The market is full of vendors selling products each designed to solve institutional problems. But how does one choose the right tool for their institution and situation? Topics addressed in this chapter include: how to gauge institutional needs, how to evaluate products, and understand the available institutional resources (current and future).…

This chapter will value of including diverse voices of researchers. An innovative, cost-effective model for assessment will be described, capturing the process implemented at a university in its efforts to center social justice within assessment and evaluation research practices.

This chapter discusses assessment practices and their potential contribution to inequitable educational policies that hamper marginalized students. It also provides alternative approaches to the assessment of student learning and outcomes, urging educators to consider more equitable responses.

This chapter provides examples of innovative methods and tools to collect, analyze, and report both quantitative and qualitative data in student affairs assessment.

This chapter presents a synthesis of the conceptualization and practice of institutional research (IR) in higher education (HE) in emerging countries across Southern Africa, Latin America and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions. The chapter contextualizes the growing need for IR in these regions, identifies problems and challenges…

In this chapter, the authors outline an approach to assessing complex constructs supported by psychological science and research. This approach is informed by their background as psychologists but is general enough to incorporate other disciplinary approaches as well. They identify this approach as TAIM (Theory, Activities, Indicators, Multiple…

Multilevel modeling provides several advantages over traditional ordinary least squares regression analysis; however, reporting results to stakeholders can be challenging. This article suggests some strategies for presenting complex, multilevel data and statistical results to institutional and higher education decision makers. The article is…

Preparing graduates to be active citizens is a core value of colleges and universities in the United States. Historically, higher education has had a commitment to developing the civic commitment of its graduates; yet the degree to which this commitment is endorsed and actualized varies with time and across institutions. In "College Learning for…

In this chapter, the author proposes a model for assessing institutional effectiveness. The Volkwein model for assessing institutional effectiveness consists of five parts that summarize the steps for assessing institutions, programs, faculty, and students. The first step in the model distinguishes the dual purposes of institutional effectiveness:…

Evaluative statements from alumni have legitimacy with both internal and external stakeholders. Thus, alumni studies can provide valuable evidence of institutional effectiveness and lend themselves to both locally designed and commercial survey instruments for data collection. Under ideal conditions, the results of alumni studies equip faculty and…

Most assessment arguments are about measurement. When is it better to use direct versus indirect measures of student learning? Is one standardized test of critical thinking better than another? Is applying rubrics to student work better than using standardized tests? How valid are self-reported measures of learning? Although these arguments are…

Assessing student attainment in the major field of study is increasingly important to employers and accrediting bodies alike. Construction and manufacturing firms do not like engineers who design faulty bridges and airplanes. Marketing firms want to hire students who understand the difference between a niche market and a global market. School…

A diverse society has created a diverse education system, which in turn requires diverse and complex mechanisms of quality control. The diversity and complexity of the industrial, service, and knowledge-based economy, with its vast variety of occupations and dynamic labor markets, heavily influences the curricular structures and academic profiles…

The value of qualitative assessment approaches has been underestimated primarily because they are often juxtaposed against long-standing quantitative traditions and the widely accepted premise that the best research produces generalizable and statistically significant findings. Institutional researchers avoid qualitative methods for at least three…

Institutional research (IR) in Latin America is experiencing dramatic growth due, in no small measure, to the need for quality assurance in educational institutions developing trained workforces for emerging economies. Quality can be assured only where it can be measured, and that is at the core of institutional research in countries to the south…