Chapter 15: Framework For Assessment From an Institutional Perspective

The role of assessment in higher education is changing. Economic pressures, political leadership, technological advances, and global competition increasingly demand the use of data to drive strategic decision making. Traditionally, student performance has been at the center of assessment in education, measured by test scores, graduation rates, and job placements. However, while a focus on student-centered outcomes may serve as an indicator of overall institutional effectiveness, additional data are needed in order to identify specific areas of improvement in case student performance targets are not met. Furthermore, students, faculty, and administrators each use different sets of indicators to drive their decisions, and the outcome of one typically depends on the assessment of another. If we also consider external factors such as university rankings, accreditation, local economies, or the political climate that impact student enrollment and faculty turnover, assessment emerges as a web of interrelated variables.