The CLAS project, an HLC Quality Initiative Project is due during year 9 of the Open Pathway Cycle.

Loyola University Chicago’s Quality Initiative project is: Coordinated Learning and Assessment Supports (CLAS). The CLAS Project aims to advance a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement in assessment of student program learning outcomes in academic programs. The project does this by promoting easier access to assessment supports, coordination of existing supports, and creating new supports as needed. It also provides a framework for ongoing collaboration around assessment.

The project team invited a team of CLAS Advisors, assessment champions across the university, to attend a CLAS Kickoff in May 2022. Please see the Advisor list below.

In Fall 2022, we began the first of three curricular modules on the project. An introduction to Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs), the two main project audiences – CLAS Advisors and Unit-Level Assessment Leads – attended separate workshop sessions on why PLOs are advisable to have, what PLOs are, when they are useful to implement and how to practice writing PLOs.

In Spring 2023, participants began the second module and attended sessions on how to map their PLOs to their curriculum so they can easily see where they're addressed and where are the best opportunities to assess PLOs in their specific programs.

In the summer of 2023, workshops on the third curriculum module – using assessment data to improve the experience in academic programs for students – will begin and continue in the fall 2023 semester. In Spring 2024, we will provide a final report to HLC on the CLAS project. See timeline figure below.

*indicates member of Executive Planning Team