Graduate Attribute Information Analysis system (GAIA) - from assessment analytics to continuous program improvement: Use of student assessment data in curriculum development and program improvement

Graduate Attribute Information Analysis system (GAIA) is developed at the University of Ottawa to support graduate attribute analysis for continuous program improvement. It supports collection, management, analysis and visualization of graduate attributes. GAIA is part of ongoing research on the use of assessment data to improving student performance and to support curriculum and program development. In this paper, we introduce the structure of GAIA, its main actors and their roles, discuss information analysis and data processing and show the types of reports it generates. We illustrate the main features of GAIA - user friendly interface, simplification of data collection process, improved visualization of reports in graph and table form, historic trend analysis and comparisons at both the program and course level. As an analytical tool, GAIA accommodates quantitative and qualitative data and flexibly integrates internal and external indicators. It also supports weighted calculations for performance indicators which involve more than one component.