campus partner(s)

Beloit College

Knox College

Monmouth College

and Ripon College

state(s)

IL, WI

amount

$25,000

initiative

Outcomes and Assessment

award date

05.2005

project director

Marion Field Fass

Beloit College

Grant Summary

$25,000 over 12 months. The collaborative will develop strategies for faculty-driven assessment of liberal education that rest primarily on course assessment, seeking to preserve pedagogical autonomy as a building-block of an effective assessment program while taking into account the programmatic context in which courses are offered. In fall 2005, the collaborative will convene expert consultants and faculty and administrators from each institution for a workshop that will sharpen their project objectives, focus, and language, enabling them to develop a stronger assessment program.

The project is guided by the following objectives:

  • To educate faculty in assessment methods and approaches, including assignment design and grading to improve student learning;
  • To encourage faculty leadership in and commitment to ongoing classroom and program assessment as they contribute to institutional goals;
  • To engage faculty in the discussion of course goals and outcomes in relation to larger departmental and institutional missions;
  • To facilitate collaboration between faculty and administrators in developing the structures and mechanisms necessary to ensure data are productively integrated into a continuous process of institutional improvement;
  • To share best practices;
  • To tailor assessment strategies and feedback mechanisms to the particular needs and culture of individual institutions.