Triangulated Authentic Assessment in the HEQCO Learning Outcomes Assessment Consortium

The Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) has established a consortium of institutions committed to the development of useful learning outcomes assessment techniques and to their wide-scale implementation in their institutions. Queen's University is one of three universities and three colleges of the consortium, and the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science (FEAS) is participating due to familiarity with assessing learning outcomes as part of accreditation. The specific learning outcomes that are of interest to Queen's are Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Communication and Lifelong learning. The goal of this three-year project is to assess the aforementioned general learning outcomes and cognitive skills using three assessment methods simultaneously: embedded course assessment, using meta--rubrics to score student artefacts, and using standardized tests/surveys. The study will document cost and time required to access each of these methods in specific courses, analyze correlation between scores from the three methods, and evaluate developments of the generic learning outcomes over the duration of a program. We aim to ensure that the work of outcomes assessment is sustainable, works within standard course contexts, and can be integrated into regular course activities. The paper identifies the goals of the project, current approach, and an example of data collection in one first year engineering design course.