Assessment of undergraduate and graduate programs

Data from an international survey of public relations educators and practit ioners raises a number of concerns about how achievement is measured among public relations students. Fewer than one in four academic programs have ac tually assessed learning outcomes and used the results to enhance their stu dents' educational experiences. Fewer than one in four practitioners have b een involved in some way as assessors. The survey suggests that educators p lace too much stock in grades alone as an appropriate assessment tool. While both educators and practitioners value portfolio reviews as an assess ment protocol, practitioners see much greater value in their involvement in this form of assessment than their faculty counterparts. These differences of opinion notwithstanding, current practice and the opinions of educators and practitioners coalesce around the value of capstone experiences such a s internships, simulation or case study analysis and surveys of alumni sati sfaction as a core around which assessment plans can be built. The Assessment Task Team at the 1998 NCA Summer Conference developed a mult idimensional model of assessment that reflects three principles of good pra ctice. First, assessment plans which measure knowledge, behavior and affect at various points in students' academic careers rather than only at the en d of a degree program are able to demonstrate change and the value added by the program of study. Second, specific outcomes may be measured by repeate d applications of the same assessment protocol or by the use of different p rotocols over time. Third, appropriate use of a single assessment protocol to measure multiple outcomes, especially when those outcomes are drawn from two or more of the broad categories of knowledge, behavior and affect resu lts in maximizing the information gained while minimizing the resources dev oted to assessment. Dr. Donald Rybacki is head and professor of speech and public relations in the Department of Communication and Performance Studies at Northern Michiga n University. Dr. Dan Lattimore is associate dean of the College of Communi cation & Fine Arts and chair of the Department of Journalism at the Univers ity of Memphis.