Diagnostics and Assessment to Help Students See Where They Are

In order to know where you're going to go and how you're going to get there, you need to know where you're starting from. CPCS provides students with different tools and supports to help them assess where they are and how they can best get to where they want to be. Some examples include:

Diagnostics. In order to determine whether you will do best to tackle a requirement by taking a class, working independently or applying your prior learning, CPCS offers some diagnostics that help us assess your skills. Diagnostics are designed to allow the student to show a faculty member a sample of their work toward a competency. Using that as the basis for assessment, the faculty member and the student can then assess the best mode of learning or demonstration for the student. One example is the Understanding Arguments diagnostic that many students complete in their first semester to get direction about the best way for them to complete this required competency.

Assessments. In addition to the diagnostic assessments that are available to students, assessments take place through special advising supports. It is often useful for students to meet with faculty advisors to help them assess their prior experience and interests as they make decisions about what classes to take, what competencies they may be able to use prior learning to demonstrate and what options are available to them for independent learning. The Competency Connection and the experiential learning workshops conducted by the Director of Experiential Learning, Diane Dujon, are a great place to start. Through the workshops you will be able to learn more about how to identify competencies that you can do outside of classes.