The mission of the Planning and Assessment Office is to develop and implement planning principles for the College, and to promote the use of information in planning and strategic decision making. We gather data and provide reports for assessing institutional effectiveness and facilitating improvement across all College departments and programs. In particular, we seek to promote and facilitate the development and assessment of student learning outcomes. The office is also responsible for communicating information about the College to external agencies, organizations, and consortial groups.
How does Middlebury fulfill its educational mission? How do we know our students are successful in meeting their educational goals? How are students engaging with our curricular and extra-curricular resources? What is the workplace like for faculty and staff? How do Middlebury’s multiple graduate programs—the Monterey Institute of International Studies, the summer Language Schools, the C.V. Starr-Middlebury Schools Abroad, the Bread Loaf School of English—educate students?
By asking important and multifaceted questions like these, and by looking for evidence and information about ourselves and the Middlebury educational experience, we work with departments and constituencies across campus—and indeed across the globe—to actively shape the future of Middlebury. Ultimately, our job is to say with confidence—and show with evidence—that at Middlebury, we provide an education that is consonant with our mission.
Adapted from Donald M. Murray, Learning by Teaching
Is there an abundance of information?
Is it specific? Is it accurate? Is it honest?
Is it used effectively to develop and document what the writer has to say?
Has the writer found his or her subject?
Has the writer made the subject worth reading about?
Is the writing focused on the subject?
Is the subject limited - developed and completed?
Are the reader's questions answered?
Does the piece have a meaning?
Is the writing ordered?
Are the reader's questions answered when they are asked?
Are the title and opening honest? Engaging?
Do they lead the reader towards the subject?
Is each point documented?
Does the ending work to bring the piece to a satisfying conclusion?
Does the writer have a strong voice?
Is it appropriate, consistent, and effective?
Does the writer get out of the way of the information being delivered?
Does the writer use language honestly?
Is the writer's meaning clear?
Does the writer use the simplest language appropriate to the subject and the audience?
Does the writer break the conventions of usage, mechanics, and spelling only to clarify meaning?