Graduate Program Assessment

All graduate degree programs at Florida International University engage in systematic assessment of both Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) and Program Outcomes (POs). Assessment provides evidence of student learning and program effectiveness and supports faculty and program leaders in making informed decisions for continuous improvement.

Graduate programs assess and report SLOs and POs according to FIU's established academic assessment cycle. This process includes identifying expected outcomes, selecting appropriate assessment methods and criteria for success, collecting and analyzing results, using results to identify and implement improvements, and following up on prior improvement strategies.

Programs subject to specialized or professional accreditation may incorporate additional outcomes, measures, criteria, or reporting expectations required by the applicable accreditor while continuing to meet FIU's institutional assessment requirements.

Student Learning Outcomes and Program Outcomes at a Glance

	Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)	Program Outcomes (POs)
Primary Focus	What graduate students know, can do, or demonstrate as a result of completing the program	How effectively the program achieves important programmatic results
Examples	Analyze, synthesize, evaluate, create, conduct research, apply advanced disciplinary knowledge	Graduation, career outcomes, licensure, advising satisfaction, program quality
Typical Evidence	Direct evidence of student learning, such as examinations, research papers, theses, dissertations, capstone projects, portfolios, presentations, performances, clinical demonstrations, or other observable demonstrations of advanced learning	Institutional data, administrative records, surveys, interviews, focus groups, external indicators, and other evidence of program effectiveness
Primary Purpose	Improve graduate student learning, curriculum, research or professional preparation, and instruction	Improve program effectiveness and efficiency

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) describe the advanced knowledge, skills, competencies, and behaviors graduate students are expected to demonstrate as a result of completing an academic program. Program-level SLOs should reflect the most important learning expectations of the discipline and the level of achievement expected of students completing the specific graduate degree.

Graduate SLOs should extend beyond undergraduate-level learning by requiring greater depth, complexity, specialization, independence, integration, or application of disciplinary knowledge, as appropriate to the field and degree level.

SLOs guide curriculum, instruction, research, professional preparation, and assessment by making expected student learning explicit. Faculty review and interpret assessment results to determine whether students are achieving the intended outcomes and to identify curricular, instructional, research, professional, or other improvements when warranted.

Assessment of Learning Outcomes

SLOs should be assessed using methods that are clearly aligned with the learning described in the outcome.

At least one direct measure is required for every SLO.

Direct measures provide evidence of what graduate students know or can demonstrate and should serve as the primary evidence for assessing achievement of SLOs. Depending on the discipline and degree level, examples may include:

comprehensive or qualifying examinations;
research papers or scholarly products;
theses or dissertations;
capstone projects;
portfolios;
presentations or defenses;
clinical or professional demonstrations;
performances or creative works; or
other student work evaluated using established criteria.

Each assessment method should include a clearly defined criterion for success that identifies the expected level of student performance. Assessment methods, criteria, and sampling strategies should provide sufficient and appropriate evidence to support interpretation of student achievement and improvement decisions.

Progressive Graduate Learning Expectations

Graduate education should reflect progressively more advanced learning expectations than undergraduate education and appropriate differentiation among graduate degree levels.

Graduate program SLOs should therefore demonstrate advancement in the depth, complexity, specialization, independence, integration, and application of knowledge expected within the discipline. Programs offering credentials at multiple levels should ensure that the learning outcomes and assessment expectations clearly differentiate the level of achievement required for each degree.

FIU follows Florida's Statewide Course Numbering System (SCNS), which provides a common framework for identifying postsecondary courses and their academic level. Graduate coursework generally includes:

5000–5999 courses: beginning graduate-level coursework;
6000–6999 courses: advanced graduate-level coursework;
7000–7999 courses: doctoral-level coursework.

Course-level learning expectations should reflect the academic level, content, and role of each course within the graduate curriculum.

Differentiation by Degree Level

Graduate programs should distinguish expected learning across degree levels rather than using the same learning outcomes or performance expectations for bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs.

Degree Level	General Learning Expectations
Undergraduate	Demonstrate broad and increasingly specialized disciplinary knowledge and apply established concepts, methods, and skills appropriate to the bachelor's level.
Master's	Demonstrate advanced and specialized disciplinary knowledge; integrate and critically evaluate complex information; apply advanced methods or professional practices; and demonstrate greater independence in analysis, problem-solving, research, creative activity, or professional practice.
Doctoral	Demonstrate the highest level of disciplinary expertise and independence; critically synthesize and extend existing knowledge; conduct original or advanced inquiry, scholarship, creative activity, or professional practice; and contribute new knowledge, interpretations, applications, or approaches appropriate to the discipline.

Programs offering both master's and doctoral degrees should demonstrate a clear progression between the levels. Doctoral outcomes should not simply repeat master's-level outcomes with a higher criterion for success; the nature and complexity of the learning itself should reflect the higher degree level.

Similarly, graduate outcomes should not duplicate undergraduate outcomes without demonstrating substantively more advanced expectations for knowledge, analysis, integration, independence, research, professional practice, or other discipline-appropriate competencies.

Program Outcomes
Program Outcomes (POs) assess important aspects of program effectiveness that are distinct from students' direct demonstration of learning.
Assessment of Program Outcomes
Program Outcomes may address areas such as:
- retention, persistence, and graduation;
- time to degree;
- progression through major program milestones;
- licensure or certification outcomes;
- employment, professional advancement, or continued education;
- student or graduate satisfaction;
- academic advising, mentoring, and student support;
- curriculum or program quality;
- research, scholarly, clinical, or professional opportunities;
- placement into internships, residencies, fellowships, or other advanced experiences; or
- other indicators of program effectiveness aligned with the program's mission and priorities.
POs may also include indirect or aggregate indicators related to student learning, such as licensure pass rates that do not provide competency-level results or surveys of students' perceptions of their learning, preparation, or educational experience.
Programs should identify POs that provide meaningful information about important aspects of program effectiveness rather than attempting to assess every administrative or operational component of the program.
POs may vary across programs based on program mission, degree level, priorities, student populations, disciplinary expectations, and specialized accreditation requirements.
Assessment Across Methods of Delivery
FIU assesses student learning and program effectiveness across the methods of delivery and instructional locations through which graduate programs are offered.
The same degree program should maintain the same or equivalent program-level learning expectations regardless of method of delivery or instructional location. Assessment methods should also be the same or equivalent, when appropriate, so that achievement of the program's outcomes can be meaningfully evaluated across the ways in which the degree is delivered.
In accordance with applicable State of Florida requirements, separate assessment reporting is required when 50% or more of the required coursework for a graduate degree program is offered through a particular method of delivery or instructional location.
Separate assessment reporting may therefore apply to:
- Face-to-Face
- Online
- Online LIVE
- Hybrid
- Off-Campus instructional locations, including locations such as FIU at I-75 and Downtown at Brickell
- Offshore programs
When separate reporting is required, programs assess the applicable Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) and Program Outcomes (POs) for that method of delivery or instructional location. The outcomes should remain the same or equivalent across delivery methods and locations, while the assessment results provide evidence of achievement for the students represented in each report.
Programs should review results across applicable methods of delivery and instructional locations to identify meaningful differences in student learning or program effectiveness and determine whether targeted improvement strategies are warranted.
Representative Assessment Evidence
When assessment evidence is drawn from selected courses, sections, students, participants, or artifacts, programs should ensure that the sample appropriately represents the methods of delivery and instructional locations included within the scope of the assessment.
For programs that do not meet the threshold for separate assessment reporting, courses or sections used to assess program outcomes should still include appropriate representation of applicable methods of delivery and instructional locations when those populations are part of the program.
For example, when a course used for program-level assessment has multiple sections offered through different methods of delivery or at different instructional locations, the assessment design should consider how those populations will be represented rather than relying exclusively on evidence from a single section or location.
Programs using sampling should consult FIU's Sampling Guidelines for Assessment for guidance on selecting, documenting, and interpreting samples.

All graduate degree programs are required to maintain an assessment plan that provides systematic evidence of student learning and program effectiveness.

Outcome Type	Minimum Required	What It Assesses	Expected Evidence
Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)	3 SLOs	Advanced knowledge, skills, competencies, or behaviors students are expected to demonstrate upon completion of the graduate degree	At least one direct measure for each SLO, such as a comprehensive examination, research paper, thesis, dissertation, capstone project, portfolio, presentation, performance, clinical demonstration, or other observable demonstration of advanced learning
Program Outcomes (POs)	3 POs	Meaningful indicators of program effectiveness, including student experiences, perceptions, preparation, progression, completion, professional outcomes, or other programmatic results	Institutional data, administrative records, surveys, interviews, focus groups, external indicators, or other appropriate evidence

Direct and Indirect Measures

SLOs must include direct evidence of student learning. Indirect measures, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, and self-assessments, are incorporated into Program Outcomes when they assess students' perceptions, experiences, preparation, satisfaction, or other indicators of program effectiveness.

Indirect measures do not substitute for direct assessment of an SLO. Each measure must include a clearly defined criterion for success indicating the expected level of student achievement, performance, or benchmark.

Specialized and Professional Accreditation

Programs subject to specialized or professional accreditation may align their assessment of student learning with the competency requirements established by their disciplinary accreditor when those requirements differ from FIU's standard minimum of three SLOs.

These programs should assess the competencies, standards, and learning expectations required by the applicable accreditor and provide systematic evidence of student achievement. Programs remain responsible for assessing program effectiveness through POs unless an approved alternative assessment structure addresses FIU's institutional assessment expectations.

When a specialized accreditor establishes different competencies or performance expectations for multiple graduate degree levels, the program's assessment should preserve that differentiation and demonstrate achievement appropriate to each credential.

Use of Results and Follow-Up

For both SLOs and POs, faculty and program leaders are expected to:

analyze assessment results in relation to the established criteria for success;
identify strengths and opportunities for improvement;
document improvement strategies informed by the findings; and
follow up on prior strategies to document implementation and, when appropriate, evaluate their effectiveness.

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Graduate Program Assessment

Student Learning Outcomes and Program Outcomes at a Glance