Higher education leaders face growing pressure to demonstrate the return on investment (ROI) of not only their institution but also each academic program offering. With increasing accountability and limited time for meaningful reflection on student learning and development, now is the time to rethink how a quasi-annual academic program review…

Indiana University (IU) is accredited through the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), which requires accredited institutions to regularly review programs within the institution and act upon the outcomes of the review. There is no single campus-based system for program reviews; therefore, the Office of Collaborative Academic Programs (OCAP) developed…

In this article, Julia So discusses the purpose of program assessment, four common missteps of program assessment and reporting, and how to prevent them. The four common missteps of program assessment and reporting she has observed are: (1) unclear or ambiguous program goals; (2) measurement error of program goals and outcomes; (3) incorrect unit…

The robust body of literature on the benefits of tutoring services clearly indicates a strong correlation between tutoring and student success. The students who most need tutoring, however, are least likely to utilize it. Because of this challenge, a writing center serving a medium-sized Midwestern community college explored how implementing…

Is assessment a top-down bureaucratic mandate, an undertaking that seems to have little to do with improving practice, an inauthentic activity that frustrates and disempowers, an afterthought? Or is it a process embraced and enacted together by all stakeholders as a means to learn and grow and enact change in the world? The authors of the…

The George Mason University (Mason) offices responsible for institutional reporting and assessment were merged to strengthen and solidify their functions and expertise. The organizational structure creating the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning (OIEP) was intended to engineer a new paradigm where assessment would inform the…

Program review is a critical process in higher education that helps institutions assess and evaluate the effectiveness of programs and services. Program review provides an opportunity for an institution to identify strengths and weaknesses in its programs and services and to develop strategies for improvement. Through the program review process,…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) Promoting Faculty Engagement in Assessment: Relatively Simple Ideas (Elizabeth E. Smith and Sarah R. Gordon); (2) Comparing Trends in Graduate Assessment: Face to Face vs. Online Learning (Lesley Page and Mike Cherry); (3) Assessing Information Literacy on a Regional…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) A "Wisdom of Crowds" Approach to Outcomes Assessment (Gregory Burton); (2) Editor's Notes: Collective Assessment and DQP Follow-Up (Trudy W. Banta); (3) Satisfaction with Data Management Systems in Standards-Based Alignment (Brett Everhart and Jeanne M.…

At a recent assessment workshop, one of the authors' colleagues, Andrew Stuart Bergerson, offered a novel metaphor for building their university's assessment program. "We need to spread the assessment virus on campus," Drew remarked, half seriously. Although they had a good laugh over this image at the time, it encapsulates the faculty-driven…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) Mission Accomplished! The Development of a Competence-based E-portfolio Assessment Model (Shelley Schuurman, Scott Berlin, Jamie Langlois, and Julie Guevara); (2) The Third Rail of Assessment--Dangerous but Powerful (Dale L. Mort); (3) Video Killed the Radio…

The purpose of this study was to use journal feedback from student teachers to understand and document how well the Physical Education-Teacher Education (PETE) program prepares teacher candidates in relation to the three primary goals of the PETE program. Analysis of the journals revealed areas of merit and concern for the PETE faculty. The most…