Why does Barton require that faculty document their CAT activities?
Barton’s assessment plan involves five levels of student learning: Class, Course, Program, Degree and Institution. Activities at all five levels are designed to assess student learning; however, the classroom is the place where teachers and students directly interact; thus, the classroom lays the foundation for all of the other levels. Although Barton requires documentation of only one CAT per semester, some faculty use CATs much more frequently; others do only the minimum of one CAT per semester. Completing the CAT report serves two important purposes: 1) it fulfills the Course-Level documentation requirement for Barton’s Assessment Plan, and 2) it documents that Barton faculty are directly involved in the assessment of student learning.
