Office of Assessment
The Senior Assignment (SRA) is the hallmark of a baccalaureate education at SIUE. The SRA serves as a demonstrable connection between the student's major area of study and the full breadth of general education skills and competencies. Each department or program has ownership over their Senior Assignments, thus the faculty has been given the autonomy to construct the SRA to assess the unique capabilities of their graduates and also to assess overall program effectiveness and the degree of interdisciplinary competence among graduates. While involved in the Senior Assignment, students are actively engaged in the development, rather than the consumption, of knowledge. The SRA optimizes assessment that recognizes the importance of open-ended, holistic, problem based assessment that requires critical thinking. After all, “institutional assessment efforts should not be concerned about valuing what can be measured but, instead, about measuring that which is valued.” (Banta, Lund, Black, & Oblander, 1996)
For the past four years, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has been recognized by U.S. News and World Report for having an outstanding senior capstone experience. In the publication "America's Best Colleges 2009," SIUE joined the ranks of 17 other institutions of higher learning, including Yale, Princeton, Harvard and MIT, in the "Programs to Look for: Senior Capstone" category. The Senior Assignment was also recognized as an "exemplary practice" for assessment of learning outcomes in "Communicating Commitment to Liberal Education: A Self-Study Guide for Institutions," published by the Association of American Colleges and Universities in 2006.
Funding is available from the Office of Assessment to support continuous refinement and improvement in the Senior Assignment. Proposals for Senior Assignment funding are due in the spring for the funding in the following fiscal year. The Committee on Assessment evaluates proposals and awards funding to departments and programs.
The Office of Assessment also sponsors the Senior Assignment Showcase each April. The next event will be April 22, 2009. Each department or program is asked to nominate two Senior Assignment projects for this event. For more information, visit the Senior Assignment Showcase web page: Senior Assignment Showcase.
Several innovative Senior Assignments have also been highlighted in the Office of Assessment's Spotlight on Senior Assignments at SIUE.