In this chapter, the author proposes a model for assessing institutional effectiveness. The Volkwein model for assessing institutional effectiveness consists of five parts that summarize the steps for assessing institutions, programs, faculty, and students. The first step in the model distinguishes the dual purposes of institutional effectiveness: the "inspirational," which is oriented toward internal improvement, and the "pragmatic," which is oriented toward external accountability. The second step poses five assessment and evaluation questions on goal attainment, improvement, meeting professional standards, comparisons, and cost-effectiveness. Step 3 is the research design. Step 4 requires the execution of the research design by collecting, cleaning, and analyzing data and other evaluation evidence. Finally, step 5 contains the actions that regional and specialized accrediting bodies constantly challenge institutions to do more of: communicate assessment findings and take appropriate action. The author discusses these five assessment and evaluation questions and describes how to design effectiveness studies in higher education. (Contains 2 figures and 3 tables.)