The authors provide context for the three articles in the special section of this issue of "Teaching Sociology" on the topic of assessment. They provide a brief discussion of assessment in higher education today, supported by research conducted by the American Sociological Association from a survey of department chairs. These data indicate that…

Addresses the relationship between the scholarship of teaching and learning (STL) and faculty assessment. Derives two conclusions: (1) significant opportunities exist for sociologists to contribute to STL within faculty assessment ; and (2) conceptual and empirical STL can be conducted within a sociological framework to improve assessment methods…