Program Assessment in Technical Communication: A Work in Progress

A basic set of common competencies in technical communication would both ensure the continuity of professional practice and unify the perspectives of undergraduate programs. The problematic issue facing technical communication educators is that of developing these basic competencies and then assessing the program and its learners to determine if they are being developed. Through identification of these competencies and evaluation to determine if our graduates have acquired them, technical communication programs can achieve a measure of unity on which to build a platform of well educated professionals with common knowledge, skills and abilities. This paper will discuss an assessment model that identifies and measures these basic competencies.