At first glance, academic assessment is simply another request for more paper. But it goes well beyond the design of a plan or blueprint. Instead, assessment involves the much more difficult task of creating a new culture. Borrowing from both the experience of the Department of Political Science at Northeastern Illinois University and from the political science literatures on cooperation and policy implementation, I describe the beginning of an assessment culture. I describe the steps taken to build trust and make the task more tractable, the way commitment grew within the department, and the plan that was devised. I also review some current problems in the implementation of this plan, showing the vulnerability of an assessment culture in its early stages. (Contains 1 note.)