A Firm Commitment to Assessment and Innovation

Dear Colleagues:

Thank you for your support in moving forward our assessment efforts.  We have made substantial progress since last spring.  The importance of assessment is both recognized and embraced by all of our academic programs.  As you know, Dan Poje is heading our Office for Academic Planning, Assessment and Innovation.  His office will help leverage the support needed to make sure we’re providing the highest quality and most effective educational experience for our students across all programs, undergraduate and graduate.  All of our programs gather data and implement indicated improvements on a continuous basis, as required by SACS guidelines. The importance of assessment reaches well beyond SACS requirements though.  A commitment to assessment is a core value at the U of M, it’s essential for student success and essential for innovative and effective practice in higher education. Dan Poje forwarded the following link a short time ago, I thought it an important reminder of our commitment:

http://chronicle.com/article/How-a-College-Took-Assessment/141963/?key=SWxxKQU/PnIUbXlkbD1Abz0HOHNvMhojNSRBbCtzbl1TFA.

 Again, thank you for your commitment to excellence in our academic programs.

 Best Regards, David