This document discusses strategies for developing a culture of assessment at institutions of higher education. It outlines challenges such as gaining faculty ownership of assessment and providing ongoing professional development. Some of the stepping stones Longwood University has taken include establishing faculty committees focused on assessment, conducting comprehensive program reviews, and offering workshops and coaching to support assessment. The university also celebrates assessment successes through an annual conference and provides mini-grants to encourage assessment research. Developing a culture of assessment is an ongoing journey that requires continuous improvement efforts.

1. Institution-Wide Assessment Practice:
Initiating Sustainable Strategies to Foster a
Culture of Assessment and Scholarly Inquiry
December 8, 2013
SACSCOC 2013 Annual Meeting
Dr. Linda Townsend
Longwood University
Office of Assessment and Institutional Research

2. What challenges have you faced?
Challenges to Institution-Wide
Assessment Brainstorm

3. 15 Elements of Assessment Success (Weiner, 2009)
"Only when an institution is on the path to
meeting these standards can its claim to
have a culture of assessment be taken
seriously."
http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/pubsres/aca
deme/2009/JA/Feat/wein.htm

4. Stepping stones on the assessment culture pathway
– Faculty ownership
– Comprehensive
program review
– Ongoing professional
development
– Information sharing
– Celebration of
successes
– Continuous journey
for improvement
Longwood University's stepping stones include:

5. Faculty ownership of assessment programs
• Faculty Senate: Committee on
Academic Outcomes Assessment
and Program Review
• Department Assessment
Committees
• Program Coordinators responsible
for assessment report entry in
WEAVEonline
• Faculty Competency Team Leaders
for assessment of 6 core
competencies - CT, IL, OC, QR, SR,
WC
• Faculty of General Education
Committee responsible for review
of GE goal/outcome assessment

6. Comprehensive program review
• Longwood University Program Review Policy (Revised April
2011)
– Emphasis on program quality enhancement
– Aligned with SACS principles and SCHEV requirements
– Identification of roles in the program report review process :
• Department Chair and Department Program Review Team
• External Review Team (Committee on Academic Outcomes Assessment
and Program Review)
• Dean and Associate/Assistant Dean responsible for assessment
• Dean and Provost

7. Ongoing professional development
• Interactive assessment
report writing
workshops - academic &
nonacademic
• WEAVE Introductory and
Tips & Tricks workshops
• Academic &
Nonacademic
Assessment Coaches
• Webinar coordination:
– Understanding
Assessment Results with
Linda Suskie
– How to more effectively
use the MFT results for
improving students’
learning with William
Wynne
• Using WEAVE in
institutional planning
and budgeting

8. Information sharing
• Institutional Effectiveness audit process
– Assessment Coaches use of 2011-12 audit
comments
– One-on-one coach consultations for
feedback and support
IE Audit Comments Example

9. Celebration of successes
• Longwood University
Assessment Conference
– Celebration of assessment
achievements
– Promote "Longwood best
practice"
– Engage faculty/staff in the
dialogue of building a
"culture of evidence"
– Initiated January 2011 –
internal only
– January 2012 – external
guest speakers and
internal presenters
– First virtual conference in
2013

10. Continuous journey for improvement
• Longwood Assessment Mini-grant Program (LAMP)
– Initiated January 2012
– Encourage campus-wide participation in research on and
practice in assessment
– Develop scholarship of assessment and explore Longwood’s
best practice models in conducting assessment
– Expected to share major findings/experience of assessment at
the Longwood Assessment Conference and other professional
conferences

11. What are other strategies for meeting the
challenges & fostering an assessment
culture?
Other Strategies Brainstorm

12. “Perhaps the most compelling indicator of an
assessment culture is what occurs when any new
initiative or proposal is advanced. Automatically, the
questions asked will be: What are the goals and
objectives? How will we assess the effort?”
(Weiner, 2009)
The path to a culture of assessment – alone or altogether?