Assessment

At Kuyper College, we are committed to providing an excellent education, and because of this, we not only assess what faculty teach, but also what students learn through our programs.  Assessment is the process of measuring the impact that education has on students. We want to be able to show, through measurable data, that we are making a difference in our students' learning and growth. Therefore, we have developed a variety of methods to measure what students learn throughout their time here. 

Some of these approaches include a new Writing across the Curriculum program and an additional assessment test that students take during their freshman and junior years. The results from these and other assessment activities show us two kinds of information. First of all, the data reaffirms that we provide our students with an excellent education.  Secondly, it shows areas where we could improve. We strongly encourage students to  participate in assessment activities not only for the benefit of the College, but also because it is important for them, their parents, potential employers, potential graduate schools, and the community to know how much students learn during their time at Kuyper.

Areas of Emphasis

When students graduate from Kuyper College, we want to know that their education has been worthwhile and that we have equipped them with the skills to be successful servants of God in their chosen vocation. As a ministry-focused Christian leadership college, it is very important to us that our students gain effective and persuasive communication skills, leadership skills and knowledge of the Bible. In order to achieve success in these and other areas, the College has created five student learning outcomes that we assess through various activities. These five student learning outcomes include skill sets that we want students to have upon graduation from Kuyper.  These student learning outcomes appear in class syllabi and are consistently addressed in the classroom. 

Student Participation

Student participation in assessment is not meant to be a time-consuming endeavor.  More often than not, assessment at Kuyper includes course embedded assessment. This means that assessment takes place in the classroom through required projects or portfolios. Students may be asked for permission for their written work to be copied and reevaluated by a different professor during the summer. This does not affect their grade. The results of this project are used to enhance the Writing across the Curriculum program. 

Responses to all assessment activities are confidential.  We never share individual information in an inappropriate way, and we will do our best to notify students ahead of time exactly how the information provided to us will be used. Please contact us with any questions about how assessment information will be used.

For a list of which assessment activities will occur during freshman, sophomore, junior or senior years, please click here.  

Feedback System

In almost all instances, results of assessment activities will be shared with the students that participated.  Results of the Academic Profile, for instance, which is a standardized test given to freshmen and juniors, are placed in a student's mailbox once they are returned to the College.  To thank students for participating, we also have a drawing for prizes.  (The higher the score is, the more entries a student receives in the drawing.) 

The results of all assessment activities are studied and reviewed by the assessment committee. From there, results of assessment activities may be fed back to the departmental level so that professors can use the data by including new assignments in classes or by changing components of the curriculum.  Please rest assured that no assessment activity is done in vain. We keep results on file for years and study trends in data, including areas where students are consistently strong or weak in order to make our graduates as equipped as possible for life after graduation.  Kuyper College wants our graduates to be effective ministers of God's Word in their chosen vocation, whether it is locally or around the world, and assessment assures us that we are doing our job and lets us know what we could do better.   

Questions?

If you would like more information about Kuyper's assessment program, please contact Dr. Mel Flikkema, Provost and Chair of the Assessment Committee, at MFlikkema@kuyper.eduor by phone at 616-988-3649. Or, contact Debbie Hendricks, Faculty Associate in Assessment,  DHendricks@kuyper.edu or by phone at 616-988-3628.

Additional Assessment Links

Plan for Assessment

Assessment Activities