New Jersey Institute of Technology

Assessment in the Humanities

Beginning with our role in the New Jersey Basic Skills Placement Test (NJBSPT)—a state-wide assessment system for placement undertaken in all state institutions from 1978 to 1994 employing nearly 43,000 yearly tests (New Jersey College; Lutkus, Lynch, Ramsey)—NJIT researchers have built a culture of assessment within the university in the Department of Humanities.

NJIT researchers plan to set standards for artifacts and methodologies used for program and individual student assessment. NJIT uses portfolios as one of the primary artifacts for measuring student and program effectiveness, both at the undergraduate level (in capstone courses) and at the graduate level (in our masters programs.) We would like to see a set of standards for portfolio planning, creation, and assessment that provide guidelines for effective use of these data gathering artifacts.