Artifact - Any piece of student work being assessed
Assignment - The directions or instructions created by faculty to guide students in producing a demonstration of skills and/or knowledge.
Calibrated score - At the VALUE Institute, training artifacts are assessed by experts. The score (for each dimension of the VALUE rubric being used) which experts agree on for any artifact is the calibrated score for that artifact.
Dashboard - The home page of your Scoring Session. This is where you will land upon logging in. It displays your unsubmitted artifacts, any unsubmitted scores, and your scoring progress.
Dimension - Used interchangeably with Row or Criteria on any VALUE Rubric. Abbreviated as “Dim” on your dashboard.
Learning Outcome - Learning Outcomes are the subject areas being assessed. (For example, Critical Thinking or Integrative Learning). Learning Outcomes are defined and measured using the VALUE Rubrics (see “VALUE rubric” below).
Project - Projects are used by administrators to create and organize Scoring Sessions. A scorer may have access to scoring sessions in more than one project.
Rubric - An assessment tool. More specifically, a guide listing specific criteria and performance descriptors for assessing student work (such as academic assignments, papers, or projects).
Scoring Session - A brief session when artifacts are assessed by VALUE Institute Certified Scorers. Typically one month long and occurring during the summer.
Submit - Finalize your scoring for a particular artifact by clicking the “Submit” button. Once submitted, the artifact will be removed from your dashboard and you will not be able to access it again.
Unscorable - An artifact that is illegible or otherwise compromised in a way that prevents one from properly assessing it and assigning a score. In such a situation, please contact the AAC&U support team at valueinstitute@aacu.org.
VALUE - An acronym (Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education) first used by AAC&U in 2008 to name assessment tools (the original fifteen VALUE rubrics, followed by the inclusion of a sixteenth VALUE rubric for Global Learning). Expanded in 2014 to include an approach to assessment for colleges and universities that includes external validation of student learning data.
VALUE rubric - An assessment tool. More specifically, AAC&U has made available sixteen VALUE rubrics for use on higher education campuses. VALUE rubrics cover a variety of areas from Critical Thinking to Quantitative Literacy to Intercultural Knowledge and Competence.