Making Assessment Work for You

Many years ago, the History and American Studies Department at the University of Mary Washington (umw) in Fredericksburg, Virginia, thought little of assessment. As in many departments, assessment functioned as a burdensome chore that the school required at the end of each academic year. In 2009, however, a pending Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (sacs) decennial reaffirmation of our accreditation (to be completed in 2013), combined with the introduction of an online assessment reporting tool, forced our department to overhaul what we had done previously. In response to these external forces, the department decided to make assessment more meaningful to our pedagogical and curricular goals by making it our own. We recognized that the process would require continuous discussion and retooling by our faculty. What has emerged is a more fluid process that fosters meaningful and regular discussions about our teaching and our major program and—we believe—improves the learning experiences in all of our courses

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