Information gathered from students, faculty, and staff is critical to the successful operation and functioning of the Division. To support effective assessment and evaluation, staff must submit project plans to the Director of Planning, Assessment, and Evaluation for review.

The process allows us to apply best practices in assessment and evaluation to benefit the Division and the community by:

• Coordinating the timing of project implementation,
• Avoiding over-taxing certain constituents of the community (survey fatigue and oversampling),
• Using high-quality assessment methods and tools, and
• Avoiding unnecessary redundancy in information collection.

Process

Notify the Director of Planning, Assessment, and Evaluation of a proposed project at least 30 days prior to your desired launch date.  If you need support in revising an existing tool or developing a new tool, it is advised to allow for more time.  To initiate a project, Complete the Assessment Planning Form.

Ethics and Oversight

The UConn-Storrs Institutional Review Board (IRB) reviews human subjects research to ensure that the studies conducted on campus have appropriate safeguards for the ethical, compliant, and safe conduct of research, as well as the protection of the rights and welfare of the human subjects who will volunteer for participation.

Most assessment projects conducted within the Division are for internal planning purposes only. Projects to collect information to inform program development or improvement are usually not required to go through the IRB approval process. However, there are certain conditions which may necessitate communication with or approval by IRB.  As practitioners, it can be challenging to know when to plan for consultation with IRB.  Staff in the Division of SLE can Click here to complete a brief questionnaire that will determine the likelihood of needing IRB oversight.  Please note: this form is intended to be used as a guide for planning purposes and does not substitute or replace the IRB determination process.