Exemplars of Assessment in Higher Education

The authors emphasize the notion that there is noone right way to do assessment with the breadth of institutional examplesfeatured in this book. Tackling the tension of accountability and improvementhead-on, the editors allow each institution to lay bare their own institutionalassessment story and discuss future directions of assessing student learningwithin their context. By collaborating with accreditors to spotlightinstitutions with effective assessment approaches, AALHE might just be on tosomething-envisioning accreditors as partners in this work. In a time when higher education professionals must step-up theirefforts to assess teaching and learning in order to improve outcomes for allstudents, this book provides exemplars in the field of assessment from collegesand universities who represent diverse missions and student populations.Recommended by their respective accreditor, the institutions highlighted inthis book provide the reader a wealth of information about effective assessmentstructures and practices that can be molded to fit a variety of educationalcultures and environments. This collection puts a human face on assessment activity,revealing challenges and innovations as institutions try to meet accreditationrequirements while improving teaching and learning. The full range ofcomplexity of the task is on display in the chapters, each centering on thedifficult task of understanding student development and acting on the results.Anyone facing challenges in their own assessment program (and who isn't?) needsto read this book. Exemplars in Assessment celebratesinstitutional and program success as measured by authentic assessment andstudent learning, providing a welcome respite from a national higher educationenvironment that so often equates higher education's success solely withstudent loan metrics and graduation rates. It illustrates cooperation,partnership, and shared purpose among accreditors and the institutions andprograms that they accredit. Faculty, administrators, and accreditors will findideas and inspiration from others who have gone before on the assessmentjourney. Souza and Rose have produced a wonderful and much-needed volume that engages practitioners in bringing the oft-describedassessment for accountability together with assessment for improvement inlearning. By focusing on the major regional accreditors' standards forassessment of student learning and then examining how a diverse set of campusesand programs use those standards, they illustrate how their actions andpolicies to achieve improved student learning provide the evidence thataccreditors need for summative assurance of quality standards. A truly welcomechange from check-the-box routines that may satisfy the minimum reportrequirements but do not help students, faculty, or organizations achievequality. Exemplarsof Assessment in Higher Educationprovides a one-of-a-kind insider's look into higher education as it relates tothe undeniable importance of assessment - both of students and of aninstitution as a whole. Exemplars provides the building blocks thatallow the reader to embrace assessment and understand its critical role in ensuring the quality of education being provided. I am delighted to endorsethis publication and hopeful that it provides the reader with a go-to manual inunderstanding and utilizing assessment at their own institutions. If I were granted one wish,it would be that all of higher education would better use assessment data toguide the ongoing enhancement of student learning. Exemplars of Assessment in Higher Education shows us how meaningfulassessment can help to guide us as we work to ensure that our students arelearning what we promise in our institutional or program mission statements.Whether you are a faculty member, an assessment professional, or anadministrator, this book shows how the assessment process can provide a roadmapto institutional effectiveness and is, most certainly, a wish come true. Student learning assessment is not often linkedwith the word 'inspiring.' This book is truly inspiring and affirmingthat programs and institutions are finding real value in committing toassessing and improving student learning all across the United States. It puts to shamethe occasional naysayers that assessment is of no value. The stories and casestudies presented here cover a useful range of experiences across a diversegroup of institutions showing that assessment can be done thoughtfully and withimpact. There is so much to learn here with so many helpful approaches thataddress not only how to undertake assessment but to identify steps to success.It is definitely a good read at all levels within institutions.