Faculty Fellows
Student Outcomes Assessments Committee
In the fall of 2001, the Provost and Deans appointed a group of Faculty Fellows
to help build the university's institutional commitment to student outcomes
assessment. Fellows met regularly throughout the 2001-2002 academic year and
will continue their work next year. Among their major contributions included
establishing a university-wide inventory of student outcomes assessment activities,
organizing a student outcomes assessment conference in the spring, recruiting
faculty and program coordinators to apply to a grant fund devoted to student
outcomes assessment projects, as well as creating an institutional electronic
portfolio as part of a NEASC pilot project. Brief descriptions of major activities
are provided below.
Assessments Committee Faculty Fellows:
| CEPS | Professor John Wilson (Emeritus, Mechanical Engineering) | 2001 - date |
| COLA | Professor Casey Cobb (Education) | 2001 - date |
| Professor Sally Ward (Sociology) | 2001 - 2002 | |
| COLSA | Professor Peter Pekins (Natural Resources) | 2001 - date |
| SHHS | Professor Dorothy Rentschler (Nursing) | 2001 - date |
| WSBE | Charles Gross (Marketing) | 2001 - date |
| UNHM | Professor Gary Goldstein (Psychology) | 2001 - date |
| Professor Annie Donahue (Library) | 2001 - date | |
| Student Affairs | Gavin Henning (Research Associate) | 2001 - date |
| Academic Affairs | Steve Hardy (Academic Affairs Faculty Fellow; Kinesiology) | 2001 - date |
| Victor Benassi (Academic Affairs; Psychology) | 2001 - date | |
| University Writing Committee | Professor Betty Crepeau | 2002 - date |
Summaries of Major Activities:
Assessments Inventory:
The Faculty Fellows developed a survey
instrument to establish an inventory of the various forms of student outcomes
assessment currently employed by faculty in academic programs. Leaders from
57 academic unit heads across five colleges and two campuses completed the survey.
Respondents were asked to identify and briefly describe assessment tools currently
employed, and how their unit makes use of the assessment information that is
collected. An Addendum to the Inventory that included more detailed information
on each assessment category was provided with the survey. Results indicated
that a rich variety of assessment measures are being used to evaluate student
learning and inform program development. A meta-summary
of assessment activities is available online by clicking the link.
Spring Assessments Conference:
The Fellows organized a conference
on student outcomes assessments that was held on April 19, 2002. The program
included presenters from Northeastern University, NEASC, and UNH. In the morning
session, UNH hosted a NEASC meeting attended by members from several other institutional
portfolio pilot institutions.
Faculty Fellows also assisted with the recruitment of applicants to an internal grant competition focused on SOA. Many of the conference attendees received grant awards.
SOA Case Studies:
Fellows documented exemplary student outcomes assessment activities from across
the university. An initial library of case
studies has been published on the UNH Institutional Portfolio web site.
More case studies are to follow.
Institutional Portfolio Web Site:
As part of the pilot project of the New England Association of Schools and
Colleges, a web site was established to enhance and make public the institutional
emphasis on student outcomes assessments.
Future Activities:
The Assessment Committee will meet again regularly during the 2002-2003. Fellows
will be available to serve as consultants to academic units and individual faculty
on an as needed basis. They will assist their respective units in developing
assessment activities appropriate to the particular field or discipline and
consistent with their unit's educational goals and objectives. Over the summer,
Fellows will continue drafting case studies that illustrate the use and application
of assessment activities. These case studies will be published on the Institutional
Assessment Portfolio web site. Fellows will also organize other assessment-related
conferences and workshops.
Timeline of Activities to Date:
Fall 2001
Fellows appointed
Established goals for the year
Developed Assessment Survey
Winter 2002
UNH selected as pilot institution
Met with Bob Froh of NEASC to discuss institutional portfolios
Amassed assessment inventory
Organized assessment workshop
Spring 2002
Recruited grant applicants
Sponsored assessment workshop
Identified case studies
Summer 2002
Initiated portfolio web site
Drafted case studies
