorial Video

Benchmark Rubric Template

Benchmark Rubric Examples

AAC&U "VALUE" Rubrics

  Indirect Assessment Resources

Indirect evidence lets you collect students' views of their learning. 

Example: When evaluating problem-solving skills, indirect assessment can be used to ask students:

  • where they learned the skills and knowledge,
  • how important they think it is to know this information,
  • what would have helped them learn it better. 

Common types of Indirect Assessment include Surveys, Focus Groups, and Reflective Essays. Below are resources with guidance for preparing Indirect Assessment tools.  

How to Conduct a Focus Group

How to Conduct an Interview

How to Write Reflective Questions

Surveys: The university offers the survey tool Qualtrics to the Pepperdine community. To create surveys on Qualtrics, please visit Information Technology's Qualtrics page for resources and access. Also, consult the Provost's Office Policy for Conducting Surveys at Pepperdine University.

  General Assessment Resources

Assessment 101 Presentation Slides - September 2026

Glossary of Assessment Terms (revised version coming soon!)

  Annual Student Achievement Report (ASAR) Template

2025-2026 Seaver Annual Student Achievement Report (ASAR)

Summary Student Achievement Template (For Program Review)

2026-2027 Non-Academic Annual Department/Student Achievement Report (NASAR) 

  Assessment (ASAR) Summary Flash Reports

The ASAR Summary Flash Reports provide a "snapshot" of the common themes found in all submitted ASARs and data bytes regarding that year's assessment at Seaver College and at the graduate schools (combined). 

Seaver 2024-2025 ASAR Summary

Graduate Schools 2023-2024 ASAR Summary

 

Assessment Management Systems (AMS)

Assessment Management Systems (AMS) are browser-based web applications that enable institutions to systematically collect data for assessing student learning. Through their digital workspace, AMS have the capability to measure assignments, journals, evaluations, and academic artifact collections, all of which are grounded in student learning outcomes and the institutional mission. The system stores and organizes data for reporting using analytics.

 


 

Seaver Assessment Sites

Each program at Seaver College has an assessment site. These sites provide a comprehensive view of all of the assessment work each program has been participating in. We've made this version of the assessment sites public so that programs can look at each other's work and share assessment approaches and methodologies. Each site will include the individual program's program learning outcomes, annual assessment, curricular maps, and past program review.

 


 

Reports

Data is collected and analyzed to establish how well the University is meeting its student learning outcomes in three areas: Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs), the WSCUC five core competencies, and Seaver College General Education. The data is analyzed by faculty, students and administrators through different university and college wide committees. Reports are developed to provide support for data driven decision making. The reports are available on this website for community viewing.