Building a Student Assessment Culture

Creating an institutional culture for student assessment requires a multidimensional effort and includes many of the organizational and administrative dynamics and dimensions previously discussed as well as a pattern of behavior that values and incorporates student assessment. The following are characteristics of an institution with a comprehensive culture for student assessment:

• The institution’s organizational and administrative pattern for student assessment is fully developed. It has a well formulated approach to student assessment, an institution-wide strategy to support it, a well developed set of policies and practices to promote it, uses student information for educational decisions and monitors its impacts.
• The purposes for undertaking student assessment are clearly understood by all campus constituencies.
• Institutional strategies, information based, and human resource approaches to student assessment are evident.
• Student assessment is well integrated with the institution’s academic management function and its educational improvement efforts.
• Multiple levels (administrative, faculty, and student affairs) and multiple forms of leadership for student assessment (external, strategic, process and technical) are present and visible.

Creating a strong culture for student assessment does not happen quickly. Institutions that have been successful have made a constant sustained effort over several years.