North Carolina State University
SACS Compliance Certification
August 15, 2003

Federal Mandate 4.1 (outcomes assessment)
When evaluating success with respect to student achievement in relation to the institution’s mission, the institution includes, as appropriate, consideration of course completion, state licensing examinations, and job placement rates.

Compliance
North Carolina State University is in compliance with this mandate.

Explanation
Many of the university’s programs use completion and graduation rates, results on state and national licensing and pre-licensing examinations, and job placement rates as part of their outcomes assessment processes.  Some include these variables in formal assessment plans, and others use them informally as appropriate.

Licensing and Pre-licensing Examinations
The following programs in the College of Education include licensing decisions based on students’ teaching license portfolios as part of program assessment plans submitted for Undergraduate Academic Program Review (UAPR):

  • Department of Agricultural and Extension Education: Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Education (Workforce Development Education)
  • Department of Curriculum and Instruction: Business and Marketing Education, and Middle School Education: Language Arts and Social Studies Education (both undergraduate programs)

Several programs offered by the Department of Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education (in the College of Education) also include licensing decisions when submitting program assessment plans for UAPR.  These include:

  • High School Mathematics Education Program
  • High School Science
  • Middle School Dual - Science and Mathematics
  • Middle School Mathematics Education Program
  • Middle School Science
  • Workforce Development Education: Technology Education

Five undergraduate programs in the College of Engineering include selected content from the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) pre-licensing examinations in their program assessment plans submitted for UAPR.  These programs include:

  • Biological Engineering
  • Civil Engineering
  • Industrial Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Nuclear Engineering

Several graduate and professional programs regularly use information about pass rates on licensing or pre-licensing examinations.

Pass rates for students in the Masters of Accounting program are obtained from the National Association of State Boards of America (NASBA) and from the North Carolina State Board of CPA examiners.  The College of Veterinary Medicine receives an annual report of its students’ performance on the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination. These reports compare NC State University’s pass rates with national or state rates.

Graduation Rates
Information on graduation rates and degrees granted is compiled by Institutional Strategy and Analysis and made available to academic programs via the program-level planning data website.  Similarly, the Graduate School compiles data on graduate departments’ enrollments and degrees awarded; this information is made available on the InfoLink website.  The Compliance Certification Team and others involved in the university’s compliance review have password access to this site.

Job Placement Rates
Campus-wide surveys of baccalaureate alumni include questions about post-baccalaureate education and employment.  In addition, some academic departments ask additional questions in “inserts” that accompany the campus-wide survey.  Many departments insert program-specific questions about job placement and post-baccalaureate employment in the Spring 2003 NC State University alumni survey.

  • In the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, these departments include Agricultural and Resource Economics, Animal Science, Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Botany, Food Science, Microbiology, Poultry Science, and Soil Science
  • In the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Social Work Program asks program-specific questions of its alumni
  • In the College of Natural Resources, these departments include Forestry and Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management
  • In the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, these departments include Chemistry, Statistics and Marine, Earth, & Atmospheric Sciences
  • All Teacher Education Programs in the College of Education
  • All programs in the College of Engineering
  • All programs in the College of Textiles

The College of Management also conducts its own survey to discover job placement information.  In the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Department of Political Science and Public Administration and the Department of Communication (baccalaureate program) also include job placement statistics in the program assessment plans they submit for UAPR.  The College of Engineering makes job-interview and placement data available to its programs based on statistics from the University Career Center, to help programs fulfill their ABET accreditation requirements.

Graduate programs include information about the job placement of their recent graduates in the self-study documents that are part of Graduate Program Review (GPR).

Supplementary Information
Information about UAPR and about access to undergraduate programs’ assessment plans is available in the section on Undergraduate Education in the document and supporting materials for Comprehensive Standards: Institutional Mission, Governance and Effectiveness #16.  Information about GPR is available in the section on the Graduate School in the document and supporting materials sections of the same comprehensive report.

References

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Last Modified: Wednesday, 02-Jul-03 13:17:06