A call to engagement at Fort Hays State University (FHSU) led to significant curricular and assessment changes in the university's Department of Political Science. The university unveiled the Year of the Department (YOTD) as "an ongoing strategic initiative for orchestrating change and aligning people, systems and culture at the basic unit…

In autumn 2003, the author conducted a study of the best practices in linking assessment and strategic planning in higher education by visiting three institutions that represent models in integrating these processes. Information was gathered by interviewing faculty, staff, and administrators involved in the institutions' strategic planning or…

Over the past twenty years, the attention that colleges and universities have paid to students' first year experience has grown exponentially. The reasons for this phenomenon include changes in demographic characteristics of the students themselves, concerns about the high dropout rate that peaks between the first and second year, and recognition…