The board of Trustees and constituencies of Oglala Lakota College are committed to continuous improvement of student academic achievement. To further this goal, academic departments will conduct regular activities to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and/or abilities students are acquiring while attending classes at OLC.

Result of assessment activities will be used to plan and budget for continual improvement of college operations.

Purposes of assessing student academic achievement:

To provide information to students and faculty about individual progress;
To inform faculty and other professionals so they may develop appropriate learning programs and curriculum.
To provide information to people who make decisions about the allocation of resources for curriculum, pedagogy, college organization, and other educational goals;
To provide information to the public regarding the institution’s performance;

Who will be assessed:

Entering Freshman
Students in basic skills courses (English and Math)
Students in academic and vocational degree programs as determined by their academic department.

What will be assessed:

Entering freshmen and junior students will be assessed in basic skills subjects and the college core, including but not limited to Reading, Writing, Mathematics, and Lakota cultural awareness.

In addition to college wide assessment in core subjects, students’ learning will also be assessed in their majors and in specific courses as determined by the respective academic departments.

Assessment process:

Assessment will use a number of direct and indirect measures to determine learning. Direct measures may be criterion-based and/or norm-referenced. Students will be assessed at different points during the student’s academic program.