Approaching the Loop: A Brief Review of Effective Practises in Continuous Program Improvement

Abstract

Using the results of outcomes basedassessment for the purposes of continuous improvement,or closing the loop, is a frequent topic of discussion inhigher education, and is becoming more commonplaceamongst Canadian engineering programs. There havebeen several organizations and institutions in the UnitedStates that have been investigating outcomes assessmentand how institutions use the data for improvementpurposes. Most notable of these are the National Institutefor Learning Outcomes Assessment and the schoolsparticipating the in the Wabash Study. Despite theseinvestigations and discussions, there is no clearconsensus of what a functioning closed loop resembles,due to the diversity that exists between one institution andthe next. Ultimately it will be the decision of an individualinstitution as to what the final process will resemble, butthere are some key or effective practises for continuousimprovement that can help institutions guide and shapetheir approach to closing the loop.This paper will briefly review the current landscape incontinuous improvement in higher education, and presenteffective practises, common themes and techniques forclosing the loop. The intent of this paper is to provide aresource collection of effective practises to help develop ameaningful, sustainable and practical data-informedcontinuous improvement process with a focus onengineering.