University Assessment Committee

51Æ·²è the University Assessment Committee

The University Assessment Committee (UAC) provides a framework and process for facilitating the educational effectiveness of the university. The UAC ensures that programs, departments, units, colleges, and divisions have accepted assessment systems in place; works with faculty, professional staff, and administrators, including deans, vice presidents, and the provost, to assess student learning outcomes in a deliberate, organized manner; and makes policy and procedural recommendations to enhance institutional quality.

Assessment at the University: Guiding Principles, Policies, and Procedures (PDF)

Mission, Vision, and Core Values

The 51Æ·²èstrategic plan, Our world, Our future, and its mission, vision, and core values, provide a foundation for the UAC’s mission, vision, and core values.

Mission

The UAC advances the quality of students’ academic and co-curricular education by enhancing, facilitating, and making transparent a university-wide student learning assessment system that aligns with national and discipline-specific accreditation standards and results in data-informed decision-making, continuous quality improvement, and educational effectiveness.

Vision

The UAC will realize and further our mission by expanding, promoting, and facilitating equity-based and equity-driven assessment practices through academic and co-curricular assessment resources, programming, and collaborations to ensure the university’s educational effectiveness for all students.

Core Values

We are guided by the following values, essential to the culture of the 51Æ·²ècommunity.

Student Centeredness

51Æ·²èputs the aspirations, needs, and success of our students at the center of what we do. The UAC centers on the attainment of student learning outcomes in its assessment system and annual and regular reporting processes.

Equity-Driven

Grounded in the purpose of achieving educational effectiveness for all 51Æ·²èstudents, the UAC promotes equity-driven assessment practices that impart a comprehensive and diverse curriculum, use data-tested equitable assessment measures, and examine student learning metrics on the varied experiences, needs, and aspirations of the 51Æ·²èstudent population.

Collaboration and Inclusion

The UAC advances assessment in a collegial, collaborative, and inclusive environment that involves academic and co-curricular constituents across the university and allows for creative approaches, relentless inquiry, and continuous improvement.

Transparency

The UAC makes the university-wide assessment processes transparent, integrated into existing structures and responsibilities, and meaningful to the university community through its communications, collaborations, resources, programs, and presentations.

Data-Informed Decision-Making

The UAC uses and advances assessment to equip the university with the information it needs to make data-informed, values-driven decisions that support and enhance student learning.

Annual Reports

On an annual basis, departments, units, colleges, and divisions submit assessment reports to the UAC and the Office of the Provost. The UAC then, in its own report, synthesizes the reports, highlights key trends in the data, and outlines recommendations for quality improvements. The UAC also presents its report to 51Æ·²èleaders, distributes it to the University community, and carries out or monitors the implementation of its recommendations.

Committee Members

  • Moustafa Abu El Fadl, Associate Professor of Finance, College of Business
  • A. Christine Brown, Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs, Professor of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences
  • Kristin Burkholder, Professor, Assistant Academic Director, Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences
  • Liz Crampsey, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Associate Clinical Professor of Occupational Therapy, Westbrook College of Health Professions
  • Emily Connor Dafoe, Research and Teaching Librarian, Library Services
  • Ellie Dodge, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, and Director and Associate Clinical Professor, Graduate Program in Applied Nutrition, College of Professional Studies
  • Kelly Duarte, Director of Institutional Research and Data Analytics, Office of Institutional Research and Data Analytics
  • Stacey Dubois, Associate Director of Academic Affairs and Enrollment, College of Dental Medicine
  • Marc Ebenfield, Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
  • Nicole Kimmes, Dean and Associate Dean of Curriculum Integration and Analytics, College of Dental Medicine
  • Shelley Cohen Konrad, Director of the Center to Advance Interprofessional Education and Practice
  • Shane Long, Assistant Dean of Students, Office of Student Affairs
  • John Lowery, Assistant Dean, Clinical Education, Assistant Clinical Professor, College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Jennifer Mandel, Associate Director of Assessment, Office of the Provost, Adjunct Assistant Lecturer of History
  • Wallace Marsh, Director of Academic Affairs, Assessment, and Accreditation, Clinical Associate Professor, Westbrook College of Health Professions
  • Linda Morrison, Associate Professor of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences

Ex Officio Members

  • Gwendolyn Mahon, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
  • Karen Pardue, Associate Provost for Strategic Initiatives
  • Mike Sheldon, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs