Capella University

Capella University’s direct assessment option, FlexPath, provides rigorous authentic assessments of learners’ demonstrations of competencies. Learners benefit from the transparency of Capella’s curricular and assessment structure, in which all program outcomes are mapped to competencies, the demonstrations of which are evaluated by faculty using published criterion-referenced scoring guides. This allows learners to understand what is expected of them in demonstrating each competency at an acceptable level; faculty judge learners’ performance as meeting one of four levels, based on the criteria on the scoring guide. Learning outcomes and competencies in all programs align to external performance standards. For example, the Master of Business Administration, Bachelor of Psychology, and Bachelor of Nursing FlexPath programs are all aligned to external standards including, but not limited to, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), Society for Industrial & Organizational Psychology, and American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), respectively. Capella uses authentic assessment strategies that simulate expected performance conditions in real-world contexts. Because of their clear measurability and authenticity, Capella’s assessments emphasize the relevancy, transferability, and predictive validity of the learner’s performance to the real-world setting.