The Future of Higher Education and its Assessment Culture
Forbes recently penned an article addressing the future of higher education and what that future might mean for students and educators (Llopis, 2022). The shifting demographics among high school graduates and college age students in the U.S. are sure to make future enrollment in higher education more culturally and racially diverse. The ubiquitous nature of technology has changed the way individuals create community, learn, and access new information. The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed and amplified learning gaps and losses among many underserved, PreK-12th grade learners. It has spotlighted the need for greater flexibility regarding access and the delivery of education, as well as underscored the importance of inclusion, wellbeing, and belonging on campuses. While all of this is true, the core enterprise of education remains teaching and learning for the purposes of enlightenment and the transformational value of learning itself (for students and educators alike).
Focusing on the importance of teaching and learning, I polled the LinkedIn community on the following question, “As a teacher or faculty member, for which committee would you likely volunteer?” The three options were: curriculum committee, assessment committee, and student engagement committee. In the world of assessment, evaluation, and accreditation, it is known that faculty are more likely to engage in assessment independently from their peers and to approach assessment as a matter of compliance rather than commitment—commitment to inform continuous improvement. Moreover, a report on faculty involvement in assessment by Hutchings (2010) points to a history of faculty’s limited involvement. The survey results for each choice were 50%, 8%, and 42% respectively. Small wonder participants ranked the assessment committee lowest.
Eubanks et al. (2022) proclaim the time is ripe for a reassessment of assessment in higher education for the future. Taken together with the changing context of higher education and the core enterprise of education, here are several considerations for the future direction of assessment in higher education to inform a new assessment culture and the transformation of higher education.
1. Make assessment a collaborative and ongoing investigation into student learning for the purpose of students’ learning.
Migrating assessment from a single classroom to the program level serves higher education well when all program faculty are involved in regular, collaborative inquiry into the learning processes of their students in relation to academic and professional outcomes set for learning mastery. Furthermore, a shift from “assessment of learning” for grading to “assessment for learning” places student learning at the center of assessment endeavors. These shifts elevate the intentionality of teaching and learning by asking faculty to close the loop between assessment as inquiry and the implementation of evidence-based practices informed by assessment outcomes for overall student, program, and institutional success.
2. Make assessment a tool for student engagement in learning.
The core enterprise of teaching and learning is at its best when relationships between students and educators are positive and nurture successful learning experiences. Building on assessment for learning, the global merits of assessment activities are strengthened when such activities foster opportunities for students to actively engage in learning. For example, students benefit when assessment fosters dialogue among themselves and educators regarding learning. Also, assessments that inform students’ self-reflection on and goal settings for learning enhance the meaningfulness and self-empowerment of the learning process.
3. Make assessment authentic and culturally relevant.
Institutions continue to embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) on campuses. Making assessments authentic and culturally relevant is one way to embrace DEI. Such assessments ask students to apply classroom learning in different, real-world contexts while respecting their cultural assets and the norms of diverse contexts. Students may be asked to engage in performance-based assessments applying their unique perspectives and ways of knowing to address problems of interests and or the needs of diverse communities, as an example. When doing so, the relevancy of teaching and learning flourishes while embracing differences among students and their lived experiences.
4. Make assessment a line of inquiry recognized by the promotion and tenure process(es).
In addition to teaching, faculty are also held responsible for scholarly activities and service for the achievement(s) of promotion and or tenure. Institutions manage the specific expectation or requirements for teaching, scholarship, and service in accordance with their individual missions and aims. Yet, assessment is not commonly explored across disciplines as a line of inquiry. Prioritizing effective assessment activities and assessment as a discipline specific line of inquiry for promotion and tenure will certainly encourage faculty involvement.
As a collective effort, making assessment a collaborative faculty endeavor for investigating student learning, engaging students in learning through assessment, increasing the number of assessments that are culturally relevant and authentic, and recognizing assessment for promotion and tenure will certainly shift assessment culture across institutions as we look toward and define the future of higher education.
About the Author: Jacob Easley II, Ph.D. is Special Assistant Provost for New Initiatives at Touro University, NY. He is a leader in transforming institutional culture through continuous quality improvement. @drje2
References
Eubanks, D., Fulcher, K., Roscoe, D., Welsh, J., & Blaich, C. (2022, January 12). What’s the future of assessment?: The time may be ripe to reassess our processes and priorities. Liberal Education Magazine, AAC&U. https://www.aacu.org/liberaleducation/articles/whats-the-future-of-assessment
Hutchings, P. (2010, April). Opening doors to faculty involvement in assessment. (Occasional Paper No. 4). Urbana, IL: University of Illinois and Indiana University, National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA)
Llopis, G. (Sept 14, 2022). The future of higher education: What it means for students and educators. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2022/09/14/the-future-of-higher-education-what-it-means-for-students-and-educators/?sh=3ef10980502a
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