National Assessment Week (NAW) is a series of virtual events dedicated to advancing assessment practices in higher education. This annual event occurs during the first full week of April and represents a concentrated effort to foster assessment dialogue across the nation's colleges and universities. With a mission to enhance assessment practices…

When considering institutional transformation, assessment is not always the first thought as a key tool for change. Assessment is often framed as a matter of compliance. However, when implemented effectively and intentionally, assessment becomes a powerful tool for continuous improvement. Taking place during the 2025 International Conference on…

Auburn University engaged in the reaffirmation process with SACSCOC (institutional accreditor) and received recommendations surrounding assessment practices. It was from these recommendations that the Office of Academic Assessment (OAA) was created in July 2015, providing dedicated assessment support to faculty responsible for educational…

To be successful in producing improvement, assessment must be "part of a larger set of conditions that promote change" (Astin et al. 1992). To identify the enduring principles likely to produce the specific conditions to promote change, the author turned to two sources: (1) W. Edwards Deming's classic 1982 book, "Out of the Crisis:…

Assessment and institutional research offices have too much data and too little time. Standard reporting often crowds out opportunities for innovative research. Fortunately, advancements in data science now offer a clear solution. It is equal parts technique and philosophy. The first and easiest step is to modernize data work. This column…

Walsh University's process of seeking more effective assessment practices has identified an overarching theme of university-wide continuous improvement resulting in several initiatives. The categories of these initiatives can be described as new formats in leadership, unique and collaborative improvements across campus, strategies in alignment…

The Grand Challenges in Assessment (GCA), a collaborative across assessment professionals and organizations, seeks to improve assessment activities through scholarship and access to practical information. To achieve the GCA strategic priorities, the authors provide resources for enacting rapid pedagogical change, defined as instructional…

The George Mason University (Mason) offices responsible for institutional reporting and assessment were merged to strengthen and solidify their functions and expertise. The organizational structure creating the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning (OIEP) was intended to engineer a new paradigm where assessment would inform the…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) James Madison University: Reflections on Sustained Excellence in Assessment (Keston H. Fulcher and Elizabeth R. H. Sanchez); (2) Editor's Notes: Assessment Excellence Abounds! (Stephen P. Hundley); (3) The Promise of an All-in-One Assessment System for Student…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) Using National Benchmarking Data to Improve Student Learning in Chemistry at Lebanon Valley College (Marc A. Harris); (2) Mutually Dependent Outcomes: Using Assessment to Improve First-Year Retention and Student Learning (Alan Bearman and Elaine Lewis); (3) Emergent…

Recent advances in electronic data collection have opened broad new possibilities for educational assessment. Potentially significant savings in time, money, and effort make Web-based and e-mail-based surveys more and more attractive as alternatives to mail surveys and face-to-face interviews. Yet, as with any major change, questions and obstacles…

Academic research, statewide reports, and regional report cards describing K-12 student achievement on standardized tests have become commonplace throughout the US. Incorporating outcomes assessment in higher education is proceeding more slowly. Faculty and staff at colleges and universities have not embraced the assessment movement, and many…