Of all the questions Union students ask, such as what will be on the test, do they have time to sleep for another ten minutes and what is going to be served at Cobo, there is one question that has been running all over campus these past few weeks: What is Assessment Day?
The rumors are running rampant: Why do freshman need calculators? Are there surveys or academic tests? Do we need to study? What happens if we don’t show up? Why are there food trucks? Do we get chapel credit? (Spoiler alert: no) Why are we doing any of this?
After asking multiple people who were just as confused as the next person, the answers to all of your Assessment Day questions finally emerged.
Bryan Carrier, dean of students, gave enlightenment on why Assessment Day came about. In the past, students were asked to complete some form of a survey or assessment nearly every week throughout the academic year. Consequently, the number of students who were actually participating in the surveys started declining significantly, and the university wasn’t able to get a large enough sample size to represent the whole population.
“The fall collection cycle will include the ETS (Core Curriculum assessment), CIRP (freshman survey measuring background characteristics, high school experiences and expectations for college), CLS (Christian Life Survey) and a variety of department specific assessments (e.g. Library Survey, Dining Services Survey, Communications Market Research Survey, etc.),” Carrier said.
Ashley Akerson, residence director of Heritage, gave a summation of what to expect on Assessment Day.
“Assessment Day is a scheduled day for students to take any surveys and assessments that are used to help evaluate Union for the university’s accreditation,” Akerson said. “In the past, these surveys were emailed to students. However, with this method, few students responded to the surveys.”
Freshmen will be taking an academic test that will assess students in the areas of reading, writing, science and critical thinking. The surveys will evaluate the university’s marketing, dining services and library.
Testing starts at 11:00 a.m. and ends at 3:00 p.m., but only 1.5 hours will consist of test taking. The rest of the day will consist of games, activities, free snacks (Amish donuts) and seminars that students can attend. Students will also participate in an online alcohol/drug education program as well as an in-person sexual abuse prevention/bystander intervention program led by John Foubert, dean for the College of Education, who is a national expert on sexual assault prevention, bystander intervention and the harms of pornography.
If students do not show up to Assessment Day, they will be docked an unexcused absence for the class they normally attend.
