THE STUDENT ASSESSMENT FELLOWS PROGRAM: Elevating the Student Role in Academic Assessment

Over the past decade, a growing number of institutions of higher education have added leadership studies as a formal academic program of study. In many instances, however, students have not been included as partners or stakeholders in the design and delivery of leadership education, and student motivation and retention have subsequently suffered (O’Donovan, Rust, & Price, 2016). This application brief describes a new program, Student Assessment Fellows, which aimed to address these concerns by involving a small group of students in several capacities during the reshaping of a university’s leadership program. Through this program, students learned basic tenets of leadership pedagogy and educational program assessment and used both skill sets to author a proposal to restructure the existing academic program. This article reviews the development and design of the program, recommendations from the first cohort, and recommendations for other colleges and universities looking to increase student involvement in educational assessment processes.