A fundamental practice that the Office for Teaching and Learning (OTL) supports is building assessment into the course design process.  Course based assessment involves various methods of assessing learning outcomes through the use of course goals, objectives, and content.  There are tremendous rewards that both instructors and students can gain from the utilization of appropriate course based assessments.  Some of these rewards include assisting instructors in making necessary modifications to course designs, and better communication between instructors and students, resulting in a more effective learning process and experience for students and instructors alike. 

For more information on how to incorporate assessment into course design, access this useful booklet entitled, "Course-Based Review and Assessment: Methods for Understanding Student Learning," from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.  For additional resources, see if there are relevant discipline-based student learning inventories that might be applicable to your course.  Professional programs in schools and colleges frequently already align with external accrediting bodies (e.g., nursing, social work, and engineering)

Wayne State's Office of Assessment is a great resource for course, department, and school/college assessment activities.  The Office of Assessment can be especially helpful for program assessment like considering how a course fits into a department or school/college.