On their own, student learning and development outcomes assessment data have limited utility for improving programming. We believe outcomes data should not be collected until two fundamental questions can be answered: "Why should this programming result in the desired outcome?" (i.e., program theory) and "Was the intended…

Higher education institutions struggle to demonstrate learning improvement (Banta, Jones, & Black, 2009; Banta & Blaich, 2011; Jankowski, Timmer, Kinzie, & Kuh, 2018). We showcase how student learning outcomes assessment processes can benefit from strong program theory and implementation fidelity data. In our example, faculty…

Technology can change higher education by empowering students to make an impact on the world as undergraduates. Done systematically, this would allow institutions to close the credibility gap with an increasingly dubious public. Authentic student achievements that are addressed to a "real world" audience can lead to richly detailed…

This paper describes the Clemson ePortfolio Program initiated in 2006, where all undergraduate students are required to create an ePortfolio. Specifically, the program was designed as a mechanism through which to evaluate our recently revised general education program. In this program all undergraduates create and submit a digital portfolio as…

Programme evaluation is essential for quality assurance in education. In this paper, we describe our evaluation strategy for the first year of a new medical programme. Although we used multiple methods in the evaluation, the use of the focus group method was core. This paper reports our experiences of focus groups for this purpose. We describe the…

Standardized testing for higher education has been much in the news in the US over the last few years. In the wake of the Spellings Commission, the clear intent of the Department of Education's (USDOE) position in negotiated rulemaking in 2007 was to mandate its use in accreditation. Standardized testing is also a central feature of the Voluntary…

The professional accreditation agencies are making demands for assessment of student learning. These demands are not expected to lessen in the near future. The accreditation agencies are suggesting that educators should shift their focus from what faculty teach to what students learn. The authors show the development and implementation of an…

This practical guide to outcomes-based assessment in student affairs is designed to help readers meet the growing demand for accountability and for demonstrating student learning. The authors offer a framework for implementing the assessment of student learning and development and pragmatic advice on the strategies most appropriate for the…

Texas A&M University is a research extensive institution located in College Station. More than 45,000 students attend the university (about 20% are graduate or professional students). Academically, the university is known for its engineering, business, and agricultural and veterinary medicine programs, although there are more than 150 programs…

Founded in 1821, Widener University is a two-state (Pennsylvania and Delaware), four-campus, eight-college private institution serving approximately 6,700 students. Following arrival of the new senior vice president and provost in 2004 and subsequent reorganization of vice presidential responsibilities, Student Affairs is now led by a dean of…

The State University of New York (SUNY) assessment initiative is an ambitious project that seeks to establish a comprehensive assessment program across the largest public education system in the United States, with over 413,000 total students. This article focuses on the principles that have guided the assessment of general education across SUNY…

Empire State College of New York has published a report which describes and analyzes the nature and the dynamics of the Introductory Phase of three professional fields within the school's Master of Arts program: Business and Policy Studies, Labor and Policy Studies, and Culture and Policy Studies. The report is arranged according to program…

Since its establishment with a 1986 grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, the Assessment Resource Center (ARC) at the University of Tennessee has worked with state coordinating boards, other institutions involved in assessment leadership, institutions seeking guidance, and participants in conferences and seminars…

In 1991, Howard Community College (HCC), in Maryland, implemented an institutional effectiveness plan that attempted to apply lessons from the previous 10 years of college planning. This paper focuses on the problems and issues encountered during implementation of the plan and is designed to provide general recommendations for others establishing…

Describes the design and implementation of an assessment program for a college communication program that led to a new competency-based curriculum with expanded assessment procedures. (SR)