In response to the need for greater racial and ethnic diversity, the Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) at Indiana University Indianapolis introduced a mandatory equity and inclusion-centered training program for faculty search committees in August 2023. This training addresses key challenges in achieving faculty diversity, including biases, narrow…

The purpose of an academic advisory board is to provide feedback and recommendations to college representatives for an identified academic program or grouping of programs. It is a mechanism through which academic program representatives, typically faculty and program coordinators and/or department chairs, maintain consistent connection with…

Western Governors University (WGU) is a competency-based institution that uses an integrated and holistic approach to competence definition, teaching, and assessment. Building a competency-based degree program begins with competence definition activities that focus on what successful graduates need to be able to "do" and the related…

The current general education program at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, which was initiated in the mid-1990s, represents a much more prescriptive curriculum than the one prior to that time, when students were allowed to choose from a wide variety of courses. In 1999, three faculty members from the Department of Languages and Literatures…

It is critical to a successful assessment process that faculty play an active role in the development and administration of assessment programs. That process requires a good deal of consensus among faculty members. Once outcomes and an instrument have been decided on and data collected, the faculty must also agree on a course of action to improve…

Monroe Community College (MCC), a two-year institution in the State University of New York (SUNY) system, attempted to launch an assessment initiative in 1990 but was only marginally successful. The effort concluded in 1991 with the development of student learning objectives for several academic programs. The early assessment organization featured…

In fall 2000, Eastern Illinois University implemented an electronic writing portfolio (EWP) to assess students' writing skills. Students who were freshmen in fall 2000 and transfer students enrolling under the fall 2000 catalogue or subsequent catalogues must submit materials to the EWP. The EWP submissions come from each academic level as…

College and university personnel have reported that learning communities increase retention and student learning. Maureen Franklin, vice president for academic affairs, realized the value that learning communities could have in academic life at Doane College (Crete, Nebraska), and in April 2003, she provided funds for two faculty members and one…

In 1998, the Utah State Board of Regents ordered a sample administration of American College Testing's Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP), a test of general knowledge, for Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) students. The pilot test was administered to 3,148 Utah college students who were completing their sophomore year at one…

The popularity of first-year experience programs, freshman interest groups, and freshman seminars is evidence of a growing interest on the part of administrators and faculty in what happens to students during the first year of college. Theory and research indicate that students' experiences during the first year can set the tone for the remainder…