Technical Communication Quarterly Jan 2004

The Impact of Student Learning Outcomes Assessment on Technical and Professional Communication Programs

Jo Allen

Abstract

Because of accreditation, budget, and accountability pressures at the institutional and program levels, technical and professional communication faculty are more than ever involved in assessment-based activities. Using assessment to identify a program's strengths and weaknesses allows faculty to work toward continuous improvement based on their articulation of learning and behavioral goals and outcomes for their graduates. This article describes the processes of program assessment based on pedagogical goals, pointing out options and opportunities that will lead to a meaningful and manageable experience for technical communication faculty, and concludes with a view of how the larger academic body of technical communication programs can benefit from such work. As ATTW members take a careful look at the state of the profession from the academic perspective, we can use assessment to further direct our programs to meet professional expectations and, far more importantly, to help us meet the needs of the well-educated technical communicator.

Journal
Technical Communication Quarterly
Published
2004-01-01
DOI
10.1207/s15427625tcq1301_9
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
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Citation context

Cited by in this index (8)

  1. Tran (2025)
    Rethinking Teacher-Student Communication in the AI Era
    Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  2. Melonçon et al. (2024)
    Back to the Basics: Uncovering the Rhetoric Student Learning Outcome
    Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  3. Griffith et al. (2024)
    A Field Wide Snapshot of Student Learning Outcomes in the Technical and Profess…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. Clegg et al. (2021)
    Programmatic Outcomes in Undergraduate Technical and Professional Communication…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Ringler (2018)
    Placing Writing Tasks in Local and Global Contexts: The Case of Argumentative Writing
    Journal of Writing Analytics
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  1. Watts (2017)
    Beyond Flexibility and Convenience: Using the Community of Inquiry Framework to…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Davis (2010)
    Assessing Technical Communication within Engineering Contexts Tutorial
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  3. Boettger (2010)
    Rubric Use in Technical Communication: Exploring the Process of Creating Valid …
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication

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    Technical Communication Quarterly
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    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
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    Technical Communication Quarterly
CrossRef global citation count: 14 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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