In this article, the author reflects upon the changes assessment professionals have faced because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Against the background of stressed faculty and staff and falling student enrollment, lower retention, and graduation rates, assessment professional must consider how to talk about the "quality" of student learning…

In this article, the author summarizes and discusses the five "Leadership Imperatives for Assessment Excellence": (1) Making assessment excellence a strategic institutional priority; (2) Attracting and retaining talent to support assessment excellence; (3) Developing sufficient capacity for assessment excellence; (4) Rewarding,…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents a three part series on fixing assessments. In Part 1: "Assessment Standards are Broken," David Eubanks highlights the challenges with the assessment standards articulated by institutional accreditors. In this article, Part 2: Megan R. Good, discusses the opportunity costs faced and…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents a three part series on fixing assessments. In Part 1, David Eubanks advocates for a collaborative model of assessment as the field enters a fourth decade of low return on investment. In Part 2, Megan R. Good laments the opportunity cost of continuing the define-measure-improve assessment model…

In this article, the authors report on the opportunity to share information with fellow members from institutional accrediting agencies at the "Initi8: Improving Ethical Reasoning at Scale" workshop facilitated by James Madison University, in June 2023. Helpful was the various viewpoints, perspectives, and musings of individuals engaged…

In this article, Richard L Dunsworth, president of University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, Arkansas, having spent 25 years in the roles of oversight as consultant evaluator, team chair, advisory team member, peer evaluator, and member of the board of trustees for the largest institutional accreditor in the United States faces the same struggle…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) Capstone Assessment as Faculty Development (Rowanna L. Carpenter, Seanna M. Kerrigan, and Vicki L. Reitenauer); (2) Using a Doctoral Program Entrance Assessment: Reflections on a Pilot Program and the Admissions Process (Robyne Elder); (3) Highlights of the 2018 HEDS…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) Asking the Right Questions: Reflective Preparation for a Program Review (Corinne Renguette, Charles Feldhaus, and Elizabeth Wager; (2) The Neuroscience of Learning and Development: What Does That Mean for Assessment and Evaluation? (Marilee Bresciani Ludvik); (3)…

Every ecological, educational, or organizational system possesses a defining trait, one that affords competitive advantage. The Virginia system of higher education has consistently leaned on its institutional diversity to produce one of the most well-educated and productive bodies of learners in the nation. Given the national climate, a commitment…

The Commission on the Future of Higher Education appointed by Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings issued a report in September 2006 entitled "A Test of Leadership: Charting the Future of U.S. Higher Education" [U.S. Department of Education, 2006(ED493504)]. Two key commission recommendations are stated: "Higher education institutions should…

For quite some time, the call to close the feedback loop has been heard throughout higher education. Faculty and administrators have paid attention, and now they can more easily than ever point to the fact that at their institution, the feedback loop is almost always closed. As reviewers from accreditation teams visit campuses, they often hear…

This article discusses the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) which celebrated twenty-five years of service, stewardship, and spirit in 2004. CAS is a consortium of thirty-five higher education associations whose directors achieve consensus on the nature and application of standards that guide the work of…

Student engagement measures make valuable contributions to an institution's assessment program. Combined with other relevant information, such data help to tie together what students and institutions do, student outcomes, and other indicators of institutional performance. The results can be used in a variety of ways, from comparing student…

In 1997, the Oregon legislature directed the Oregon University System (OUS) to develop and implement performance measures and indicators with respect to broad policy goals of access, quality, employability, and cost-effectiveness. An advisory committee of representatives of the state's public colleges and universities was formed to shape the…