Assessment Background
This ongoing assessment work is necessary to remain compliant with NECHE’s Standard 4, Educational Effectiveness and the Success of All Students, which was revised in 2026. Among other criteria, Standard 4 includes the following:
4.1 The institution identifies a set of mission-appropriate goals for student learning and success at the institution, program and course levels, for all students, across all locations and all modalities. It establishes metrics to facilitate the assessment of its goals, including retention, graduation, and success rates.
4.2 The institution uses a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods, and direct and indirect measures, to assess its mission-appropriate goals for student learning and success and to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of its academic programs, student services, and co-curricular programs in achieving its mission and facilitating student success.
Our 2024 Interim Report focused primarily on Standard 4 (formerly Standard 8) and enunciated Dartmouth’s continued progress toward compliance. In order to reach full compliance, we must institute a cyclical process, in which assessment data continually informs curricular changes and alterations to learning outcomes in all departments and programs. For an overview of accreditation at Dartmouth, please visit the accreditation home page.