In this article, the authors describe a mechanism they developed that assesses the congruence between their students' self-perceptions and the impressions they give to others. They wanted the students to view themselves, but they also wanted them to gain perspective on how others perceive their symbolic displays of affect. Preliminary results…

The authors are members of the Department of Business Administration, one of seven undergraduate departments in the College of Business (COB) at Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois. As part of both the COB's assessment plan and the Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) of their regional accreditor, the authors assessed student learning…

In this article, the author reviews King and Kitchener's "Reflective Judgment Interview" ("RJI"). On the "RJI" website Patricia King notes that a widely espoused outcome of college is the ability to draw reasonable conclusions about complex issues based on incomplete and/or conflicting information. Drawing on the works of Dewey, Piaget, and Perry,…

At Oklahoma State University (OSU), faculty have defined expectations for students' learning of knowledge, skills, and attitudes about diversity, and have implemented a process to assess students' achievement of the diversity learning goal. As was done for other general education learning goals such as written communication ability and critical…

Griffith, Day, Scott, and Smallwood (1996) state, "Planning cannot survive without a budget, [and] neither planning nor budgeting can survive with integrity without assessment." If the integrity of planning and budgeting processes is affected by assessment, then this author argues that there are effective ways in which assessment can be integrated…

Many universities rely on a committee approach to assessment in which a group of faculty, staff, and administrators is tapped to provide guidance for assessment projects on behalf of various university programs or departments or the entire university. However, other organizational approaches to achieving strong programs of assessment are…

Many college faculty react to student outcomes assessment the way most people react when they see a rattlesnake within striking distance. Common faculty reactions to the perceived threat of assessment include metaphorically running away and throwing rocks or sticks at it. Like a hiker in the desert doing her best to avoid being struck when she…

Over the last twenty years, colleges and universities have invested considerable effort and resources in programs that are designed to improve undergraduate learning and enhance student success. These programs range from first-year seminars and learning communities to service-learning programs and capstone courses. Given the costs associated with…

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…

Frederick Community College's assessment of student learning within student affairs has evolved as a result of the confluence of three transformative initiatives: (1) the institution's decision to shape itself into a learning college; (2) the revision of accreditation standards, placing increased emphasis on institutional assessment and assessment…

Graduate education is an increasingly diverse segment of higher education. The master's degree is replacing the baccalaureate as the new standard for adult learners, and professional doctorates all signal an expanding domain. Graduate programs are not exempt from requirements for assessment of outcomes, yet standards and best practices for…

Over the past few years, the author had the good fortune to engage many faculty and administrators in conversations about student outcomes assessment. The author has discovered that many faculty and administrators associate course valuations with student outcomes assessment measures. He also found that no items about student learning outcomes are…

The standard approach to advisement in most departments at Rowan University is to assign students to faculty members. Some departments may have one person with release time to do all the advising. Properly examining the courses and programs in which undergraduate students are progressing is an appropriate topic of concern. One way to handle such…

Western Governors University (WGU) was founded by the governors of sixteen western states to help meet the challenges presented by escalating enrollments and rising costs of higher education in their states. WGU promises to help their students "achieve their dreams for a degree and career success by providing a personal, flexible, and affordable…

Towson University (TU) is in a period of growth in both students and facilities. To guide this growth, TU relies on its strategic plan, Towson 2010, to focus its strategic decisions through 2010. Release of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) data for 2005 coincided with a call for academic excellence and accelerated growth at Towson…