Policymakers, accreditation bodies, students and their families, and other stakeholders increasingly press institutions of higher education to provide clear evidence of their value. Institutions emphasize their status as a public good claiming their role in developing human capital and informed citizens, enabling social class mobility, and…

Scholarship addressing public and community engagement in tenure and promotion often invokes Ernest Boyer's landmark 1990 report, "Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate," and goes on to lament the lack of progress made in the three decades that have followed. This review intervenes: We synthesize extant scholarship on…

Background: To prepare students to become productive 21st century citizens, universities have to be more engaged with society. Shifting towards community service learning (CSL) enables students to participate in, and reflect on, services that both benefit the public and also contribute to their own learning. There has been considerable research…

The capabilities students need for success during and beyond higher education extend far beyond specific discipline skills to include the development of productive mindsets, the management of life circumstances and the way they relate to others and identify with their profession. The provision of support for these capabilities at university can be…

A method called multi-attribute utility analysis (MAUA) provides a decision-making framework that facilitates comparative analysis of multiple real-world decision alternatives with unique complex attributes. Utility analysis as a measure of effectiveness has been minimally used by educational researchers to date, despite clear relevance in complex…

The primary aim of institutional learning outcomes assessment is the creation of a culture of assessment where faculty use evidence-based data to validate and improve teaching and learning for the benefit of students. Faculty are key to these processes and yet, they are often woefully disengaged from them. This paper presents findings from an…

The learning journey toward sustainability requires the generation of action-oriented knowledge to understand the progress and potential adaptation of strategies to facilitate collective transformation. One integral area where advancing these strategies is essential is higher education. While efforts in the field have identified relevant learning…

As community-campus engagement (CCE) continues to gain momentum, impact has increasingly been evaluated through qualitative measurements rooted in community-based perspectives. However, for CCE to have meaningful impact, it must challenge dominant power structures and work to create equitable relationships. This article explores efforts to better…

Higher education institutions are expected to account for their performance and this increasingly includes strengthening community relationships. However, assessment of Higher education institution (HEI)-Community partnerships is nascent. In this study we seek to discern the situation of these partnerships and examine accountability for…

Online learning has been growing steadily as an essential instructional mode in most higher education settings. In response to its popularity, many studies have been conducted to provide a better understanding of how learning occurs in this environment. Various frameworks and theories have been adopted to examine learning in this environment.…

I have been working as an Assessment Officer in a private university in Puerto Rico, for about two years now. It took a year to learn the job--what was assessment for, what was my function, how broad was the scope of my job, what influence did I have over institutional changes? Just as I thought I knew the job, the context changed, especially the…

"Online Teaching and Learning for Teacher Educators" is the first book written exclusively by teacher educators for teacher educators in higher education, K-12 classrooms, and for candidates preparing to become teacher educators. Written as a practical, easy to understand and use guide, this book is designed to support and empower…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) James Madison University: Reflections on Sustained Excellence in Assessment (Keston H. Fulcher and Elizabeth R. H. Sanchez); (2) Editor's Notes: Assessment Excellence Abounds! (Stephen P. Hundley); (3) The Promise of an All-in-One Assessment System for Student…

In this report we walk through a systematic review of how PLA [prior learning assessment] was implemented under the ideal circumstances provided by the TAACCCT [Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training] grant program. We found that there was positive policy development, but student use of PLA opportunities remained low. In…

Institutions of higher learning are providing access to free and low-cost open resources to support students with prior college-level learning during every step of their educational journey. This unconventional approach to education removes traditional barriers to college credit by placing learners in an open environment, which encourages…