The University monitors student learning outcomes using both direct and indirect measures, including participation in two national studies that provide us with external student learning outcomes benchmarks. These include our almost two decade long participation in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), which offers comparisons of our students’ self-reported learning gains with those of students at other Research Universities.

More recently, we began participation in a groundbreaking national direct student learning assessment project that draws from samples of actual student coursework, scored by college and university faculty from across the country, to document student performance on Critical Thinking, Written Communication, and Quantitative Literacy. The results of these studies indicate that UMass Amherst seniors perform at or above the levels of seniors at other colleges and universities.