Design a Seven-Year Implementation Plan
Academic programs develop a Seven-Year Implementation Plan as part of the Academic Program Review (APR) process. The plan serves as a roadmap for assessing student learning, monitoring program maintenance outcomes, and using evidence for continuous improvement throughout the next APR cycle.
The Seven-Year Implementation Plan brings together three related planning activities:
- Mapping Institutional Learning Goals (ILGs), General Education (GE) Anchor Outcomes, and Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs);
- Scheduling assessment of PLOs and, when applicable, GE Anchor Outcomes across the APR cycle; and
- Identifying Program Maintenance Outcomes (PMOs), implementation strategies, metrics for success, and opportunities to “close the loop.”
Programs may also use the optional curriculum map template to document where PLOs are introduced, developed, mastered, and assessed in the curriculum.
Purpose of the Implementation Plan
The Seven-Year Implementation Plan helps programs answer the following questions:
- What student learning outcomes will the program assess during the next APR cycle?
- Where in the curriculum will the program collect direct evidence of student learning?
- Which faculty or staff members will coordinate data collection, review, and discussion?
- How will assessment findings be shared and used to support program improvement?
- What program maintenance priorities emerged from APR, and how will the program monitor progress on those priorities?
- What additional resources, if any, are needed to support implementation?
The completed plan becomes the foundation for annual assessment reporting and supports sustained, manageable assessment work over the full seven-year cycle.
Before You Begin
Use the current Seven-Year Implementation Plan Template (Undergraduate or Graduate). Because the template is view-only, make a copy before entering program information.
To make a copy:
- Open the Undergraduate Seven-Year Implementation Plan Template.
- Select File > Create a copy.
- Title the document using this format: Seven-Year Implementation Plan: [Academic Year] [Program and Degree].
- Example: Seven-Year Implementation Plan: 2025-2026 Communication Studies_BA
- The completed Implementation Plan will be finalized after the Provost’s APR meeting at the close of the APR cycle.
Begin by reviewing how the program’s PLOs align with Stanislaus State Institutional Learning Goals and, when applicable, GE Anchor Outcomes. This worksheet helps programs document connections among university-level goals, GE outcomes, and program-specific learning outcomes.
Not every PLO must align with a GE outcome, and not every GE outcome will apply to every program. The goal is to identify meaningful alignments that support intentional assessment planning.
Use the assessment planning worksheet to identify when each PLO, and any applicable GE Anchor Outcome, will be assessed during the APR cycle.
Programs should plan to assess all PLOs during the seven-year APR cycle. A manageable approach is to assess one outcome per year or to group related outcomes when the same assignment, rubric, or data source can provide useful evidence.
Program Maintenance Outcomes (PMOs) are priorities that support program quality and sustainability but are not direct measures of student learning. PMOs often emerge from APR findings, external accreditation needs, enrollment trends, student success data, staffing considerations, facilities, equipment, curriculum maintenance, or other program-level priorities.
PMOs should be written in a way that allows the program to monitor progress over time and document how decisions are informed by evidence
Programs may use the curriculum map template to document where PLOs are addressed in required or core courses. The curriculum map can help faculty identify where outcomes are introduced, developed, mastered, and assessed.
See also Creating a Curriculum Map
After the plan is complete, use it as a working document throughout the APR cycle. Each year, programs should review the scheduled PLOs, GE Anchor Outcomes, and PMOs; collect and discuss evidence; document findings; and describe how results informed program decisions.
Assessment results are most useful when they lead to discussion and action. Programs should revisit the plan regularly and update it when curriculum, staffing, assessment methods, or program priorities change.
Updated: June 02, 2026