Course Assessment

At OCC, faculty and academic staff assess student learning within courses through Common Course Outcomes (CCOs). For each course, faculty generally develop two CCOs per credit hour and incorporate at least one general education outcome concept. These outcomes undergo review by faculty, academic deans, and the Office of Institutional Effectiveness to ensure they are clear and measurable.

Faculty then develop assessment plans to measure student learning on each outcome. These plans include specific benchmarks, methods, and an assessment frequency. Benchmarks identify the proportion of students expected to demonstrate competency at a specific level (e.g., 80% of students will score at least 4 out of 5 points on the rubric). Assessment methods include tools such as rubrics, exams, papers, activities, etc. Finally, faculty are required to assess learning on at least two CCOs per academic year, although they may assess more if they wish.