Western Association of Schools and Colleges

Purpose of the Academy:
The WASC Assessment Leadership Academy will offer advanced training for higher education professionals so they can provide assessment-related leadership at their institution and within the region. It will prepare campus professionals who can provide workshops, consultation, and guidance, and who can support the scholarship of assessment at their institution, as well as other institutions. The Academy curriculum will include structured learning opportunities in a range of techniques and strategies for the assessment of educational effectiveness, and it will address the broader context of national issues in assessment, accreditation, and accountability. Academy graduates also will be prepared for leadership roles in WASC-sponsored educational events, visiting teams, and policy discussions concerning assessment and educational effectiveness.

Who Should Participate in the Academy?
Potential participants should have a commitment to:

• Develop assessment expertise
• Serve in an on-going assessment leadership role on their campus
• Complete Academy requirements, including active participation in all scheduled meetings, homework assignments, and projects

In addition, the following characteristics are highly recommended:

• Experience in assessing student learning and in campus leadership roles related to educational effectiveness
• Completion of WASC-sponsored workshops and assessment-related events, such as the Level I and Level II assessment retreats, or equivalent
• At least two years full-time experience as a faculty member within higher education
• A history of completed empirical research or other demonstration of scholarship

Campuses which nominate potential participants should

• Commit to support the individual's efforts during and after the Academy

Learning Outcomes
Professionals who complete Academy requirements will be able to:

1. Provide training and consultation to campus professionals who are responsible for the assessment of academic and non-academic programs. This includes the ability to:

• Evaluate and provide constructive feedback and support for campus assessment efforts
• Help campus professionals align pedagogy and curricula with relevant learning outcomes at the course, program, and institutional level

• Collaborate with campus professionals to use assessment to improve student learning
• Analyze campus culture and effectively promote the engagement of campus professionals in a culture of assessment

2. Advise campus leaders on policies and procedures that promote educational effectiveness. This includes the ability to:

• help campuses integrate assessment into program review
• develop institution-wide assessment tools and systems
• advocate for assessment to improve student learning

3. Contribute to assessment on a regional and national level. This includes the ability to:

• Conduct scholarship of assessment and engage/mentor others in similar pursuits
• Contribute to regional discussions of assessment, accountability, and educational effectiveness
• Situate assessment in the context of national issues, concerns, and priorities

Academy Curriculum
The Academy will focus on assessment as a tool to promote student learning and will promote the understanding and application of:

• Assessment principles and practices
• Theory and research on student learning and success
• Concepts related to organizational culture and change
• Strategies for faculty, staff, and institutional development

All Academy participants will complete a project. Projects should be useful to the home campus and should be designed so they can be completed before the end of the Academy. Projects may involve one campus, or Academy participants may develop collaborative projects involving more than one institution. Possible projects include:

• Developing and implementing campus workshops and support for assessment
• Developing and implementing a plan for providing feedback on and support for departmental assessment efforts
• Developing or refining the assessment of General Education
• Developing a campus infrastructure that supports sustainable assessment
• Developing and implementing collaborative assessment projects with another institution

Academy Pedagogy
The academy pedagogy will integrate the theories of adult learning with ongoing engagement in case studies, project-based learning, problem solving, collaborative learning, and role play and simulations. Participants will use their home institutions as a context for practice and learning. The Academy will blend face-to-face and on-line learning in a schedule that accommodates active professionals and eliminates excessive travel. The pedagogy will extend to field experiences such as serving as mentors at WASC educational seminars, "shadowing" a visitation team during an accreditation visit, and facilitating faculty workshops on assessment practices. The expertise and ideas of regional and national leaders will extend the curriculum through readings of research and journals, video interviews, and in-person lectures and interactions.

Application Process
We anticipate admitting about 25 professionals to the Academy each year and will select participants through an application process. Campuses may nominate an individual or a two-person team; and applications should be forwarded with institutional approval from an administrator at the level of Provost, Chief Academic Officer, or higher. Applications should specify each nominated individual's:

• Reasons for interest in the Academy
• Assessment experience, including a description of the leadership roles that have been played
• Commitment to an on-going campus assessment leadership role
• Description of leadership capacity and experience, such as participation in academic governance or serving as a department chair, faculty development director, or other administrator
• Relevant areas of expertise (e.g., knowledge of the assessment literature, the teaching and learning literature, national issues and controversies in higher education, statistics, research design, institutional research)
• Record of participation in relevant educational opportunities, such as ARC workshops and WASC Assessment retreats
• Ability to complete Academy requirements, including active participation in scheduled meetings, homework assignments, and projects
• Institutional support for Academy participation, such as financial support for Academy participation, released or reassigned time
• Acknowledgement of campus support and intentions for engaging the applicant in an on-going assessment leadership role from an administrator at the level of Provost, Chief Academic Officer, or higher

Academy Assessment and Evaluation
The assessment and evaluation of the Academy will involve a blend of evidence directed to demonstrating the academy learning outcomes and may include the following:

• Evidence designed by individual participants, such as portfolios
• Evidence in the form of collaborative projects
• Evidence required by Academy faculty

The assessment and evaluation process will be rigorous and holistic, aligned with Academy intentions, and respectful of the active professional lives of participants.

Planning Committee

Mary Allen, former Director, California State University Institute for Teaching and Learning, and Professor Emeritus, California State University, Bakersfield

Trudy Banta, Vice Chancellor for Planning & Institutional Improvement, Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis

Geoffrey Chase, Dean, Division of Undergraduate Studies, San Diego State University

Amy Driscoll, Associate Senior Scholar, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

Peter Ewell, Vice President, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems

Lynda Harding, Director of Teaching, Learning and Technology, California State University, Fresno

John Hughes, Vice President for Academic Affairs, The Master's College

Sharon Salinger, Dean, Division of Undergraduate Education, University of California, Irvine

Contact:  Mary Allen (mallen@csub.edu) and Amy Driscoll (amym.driscoll@comcast.net)