In this article, Julia So discusses the purpose of program assessment, four common missteps of program assessment and reporting, and how to prevent them. The four common missteps of program assessment and reporting she has observed are: (1) unclear or ambiguous program goals; (2) measurement error of program goals and outcomes; (3) incorrect unit…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) University of North Carolina at Charlotte: Using the EIA [Excellence in Assessment] Application as a Catalyst for Intentional Improvement (Christine Robinson and associates); (2) Editor's Notes (Stephen P. Hundley); (3) Northern Arizona University's Journey to…

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…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) Expanding Assessment Perspectives: The Importance of Student Leadership in Student Learning Outcomes Assessment (Abraham J. Lauer and Jamie R. Korin); (2) Empowering Faculty and Students with Assessment Data (Jane M. Souza); (3) Including Faculty in Accreditation…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) Do Good Assessment Practices Measure Up to the Principles of Assessment?; (2) Healthy Assessment: What Nursing Schools Can Teach Us about Effective Assessment of Student Learning; (3) Development of a National Survey for Secondary Mathematics Teacher Education…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) SLO-Based Grading Makes Assessment an Integral Part of Teaching (Nagy N. Bengiamin and Christina Leimer); (2) Editor's Notes: Assessing Assessment's ROI (Trudy W. Banta); (3) Assessment Plans: A Tool for Sanity (Shannon M. Sexton); and (4) Lessons from…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) A "Wisdom of Crowds" Approach to Outcomes Assessment (Gregory Burton); (2) Editor's Notes: Collective Assessment and DQP Follow-Up (Trudy W. Banta); (3) Satisfaction with Data Management Systems in Standards-Based Alignment (Brett Everhart and Jeanne M.…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) Accreditation and Assessment: The Root of My Teaching Metamorphosis (Barbara June Rodriguez); (2) Editor's Notes: Addressing a Question of Credibility (Trudy W. Banta); (3) Do We Practice What We Preach? The Accountability of an Assessment Office (Keston H. Fulcher…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) Mission Accomplished! The Development of a Competence-based E-portfolio Assessment Model (Shelley Schuurman, Scott Berlin, Jamie Langlois, and Julie Guevara); (2) The Third Rail of Assessment--Dangerous but Powerful (Dale L. Mort); (3) Video Killed the Radio…

Assessment practices at Sinclair Community College have evolved since the early 1980s to a highly sophisticated set of processes that begin with the collection, analysis, and documentation of general education and program outcomes data and result in course and program improvements. A continuing challenge has been the development of new full-time…

This article describes how St. Louis Community College has created a culture of action using mission-based assessment. By directly linking assessment processes to mission areas such as transfer education, the college has created a central, unifying theme for assessment. Because the mission is everyone's business, assessment in turn becomes…

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…

Many people know the myth of Sisyphus, the ancient king who committed an offense against the gods and was condemned for an eternity to roll a boulder unsuccessfully to the top of a steep hill. Each time he reached the summit, the boulder, of its own weight, would roll back to the bottom, whereupon Sisyphus would have to begin laboriously rolling…

Accountability efforts at California's community colleges gained prominence in the 1990s under an agreement known as Partnership for Excellence (PFE) that involved the chancellor's office, the legislature, and the governor's office. This agreement was the first wide-ranging accountability effort undertaken by the state's community college system.…

The author is an outgoing faculty chair of the college assessment committee (CAC) at Moravian College. In this article, he shares the learned principles and constructive practices that guided his ten years of successful progress in fostering assessment: (1) Assessment must be part of the strategic plan; (2) Assessment language must be consistently…