Designing, developing, and implementing outcomes-based assessment programs to respond to multiple external constituents

External governing organizations and accreditation bodies are increasingly requiring universities to demonstrate that they have appropriate self-regulating processes in place to achieve their stated missions and goals. Central to these processes is that they be based on outcomes assessment and be focused on continuous improvement. This paper presents an overview of Georgia Tech´s (USA) experiences in designing and developing outcomes-based assessment programs for all its undergraduate and graduate programs with an emphasis on those experiences within the College of Engineering. It also presents the current efforts to implement the programs within a continuous improvement process that is intended to be broadly responsive to the needs of multiple external constituents. It concludes with seven suggestions for those embarking on developing outcomes-based assessment programs.