Marietta College Assessment Committee

Ten Criteria for Evaluating Misson Statements

You can use these criteria to refine your mission statement over time.

The mission statement . . .

  1. is clear and understandable to all personnel, including rank-and-file-employees.
  2. is brief enough for most people to keep in mind.
  3. clearly specifies what business the organization is in. This includes a clear statement about:
    • What customer or client needs the organization is attempting to fulfill, not what products or services are offered;
    • Who the organization's primary customers or clients are;
    • How the organization plans to go about its business, that is, what its primary technologies are; and
    • Why the organization exists, that is, what ultimate contribution the organization wants to make to the world.
  4. has a primary focus on a single strategic thrust.
  5. reflects the distinctive competence (or competencies) of the organization.
  6. is broad enough to allow flexibility in implementation but not so broad that it lacks focus.
  7. serves as a template for decision making within the organization.
  8. reflects not only the value, beliefs, and philosophy of operations of the organization but also the organizational culture.
  9. reflects achievable standards.
  10. is worded in such a way that it serves as an energy source and rallying point for the organization.

 

Online Resources

Here you will find good ideas for embedding assessment in everything you do!
This page changes frequently, so be sure to check back often.

Assessment Instrument Toolkit: Wabash College's Center for Inquiry in the Liberal Arts provides this collection that reviews common assessment instruments: http://liberalarts.wabash.edu/cila/home.cfm?news_id=1860

 

Field-Tested Assessment Guide:(with an emphasis on CATS developed and used by college faculty) http://www.flaguide.org/

 

Using Portfolios for Assessment at All Levels: http://www.iport.iupui.edu/

 

Authentic Assessment: (this site contains a tutorial as well as examples in many cognate areas): http://jonathan.mueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/index.htm

 

Rubric Bank: (rubrics from many subject areas assessing many skills) http://intranet.cps.k12.il.us/Assessments/Ideas_and_Rubrics/Rubric_Bank/rubric_bank.html.

 

Rubrics.com: (great background information about rubrics, also a commercial software available to help you create rubrics) http://www.rubrics.com/