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, 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 of 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.

The editor: Peggy L. Maki is a higher education consultant specializing in assisting institutions to integrate assessment of student learning into educational practices. Formerly Senior Scholar and Director of Assessment at the AAHE, Associate Director of the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc., she has also served as a Dean and Chair at various institutions. She is the author of Assessing for Learning, and co-editor of The Assessment of Doctoral Education.