North Central Missouri College’s Assessment Plan is based on an I-E-O Model. Input (I) is what incoming students bring with them. Environment (E) is the measure of change including all student experiences. Output (O) is the measure of outgoing students’ skills and knowledge.

According to the authors of A Culture of Evidence, inputs should be considered first. “There are two types of input measures: measures of simple quantity, such as the number of applicants or number of students admitted; and measures of quality or academic preparation (i.e. SAT/ACT, high school GPA, student’s advanced standing)… At the other end of the educational experience, there are two typical classes of output measures for educational institutions. These can be broken into quantity and quality measures.” Between a student’s first class and graduation or transfer, data is gathered concerning the college learning environment. These records are used by the institution for the purpose of improving teaching and learning. This includes information regarding student engagement which “…is an index of the nature and extent of the student’s active participation in the learning process… an indicator of motivation and habits that carry over into other current and future settings" (Dwyer et al, 2006).