In response to legislative mandate and pressure from its accrediting agency, Blue Ridge Community College (BRCC) began to develop a system to measure the effectiveness of its instructional programs. The system was designed to improve curricula, be managed by faculty, be inexpensive and uncomplicated, and focus on qualitative rather than quantitative measures. The first steps in the generation of the assessment plan were the appointment of an Assessment Committee, composed of five faculty members, two division chairs, and the registrar; the preparation and state approval of the assessment plan; the provision of release time for faculty to teach other faculty about new assessment requirements; and full meetings of the faculty to garner support. The assessment plan requires that faculty members: (1) design a system for evaluating their own programs that provides for the measurement of student outcomes at matriculation, during enrollment, at graduation, and at some point during the subsequent five-year period; (2) submit the program evaluation plan to the Assessment Committee for approval; (3) implement the plan on a four-year cycle and provide data and a written report on outcomes to the Faculty Curriculum Committee; (4) alter program content according to evaluation results or explain to their peers why changes should not be made. Currently, all of BRCC's occupational programs have developed assessment plans that have been documented and approved, though most were rejected upon their first submission to the Assessment Committee. A wide variety of variables, measures, and data sources have been chosen, though most departments have elected to use ad hoc surveys, standardized placement tests, and other straightforward methods to gather data. The advent of assessment has led the faculty at BRCC to reconsider and expand its role in governance, college planning, personnel changes, and decision making. (JMC)