Students, parents, and government agencies need as much information as possible about the outcomes of the higher education experience and the extent to which they can expect a fair return on their investment in higher education. In order to better understand the concept of quality--enabling students to acquire knowledge in a variety of disciplines…

Poor motivation is commonly cited as a concern when interpreting results from low-stakes standardized tests administered to postsecondary students. This study investigates the associations between test administration procedures and students' self-reported effort and performance on the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA), an open-ended test of…

The College Assessment for Learning Program (CALP) was initiated in order to improve student learning outcomes and to strengthen professional conversations across three campuses. It was based on a backward mapping process developed earlier at one of the junior campuses with successful outcomes. Analysis of NAPLAN, School Certificate and Higher…

This paper uses time series data from a widely used assessment to identify colleges and universities that demonstrate positive trends on a range of educational effectiveness measures, describe observed patterns of improvement, and examine informants' accounts of factors that contributed to the improvements. This study informs broad questions about…

Integrating institutional research, outcomes assessment, program review, strategic planning, and accreditation can be a powerful means of creating a culture of evidence-based decision making and continuous improvement. This study examined how this "integrated" model is organized in practice, how such offices began, why this approach was chosen,…

This paper considers three aspects of vocational education and training's (VET) contribution to the labour market: the relationship between their training and the occupations VET graduates work in; the extent to which the qualified proportion of the workforce has increased; and the link between VET and skills acquisition. Finally, some thoughts…

The main intention of the Community College Virtual Summit, as stated by Troy Justesen, assistant secretary for vocational and adult education, was to explore four critical issues facing community colleges: (1) Two- to four-year transitions; (2) Adult and nontraditional students; (3) Accountability; and (4) Leadership. These were selected as the…

This report from Public Agenda is a summary of the process and outcomes of the "Difficult Dialogues" that took place in November 2008 at the 4th annual policy summit of the Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC). Nearly 200 state legislators, institutional and system-level leaders and governing board members, faculty, executive…

The article recounts in detail the process used to include all department faculty members in the design of outcomes assessment measures for the management major, basing these on broad learning outcomes which the department had previously identified. While other literature has described the outcomes assessment design process in broad terms, the…

This study examines the question of whether a college education meets society's expectations in today's world. Assessment programs are being used by academia to determine a college student's achievements and whether his or her performance will enable him or her to be effective in the real world. Assessment, however, is under fire by those who have…

At Northeast Missouri State University, where faculty have directed student outcomes assessment for 20 years, assessment is expanding to include a broader university mission of developing the whole person. As assessment becomes more comprehensive, expanding into out-of-class experiences, there is a risk of losing faculty support. Three fundamental…

A "formal information inventory" survey method was used to help educate a university campus about outcomes assessment while identifying assessment activities already being undertaken. The survey was sent to 102 individuals identified as being responsible for, or having knowledge of, any assessment activities within a department or area,…

This paper discusses the development of a measure designed to assess student acquisition of communication competencies. It reports on a study assessing 180 students who took pre- and mid-program assessment tests, and the analysis of 33 questions taken from those tests. The specific components examined included critical thinking, interpersonal,…

In response to increasing demands for evidence of institutional effectiveness in higher education, and given the diversity within the Academy, a decentralized model of institutional academic effects assessment, the Academic Program Level Effects Assessment Model (APLEAM), may be useful. APLEAM consists of three interdependent components:…

This study compared attitudes toward general education and personal growth of 3,410 students attending nine historically black colleges or universities (HBCUs) and 42,535 students attending 91 non-HBCUs. Data were retrieved from the most recent national user norm files for the College Outcomes Survey (COS). Analyses included percentages, factor…