Assessment Management System
Taskstream
User Guide
for Academic
Program
Assessment
71 WEST 23RD STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10010 · T 1.800.311.5656 · e
ERAU
Table of Contents
Section 1: Getting Started*
ACADEMIC PLANNER HOME PAGE
Taskstream Basics
Check For Correct Access to Taskstream
Section 2: View Archived Assessment Plans From Prior Yearsε
Section 3: Complete/Modify Standing Requirements*Ϯε
Program Mission Statement
Program Alignment to University Mission
Program Outcomes
Curriculum Map
Assessment Schedule
Additional Information
Section 4: Complete Cyclical Requirements for Assessment PlanϮε
Contact Information
Assessment Plan
Section 5: Complete Cyclical Requirements for Assessment Results and Improvementsε
Results and Proposed Improvements
Improvement Action Plan
Status Report
Additional/Ad-hoc Program Improvements
Attachments
Section 6: Print FullAssessment Report or Selected Sections*
Section 7: Finalized Assessment Reportε
Section 8: Getting Help*
REVIEW AND COMPLETE ABOVE SECTIONS BASED ON PROGRAM MATURITY:
*NEW PROGRAMS (FIRST YEAR OF ENROLLMENTS)
ϮNEW PROGRAMS (SECOND YEAR OF ENROLLMENTS)
εESTABLISHED PROGRAMS
Section 1: Getting Started
ACADEMIC ASSESSMENT PLANNER HOME PAGE
When you log into Taskstream (sign into ERNIE, then click “Taskstream”under Tools or within “All tools”), you will see 3 areas (screenshot below):
- Under _Academic Training Resources, you will see Planner Training Materials
- Under Academic Assessment Management Reports, the XX Academic Assessment Due Dates & Status Reports link shows:
- Assessment Deliverables and Due Dates (see Page 4)
- Completion Status Reports for All Programs (see Page 4)
- Under your Program area, there is an Assessment Workspace link and a Feedbacklink.
- Under the Assessment Workspace link, along with your program’s assessment plans, you will see a “Multi-cycle Assessment Summary Report by Outcome” report in the Archives section. This report summarizes assessment activity over time by outcome (see Page 6)
- Feedback contains general comments and recommended revisions (if applicable) from the Office of Academic Assessment regarding assessment best practices (see Page 5)
1a. Assessment Deliverables and Due Dates
Click the link under the new Academic Assessment Portal to get to the screen shown below. Next, click “Assessment Deliverables and Due Dates” from the left-hand menu, then click the campus-specific “ASSESSMENT TIMELINE AND DELIVERABLES” file posted in the center of the screen to view assessment deliverables and due dates.
1b. Completion Status Reports for All Programs
Under the new Academic Assessment Portal, click the new PC Academic Assessment Due Dates & Status Reports link to get to the screen shown below. Next, click “Completion Status Reports for all Programs” from the left-hand menu, then click the file of interest posted in the center of the screen to view the completion status of your program for the specified timeframe.
2. Feedback
Under your existing Program area, click the new Feedback link to get to the screen shown below. Next, click a form under “[-] Feedback Forms” from the left-hand menu, then “View Form Responses” in the center of the screen to open the feedback form.
The Fall Feedback form (screenshot example below) contains general comments and recommended revisions (if applicable) from the Office of Academic Assessment regarding assessment best practices.
3. Multi-Cycle Assessment Summary Report by Outcome
From your home screen, below your program(s), click the Assessment Workspace link to get to the screen shown below. Next, under the Archives section, click “Multi-Assessment Summary Report by Outcome” on the left-hand menu, then click the file (“… Longitudinal Assessment Plans & Findings.xlsx”) in the center screen to open the new report.
The Multi-Cycle Assessment Summary Reports by Outcome section contains a longitudinal report for each program that has been through at least 1 assessment cycle. The report displays each outcome in its own tab. For each outcome, the results are color coded to indicate met (green), not met (red), or data unavailable (yellow) for each criterion for success for completed, prior cycles. Changes in outcome name, description, and numbering are also captured, as well as discontinued outcomes. NOTE: these reports for Worldwide programs will be posted as they are completed; reports for Daytona Beach and Prescott programs have already been completed and posted.
Taskstream Basics
Taskstream uses “Check Out” and “Check In” to keep planners from overwriting each other. Before you can work on a section, you must click the “Check Out” button; no one else will be able to work on this section until you click “Check In” or until you log out of the system.
Tasksteam uses triangular bullets to hide and expand content under certain headings. If no content is immediately visible, click the triangle to expand and view content.
Check For Correct Access to Taskstream
- After you are logged in to your Taskstream account, check to see if the affiliation and workspace available to you on the homepage is correct. The area below circled in red represents the affiliation, while the area circled in blue is the workspace. If you are associated with incorrect programs, please contact the Office of Academic Assessment ( or 386-226-7373)if you would like to have your affiliations changed.
- When you first open the workspace, you will see the structure on the left-hand side. This structure contains several different requirements related to your assessment process.
Section 2: View Archived Assessment Plans From Prior Years
The Archivecategorywill contain a link to plans from previous cycles in the Assessment Plans from Previous Cycles area. You will be able to access older Assessment Plans in this area for reference. Click the link within the Assessment Plans from Previous Cycles area and a page with archived content will open in a new tab.
Section 3: Complete/Modify Standing Requirements
The Standing Requirements category contains/will contain assessment data that will remain relatively steady over time, whereas the Annual Assessment Cyclewill be completed anew each year.
Program Mission Statement
The Program Mission Statement requirement is the first in the structure where you’ll be entering data. To begin working on it or any other requirement, please select it from the workspace structure.
Once it’s selected, you can view the directions and add the required data in the right-hand frame.
On the upper right-hand corner, you will see a green “Check Out” button. Please note that all requirements in Taskstream’s AMS system use a Check In / Check Out system. NOTE:To edit or add data to any requirement you will first need to “Check Out” the requirement.
When you click the “Check Out” button, the “Edit” button will appear on the far right. Click “Edit” to add your mission statement data.
NOTE: If content has already been added to the area, you will be able to add to and/or modify it.
Once you have entered the appropriate mission statement, you may click the “Submit” button.
Return to Workspace by clicking Return to Work Area.
Be sure to click the “Check In” button, to allow your peers the ability to modify the Program Mission Statement requirement.
Program Alignment to University Mission
- The next requirement in the structure is Program Alignment to University Mission.
Once you “Check Out”the area, you will be able to fill out a form attached by your organization by clicking “Complete Form.”
Check the boxes that apply and click “Save and Return.”
Program Outcomes
- When you are ready to move on to the Program Outcomesrequirement, you may select that requirement from the workspace structure.
To begin, you must first check out the requirement. Once you do so, you will have the option of creating a new outcome set or selecting an existing outcome set.
To pull an existing set into the area, start by clicking the Select Existing Set button.
Choose the set you wish to add (note the first two were already pulled in) and click the Continue button at the bottom.
If you do not wish to create a new outcome set, you can skip to step 10 on page 12.
To create a new outcome set to map to, start by clicking the Create New Outcome Set button.
You may then title the outcome set and choose whether you want to allow other sets to be aligned to this (your) outcome set (it is recommended to leave this checkbox blank). Then you may click “Continue.”
- Once you return to the main Goals and Outcomes area, you can start to create Outcomes. To create an Outcome, click the “Create New Outcome”button.
Enter a concise title for your Outcome (max 60 characters) and enter the outcome statement in the Description field. Click “Continue.”
- After clicking the Back to all outcome setslink, you may map or align your outcomes to collegelevel or university level goals, accrediting body standards and criteria, and general education outcomes. To do this, click the Map link next to the outcome you wish to map.
You can then click the “Create New Mapping” button.
To map or align your outcomes with a goal set, you’ll want to select Goal sets distributed to…
Select the appropriate set and click “Continue.”
Choose which Outcome set items align with your objective and then click the “Continue” button. You will now see the Outcome set items mapped or aligned with your objective. NOTE: This is just an example of what the area would look like.
You may repeat this process for additional mappings. Once mapped, your outcome(s) will look similar to thefirst one in the screenshot below.
Curriculum Map
- Now you can go to the Curriculum Map requirement.
Start by checking out the area and clicking the “Create New Mapping Matrix” button.Existing maps are already listed below the button.
Enter a name for your curriculum mapandselect an outcome set from the Select Alignment Set drop-down menu.
Click “Ok” in the pop-up message and you will be taken to a separate window where you can create the Curriculum Map. Click the small grey triangles on the left (circled in the screenshot below) to insert a course or activity.NOTE: this is an example.
Enter the Course Activity ID, Title, and a Description or Link (both optional) and click the “Create” button.Using the quick link (circled in red above) will insert the course at the quick link. However, using the “Mapping Actions” button in the upper left to add courses will insert the course at the top of the list.
Using the legend along the bottom, you can indicate the level of program outcome proficiency for each course by clicking the intersecting cells.
Click the “Save Now” button in the top right corner to save your progress as you go. When you’re ready to move on, close the map window.
You can now access/edit your map in the Curriculum Map area or create another map.
Assessment Schedule
- The Assessment Schedule area has the same functionality as the currciulum map area. However, here you are determining if Assessment Cycles (years) have aligned with outcomes, instead of courses.
Additional Information
- The Additional Informationarea may be used to document any program-level information you wish to include.
To add content:
a)From the Add toolbar at the bottom of the right panel, clidk the button to add a specific type of content.
i)If this is the first time you are adding the selected type of content, click the button will create a new section in the Content area.
ii)If content of this type has already been added, click the button will take you to the existing section to add/edit work.
b)Follow the process specific to that type of content to add or upoload work.
Section 4: Complete Cyclical Requirements for Assessment Plan
- Now you may proceed to the cyclical assessment sectionrepresented by the category2013-2014 Assessment Cycleto enter your assessment data.
Contact Information
In the first area, Contact Information, you will be entering the current contact information for the individual responsible for entering assessment data forthe program in the form provided. Click the “Complete Form” button on the right to begin.
Once you fill out the fields, click “Save and Return.”
Assessment Plan
- To create an assessment plan that defines the measures used to assess your student learning outcomes, check out the Assessment Plan area and click the “Create New Assessment Plan” button.
NOTE: You may have to expand the Outcomes and Measures bar after completing this step.
Then click the “Select Outcomes” button.
Click the “Select Existing Set” button to select your outcome set from the Outcomes/Learning Objectives library.
Select the outcome set you wish to assess and click the “Continue” button.
Select the outcomes you wish to assess and then click the “Accept and Return to Plan” button.
- To add a Measure to an outcome, click the appropriate “Add New Measure” button.
You may then add the details of your measure into the measure data entry screen.
When you click the “Apply Changes” button, you will also have the option to “Add/Edit Attachments and Links”to the Measure.
You may repeat these steps to add additional measures for this or other outcomes. Be sure to “Check In” the area after you have finished working in it for that session.
Section 5: Complete Cyclical Requirements for Assessment Results and Improvements
Results and Proposed Improvements
- Once you have gathered your data, you may select the Results and Proposed Improvements area and add your assessment data to the system.
To do so, check out the requirement, locate the appropriate Measure, and then click the “Add Results” button.
You may then enter the details of your assessment findings into the data entry screen.
Once you have entered your data, click the “Submit” button. The resulting screen will look something like this:
Improvement Action Plan
- For the Improvement Action Plan, select the area from the workspace structure and check out the requirement.
Then you may click the “Create New Operational Plan” button.
Next, click the “Select Outcomes” button under the Actions bar.
Click the “Select Existing Set” button.
Select the Outcome set you wish to assess that cycle and click the “Continue”button.
Select the Outcomes you wish to assess and then click the “Accept and Return to Plan” button.
You may now add an Action to each applicable Outcome by clicking the “Add New Action”button.
You may wish to include the Results for Measure of the objective you selected by checking the checkbox and clicking “Continue.”
Populate the Action detail fields with your data. NOTE: you will need to check the box for Show Full Results Details.
You may repeat this process for each additional action you need to add.
Be sure to click the “Check In” button, to allow your peers the ability to modify the requirement.
Status Report
- To document the Status of each of your actions, you may select the Status Report requirement from the workspace structure.
Check out the requirement and then click the “Add Status” button.NOTE: this is an example of what it could look like.
You may then complete the Status Report for that particular action and click “Submit.”
When you click the “Submit”button, the finished result should look something like this:
Repeat these steps for each subsequent Action and Statusreport. Be sure to click the “Check In” button to allow your peers the ability to modify the requirement.
At the bottom of the Status Reportarea are sections where you can add a Status Summary as well as a Summary of Next Steps by clicking the respective “Edit” buttons.
Additional/Ad-hoc Program Improvements
The Additional/Ad-Hoc Program Improvements area contains an attached form provided by your organization. This form is optional. You may use any of the buttons along the bottom on the Add toolbar to add additional content is well.