The Teagle Foundation held a forum on "Using Evidence to Increase Student Engagement and Learning" on the Wabash College campus from September 6–8. The purpose of the meeting was to provide information and support to Teagle's newest grantees and to begin creating a "community of practice" around assessment. 53 participants from 42 colleges, universities, and organizations around the country attended.
W. Robert Connor, Teagle Foundation president; George Kuh, National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE); Richard H. Hersh, Council for the Aid to Education and co-editor of Declining by Degrees; Peter Ewell, National Center of Higher Education Management Systems; and Charles Blaich, Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education provided a national context on higher education assessment.
Ten of the Center of Inquiry's "Assessment Scholars," who are generously funded by the Teagle Foundation, were also in attendance to help facilitate discussion and to offer support in liberal arts assessment.
Richard Hersh set the tone of the meeting Thursday evening when he spoke about the importance of institutions "going naked," that is, exposing weaknesses and sharing information about the challenges they face. He said that collaboration is imperative to solving common problems and strengthening student learning; otherwise, higher education institutions could face government assessment mandates.
On Friday, Charles Blaich presented preliminary findings from the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education about the connection between student experiences and liberal arts outcomes. Members of established Teagle Foundation initiatives shared case studies about their assessment work, for example, in correlating existing institutional data with critical thinking outcomes or in examining the development of student writing.
George Kuh, Jillian Kinzie, and Jennifer Buckley (Indiana University) began Saturday's meeting with a presentation about their assessment of Teagle Foundation collaboratives. Kuh introduced the talk and spoke about the importance of utilizing effective educational practices to strengthen student learning. He stressed that if educators keep doing the same things they know don't work, nothing will change. Kinzie and Buckley shared their assessment findings, which revealed that though Teagle collaboratives face challenges—such as getting faculty involved and implementing assessment instruments—they also help create a culture of inquiry about student learning, and they encourage work with faculty and administrators across institutions and collaboration among faculty within an institution.
After an interactive workshop in which attendees discussed the biggest assessment hurdles they face, Peter Ewell offered suggestions for addressing some of these challenges, which included involving faculty, avoiding burnout, using results, and working with accreditors.
W. Robert Connor closed the meeting and asked participants to think about how faculty-driven, value-added assessment work can be sustained. He encouraged everyone to extend the assessment conversation beyond their collaboratives and to share what they're doing with others on their campuses.