This space is the repository for student learning assessment reports submitted by the instructional departments of Portland Community College (PCC). This is a public space accessible to the internal and external communities of PCC. If you have questions about this space or find something that looks amiss, please contact the Academic Support Coordinator at 971.722.4555 or academicaffairs@pcc.edu.

The assessment reports are filed alphabetically by subject area (see left). Click the ">" symbol to view the various disciplines and programs in each cluster. 

From fall 2009 through spring 2018, Lower-Division Collegiate (LDC) and Developmental Education (DE) disciplines at PCC focused assessment efforts on the Institutional Core Outcomes, starting with Critical Thinking and Problem Solving as the focal point for 2009-2010. Career-Technical Education (CTE) programs assessed Critical Thinking and Problem Solving in 2009 only. Clarification from our accreditation authority, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), led us to refocus CTE assessments to their own degree and certificate outcomes. Starting in fall 2010, CTE departments were asked to show the alignment of their program outcomes with the Institutional Core. Reports submitted in 2011 and later examine each program's degree and/or certificate outcomes.

PCC began a General Education inquiry in fall 2015. As faculty groups and instructional administrators debated General Education outcomes and how to assess them, the LDC-DE Subject Area Committees (SACs) were given more latitude to assess the Core or exploratory outcomes from fall 2015 through spring 2018. In fall 2018 and beyond, the LDC-DE SACs would have the liberty of abandoning the Core Outcomes altogether and assessing an outcome of choice and reporting on that project at the end of the year. CTE SACs would continue assessing degree and certificate outcomes to meet state requirements, but the Learning Assessment Council reduced its reporting expectations in 2018-2019 to one Summary Data Report and one Focal Outcome Assessment Report per CTE SAC.

In 2018-19, the Disciplinary Studies Subject Areas (DSACs) of Cultural Literacy, Arts & Letters; Science, Math & Computer Science; and Social Science piloted assessments for the outcomes each DSAC had adopted the previous year, using signature assignments that aligned with custom rubrics for their proprietary outcomes:

• Cultural Literacy courses - Social Justice outcome
• Arts & Letters - Integrative Learning outcome
• Science, Math & Computer Science - Quantitative Reasoning outcome
• Social Science - Social Analysis and Inquiry outcome

All SACs wishing to keep courses on (or add courses to) the General Education and Cultural Literacy lists will be asked to submit formal requests and updated Course Outcome Guides, in a staggered fashion, starting November 2019 and continuing through January 2021. PCC's new General Education and Cultural Literacy course lists will be published in the 2021-2022 catalog. At that point, all General Education faculty will be expected to include an embedded assignment in every class in every term. Student achievement of the institutional General Education Outcomes will be internally assessed and no longer assessed by the SACs. 

This section is dedicated to recent and past winners of the LAC's awards for exemplary reporting. 

AP = Annual Plan

ARF = Assessment Report Form (first used in 2014-2015, the first half lays out the year’s plans for a first-time assessment and the second half of the form is filed at the end of the year to explain how the assessment went

C = Communication (Core Outcome)

CA = Cultural Awareness (Core Outcome)

CER = Community and Environmental Responsibility (Core Outcome)

CTPS = Critical Thinking and Problem Solving (Core Outcome)

EOY = End-of-Year Report

MYP = Multi-Year Plan (first created in 2013-2014, this form provides a two-year assessment plan for Career Technical Education (CTE) programs, and a six-year assessment plan for Lower-Division Collegiate  (LDC) and Developmental Education (DE) disciplines

PC = Professional Competence (Core Outcome)

RRF = Reassessment Report Form (first used in 2014-2015, the RRF is similar to the ARF, but is used when a department has conducted a reassessment; i.e., assessing for improvement)

SDR = Summary Data Report (first used in 2014-2015, the SDR provides disaggregated results of student assessment)

SR = Self-Reflection (Core Outcome)