The Culture Change Imperative for Learning Assessment
Why is systematic assessment of learning in colleges and universities so rare? While much assessment of learning already exists on individual campuses, very little of this assessment consistently and coherently signals to students the institutions’ expectations and standards shared by both faculty and staff. Richard Hersh and Richard Keeling address this deficit in learning assessment and its implications in their most recent article, The Culture Change Imperative for Learning Assessment, published on October 16, 2012 by the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment.
The authors argue that culture change in higher education is imperative to address the challenges currently facing colleges and universities and to facilitate significant higher learning outcomes. They explore the components of this true crisis facing American higher education and offer solutions for changing the academic culture.