Mission Statement

The Office of Institutional Assessment (OIA) is organized to support institutional effectiveness and the institutional mission of providing a superior educational experience for all Mason students. OIA provides timely information for administrators, faculty and staff to aid in evaluating academic programs, academic support programs, and administrative units. OIA collects original data from students, faculty and staff, and utilizes existing institutional data to inform program change and improvement. The office works in cooperation with faculty and staff to achieve these ends.

OIA is a resource to all members of the university community on matters pertaining to assessment and curricular and program improvement. The office promotes and provides support for accreditation, academic program review, general education assessment, and the university’s planning and quality improvement efforts.

OIA encourages and supports the use of multiple measures in assessment, both direct and indirect, qualitative and quantitative. OIA promotes best practices in assessment, and provides training and consultation to the university community. The office disseminates reports on various aspects of assessment at Mason using a variety of means. On a regular basis, OIA reports to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia regarding learning outcomes at Mason.

Program Outcomes

In partnership with faculty, OIA regularly assesses student learning outcomes in writing, oral communication, critical thinking, information technology, quantitative reasoning and scientific reasoning and provides useful information for curricular improvement.
In partnership with the General Education Committee, OIA will develop an effective assessment system for general education learning outcomes.
OIA continuously evaluates and improves the processes and support for academic program review.
On a regular basis, OIA develops and administers university surveys, analyzes data, and publishes timely results.
OIA provides timely and accurate assessment results and reports for individual units, the university, the State Council, accrediting agencies and the general public.
OIA promotes best practices in assessment and the use of assessment information by the university community.
OIA provides consultation and technical assistance to the university community.
OIA continuously evaluates and improves our website to support our missions and goals.