Public Information

Student Achievement

The Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Regional Planning Program defines student achievement as:

1. Demonstration of academic and practical Planning knowledge,
2. Experiencing the complexity of civic engagement from learning-while-doing,
3. Understanding the professional courtesies and decorum expected in the professional workplace, and
4. Obtaining gainful employment in the field after graduation.

The quality of our students is evident through their individual achievements. The IUP Planning Program works to develop and train individuals who want to work toward being a catalyst of community and environmental change.

 Our program graduated seven bachelor’s degrees in 2023–24. All of these students endured the obstacles faced by the COVID-19 restrictions and deserve to be recognized for their perseverance.

Six of the seven (85%) IUP Planning Program 2023–24 graduates found gainful employment in their field within six months of graduation. Most of this cohort’s graduates chose to work in local government (70%), while one graduate works in a private engineering firm and another continued into an MS program.

In addition to the university-wide program assessment framework, the Planning Program has developed several assessment instruments to track student achievement. The results of these measures are reviewed annually to determine if students are experiencing success, and also serve to provide data and opportunity for faculty to improve the program.

Here are four of the Program Assessment Instruments we use to ensure, monitor, and improve student success:

1. Course Presentation Instrument (pdf)

In course work, students are evaluated by faculty using a standard faculty-developed rubrics to compare work among peers and between cohorts. 

2. Program Internship Instrument (pdf) 

For-credit internships at local public or private places of work are a required part of our program. At internships, students are evaluated by their internship supervisors using a standard faculty-and-partners rubrics to compare work among peers and between cohorts. 

3. Planning Portfolio Instrument (pdf) 

A requirement for graduation is the production of and professionally presented Planning Portfolio. This portfolio is evaluated using a standard rubric for use by both internal faculty reviewers and by external working professional reviewers. The program uses this instrument in three ways: to evaluate student success as they exit the program, to introduce students to working professionals and to garner their feedback on student work, and to use this data to annually evaluate the Planning Program goals and outcomes. 

4. Undergraduate Scholars Forum Instrument (pdf)

Students are required to participate in on-campus competitive research competitions. Students are evaluated by faculty from across the university using a standard rubric developed to compare academic merit and individual quality of research outputs.