Coming to Terms with Student Outcomes Assessment Faculty and Administrators’ Journeys to Integrating Assessment in Their Work and Institutional Culture

“Assessment on college campuses has a sordid history, and it is fairly simple to find someone with a traumatic tale to tell. It is wise to respect that that reputation is deserved.” “How do you modify the inner workings and culture of a massive institution with minimal resources and even less authority (other than GE course approvals), and thousands and thousands of talented people busy doing other things?”“The road to departmental assessment can seem both dramatic and apocalyptic, especially if one’s departmental ‘centre cannot hold,’ and purpose falls apart. The Department of English and Linguistics is presently on this journey, slouching towards its own revelations of mission and fulfillment of purpose.” “I have become more optimistic about the potential value of the process, even if some of my initial skepticism remains. This skepticism, however, has been valuable, forcing me to think in more concrete ways about what I do in the classroom.”As these excerpts show, this is no conventional book about assessment. It presents the unvarnished first-person accounts of fourteen faculty and administrators about how they grappled, and engaged, with assessment and how – despite misgivings and an often-contentious process – they were able to gain the collaboration of their peers as the benefits for student learning became evident.This is a book for skeptical faculty, for those who have been tasked to spearhead their institution’s call to create a culture of assessment; and, on campuses where assessment has been widely accepted and implemented, for those who now need to ensure this commitment will endure.For all these audiences, this book offers valuable advice, strategies, models and ideas.

Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Assessment Is Like a Box of Chocolates—Lisa Maxfield, California State University, Long Beach 2. Assessment. Legacy, Culture, and Vision—Lynn Lester and Kate Hendel, Clarke College 3. Some Uncertainties Exist—David A. Eubanks, Coker College 4. Wanted. Nutrient-Rich Environments For Genuine Assessment—Jean Mach, College of San Mateo 5. From Bereavement To Assessment. The Transformation of a Regional Comprehensive University—Rose Perrine, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe, Paula Kopacz, Dorie Combs, Onda Bennett, Stacey Street, and E. J. Keeley, Eastern Kentucky University 6. How It Took A Whole Village—Eileen Matthews, Gallaudet University 7. Slouching Toward Assessment. One Department’s Journey Toward Accountability Bliss—Hardin L. Aasand, Stevens Amidon, and Debrah Huffman, Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne 8. Designing, Implementing, And Sustaining Department/Program Review and Assessment at a Community College—Althea Smith and Susan Bayard, North Shore Community College 9. Discovering Our Way. Defining And Implementing An Integrated Culture Of Assessment—Mia Alexander-Snow and Christine Robinson, Seminole State College Of Florida, Formerly Seminole Community College 10. Outcomes Assessment, The Public Research University, and the Humanities—Laura J. Rosenthal, University of Maryland, College Park 11. Turf Battles, Subcultures, and Procedural Technicalities. Multiple Pathways Toward Assessment at The University of Southern Maine—Ann C. Dean and Susan Mcwilliams, University Of Southern Maine 12. Engaging Faculty in the Assessment Process at The University Of West Florida—Eman M. El-Sheikh, Justice Mbizo, Claudia J. Stanny, George L. Stewart, Melanie A. Sutton, Laura J. White, And Michelle Hale Williams, University Of West Florida 13. Evidence of Learning—Melissa Pedone and Allison Sloan, Valencia Community College 14. Seeing the Light, Feeling the Heat—Patricia A. Thomas, Rhode Island College, Jeanne Mullaney, Rhode Island Community College, and Deborah Grossman-Garber, University Of Rhode Island

Peggy L. Maki, PhD in literature and linguistics, University of Delaware, writes, speaks about, and consults with higher education organizations and institutions on the process of assessing student learning, an internally motivated and shared commitment to currently enrolled students’ equitable progress toward achieving high-quality learning outcomes. She has consulted at over 610 institutions in the United States and abroad and has written books and articles on assessment for more than 20 years. Her previous book, Real-Time Student Assessment: Meeting the Imperative for Improved Time to Degree, Closing the Opportunity Gap, and Assuring Student Competencies for 21st-Century Needs (Stylus, 2017), challenges institutions to prioritize the use of chronological assessment results to benefit enrolled students compared with the more common practice of prolonged assessment cycles that generally benefit future students. She served as the former American Association for Higher Education’s (AAHE) senior scholar on assessment; a consultant in the Association of American Colleges & Universities’ (AAC&U’s) annual General Education and Assessment Institutes; and a member of several advisory boards, including one for the Lumina Foundation. Currently, she serves on the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) advisory board. Recently an accredited organization in the United Kingdom invited her to design and teach online professional development courses and workshops among those it offers worldwide to higher education. She is the recipient of a national teaching award, the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching.