This chapter provides an overview of three assessment scholars whose work influenced the articles contained in this volume.

This chapter describes a model of assessment based on Action Research that promotes and relies on faculty engagement to improve student learning.

This chapter describes the role of faculty in conducting quality assessment and includes suggestions for preparing for successful meetings with reviewers on accreditation teams.

This chapter affirms the increasing value of outcomes assessment at one of many institutions where once it was mostly ignored, how the knowledge afforded by increased use of assessment functions as a precursor to change, and how the faculty and staff work of program and outcomes assessment--discussions, decisions, preparations, actions,…

This chapter discusses the importance and common challenges of evaluating community college student success efforts; it includes a broad-based framework for carrying out effective evaluations.

The notion of quality in regard to teaching and learning has always been highly debatable. Is it best measured by qualitative or quantitative measures? Summative or formative assessments? Comparative or independent studies? As someone deeply involved with online education for many years, the author continues to seek definitive answers. During her…

Student success is at the heart of both institutional effectiveness and the community college mission, yet measuring such success at community colleges is problematic. This article highlights three efforts to grapple with this problem--a multistate work group of system- and state-level policymakers to create an improved set of student success…

This chapter reviews resources from scholars, practitioners, and policymakers on benchmarking in community colleges.

This chapter distinguishes between benchmarks and benchmarking, describes a number of data and cultural limitations to benchmarking projects, and suggests that external demands for accountability are the dominant reason for growing interest in benchmarking among community colleges.

This chapter presents an overview of approaches to assessing critical thinking in community colleges, a brief description of standardized tests, and examples of several institutionally developed methodologies and good practices. Finally, it identifies challenges in assessing critical thinking in two-year colleges. (Contains 1 table.)

This chapter describes the content and implementation of the Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory and explains its importance and utility for community colleges. (Contains 1 figure.)

This chapter delineates the essential elements of a framework for establishing mission priorities for community colleges. (Contains 2 figures.)

This chapter identifies eleven factors that, when present in a community college, substantially increase the probability that student affairs professionals will be able to create programs that matter to the institution's core mission. The chapter also provides student affairs practitioners with tools to assess the climate in student affairs as…