SUNY

An important part of MCC’s compliance to SUNY guidelines has been the College’s engagement in the SUNY Assessment Initiative, launched in fall 2001 and modified in 2004-05 to include an additional provision for the assessment of student learning in Mathematics, Basic Communication and Critical Thinking (referred to as “Strengthened Campus-Based Assessment, or SCBA).

With the passage of Resolution 2010-039 in March 2010, SUNY Systems Administration’s role effectively shifted from one of oversight to one of consultation and collaboration. Although the prescribed 24 SUNY Student Learning Outcomes for General Education remain as an assessment standard that campuses are expected to uphold, many accountability provisions of the Assessment Initiative (including SCBA) were dropped, leaving campuses greater freedom to develop campus-based models for accountability in assessment.

From 2001-09, MCC’s assessment activities were “SUNY-centered,” because the SUNY Assessment Initiative required that the College (and all other SUNY institutions) submit to a system of prescribed accountability that dictated the direction of assessment and evaluation projects.

Starting in 2009-10, however, the College moved its focus on assessment more toward fulfilling the standards and requirements of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE, or “Middle States”). The MSCHE model for assessment encourages campuses to develop protocols and processes for assessment that focus on “educational improvement” rather than on accountability. MCC’s focus is on assessment for improvement.

MCC continues to refine its approach to assessment, maintaining compliance with the SUNY Assessment Initiative while fulfilling the spirit of assessment and evaluation that MSCHE has encouraged.