Discover, Assess, Distribute.
The National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment makes learning outcomes visible and useful to the public.
Making the Move to Online Courses:
Resources to Inform Teaching and Learning
The NILOA Team has compiled and will continue to update a resource list to assist the field as we make the move to online courses.
New Resources
New Occasional Paper
Evidence-Based Storytelling in Assessment
In this highly anticipated occasional paper, Natasha Jankowski helps conceptualize what is meant by Evidence-Based Storytelling (EBST)—an approach used at NILOA to refine and encourage evidence-based stories in assessment. According to Jankowski, two purposes are served within this paper “to re-examine what is meant by use of assessment results and to unpack evidence-based storytelling and its connection to assessment.” Here at NILOA we’ve done tons of workshops, presentations, webinars on EBST and hope that when you read this paper, you’ll be reminded of such and have been working on your institutional assessment stories in the meantime. Read more…
NILOA Report
Verna F. Orr
At this transformational moment in history, this report takes time to center Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) within the assessment realm; from teaching and learning experiences to internal and external mandates, from accreditation requirements to advocacy and agency. The paper argues that this work requires more than a statement of words and phrases including diversity, equity, inclusivity, culturally relevant, etc. It requires the lived experiences of HBCU connoisseurs. Let the lessons presented from our HBCU colleagues be the motivation needed to deliver on the promise of an equitable educational experience, for all students. Read more...
Using a Heat Map to Visualize Academic Assessment Across the College
Elizabeth Gaudino-Goering
Nassau Community College
This AiP highlights how Nassau Community College uses heat maps as a tool in identifying strengths and challenges in its academic assessment processes across the campus. Heat map examples are featured. Read more…
Wake Forest University: Campus Life and Equitable Assessment
Nicole Brocato, Matthew Clifford, Nelson Brunsting, and José Villalba
Founded in 1834, Wake Forest University is a private university located in Winston-Salem, NC, with more than 8,000 students. The undergraduate population of more than 5,200 hails from 49 states and more than 50 foreign countries. Wake Forest University is currently undertaking multiple large-scale, interdisciplinary efforts in equitable assessment. Its Assessment Committee was formed in 2014 to support assessment efforts, capacity and skill development, and logistics for all units in the Division of Campus Life. For assessment to be equitable, Wake Forest pays careful attention to a variety of key components which require expert substantive and technical expertise from diverse fields and interdisciplinary collaboration. Read more…
Equity Response
Strategies for Change: Equity in Assessment Practices
Carole L. Huston
This equity response presents two avenues for greater diversity and equity in assessment processes and practices: disaggregating data in non-traditional ways and building diverse assessment methods and teams. Providing examples and cases to explain and explore, this response offers guidance on how to better detect and block bias in assessment processes and practices. Read more…
Collective Wisdom: Themes from Inaugural Episodes of the Leading Improvements in Higher Education Podcast
Stephen P. Hundley & Caleb J. Keith
The Leading Improvements in Higher Education podcast is a new service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis, the oldest and largest higher education event in the United States devoted to assessment and improvement. While each episode delved into specific topics of interest related to a particular association, organization, or stakeholder group, the collective wisdom shared by all of the guests provides a mosaic of issues and opportunities to consider as we conclude a challenging, dynamic year. This Viewpoint provides seven crosscutting themes from the podcasts’ inaugural episodes. Read more…
Occasional Paper 47
Grand Challenges in Assessment: Collective Issues in Need of Solutions
This paper shares ten grand challenges identified through an examination of the assessment literature and a national survey. To Resource Occasional Paper read more about how the Grand Challenges were identified, please the recently released Research and Practice in Assessment article. Each of the grand challenges are described, of which four were identified as of greatest concern to the assessment community. Those four are being addressed by the Grand Challenges in Assessment Project for possible collective solutions.
Carnegie Mellon University: Building an Infrastructure for Data-Informed Learning Improvement
Marsha C. Lovett
This case study on Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is an update of the original case study from 2012. The first case study described CMU’s approach to addressing the challenges of assessment, exploring the salient elements of CMU’s culture for assessment and improvement, and focused on the positioning and role of the Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence in student learning outcomes assessment at CMU. In this updated case, Building an Infrastructure for Data-Informed Learning Improvement, Marsha C. Lovett writes about the evolving relationship between assessment and faculty development and how the renamed Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation serves as the hub of such work.
NILOA Webinar Series
Beyond the Looking Glass:
Tenets of Meaningful Transparency
April 30, 2020
In the final episode of NILOA’s six-part webinar series, Natasha Jankowski, Ruth Slotnick, and Christina Ouellette discuss the role of transparency in student learning (view presentation slides). This includes communication about programmatic design, and the processes and practices at institutions working to convey information of student learning in a clear and coherent manner to different audience(s). The importance of transparency to students and student voice in the process are explored through the example of the transparency project at Bridgewater State University. The webinar concludes with institutional strategies and considerations for transparency in a time of Covid-19. We encourage you to participate in the BSU National Learning Outcomes Transparency survey! We also invite you continue the conversation on social media using the tags #NILOAwebinar, #AssessmentBook, and #AssessmentMusic.
The Evidence-Based Storytelling Toolkit:
Using Assessment Data to Write
Your Learning Narrative
April 23, 2020
Natasha Jankowski, Brad Mello, and Joe Levy provide resources on how to think about and plan for telling a story of learning to specific target audience (view presentation slides). Presenters will provide institutional examples of evidence-based storytelling, as well as guidance on communicating in a time of crisis and tips on messaging assessment efforts to faculty and staff. A new resource from NILOA, Planning for Effective Communication of Assessment: A Toolkit for Practice, was also introduced during the webinar. We invite you continue the conversation on social media using the tags #NILOAwebinar, #AssessmentBook, and #AssessmentMusic. NILOA will host the final webinar of this series April 30, 2020 at 3pm EST.
Outcomes, Alignment and Mapping, Oh My!:
Curriculum Mapping as Educational Design
April 16, 2020
Natasha Jankowski, Dan McInerney, and Errin Heyman present considerations for planning ahead to the summer and fall semester for supporting and advancing learning, especially in light of any learning outcomes that may need to be re-emphasized for returning students within programs. Presenters discussed alignment, levels of mapping, what is feasible now, and where to place our attention as we plan for the future (view presentation slides). NILOA has developed a guiding document for Program Planning in a Time of COVID-19. We encourage you continue the conversation on social media using the hashtags #NILOAwebinar, #AssessmentBook, and #AssessmentMusic. NILOA will continue to host weekly webinars every Thursday at 3:00pm EST through the end of April.
Assignment Design: Charrettes to Build Community in a Time of Physical Distance
April 9, 2020
NILOA will host weekly webinars every Thursday at 3:00pm EST through the end of April. This recording is of the 3rd webinar in the series, presented by Natasha Jankowski, NILOA Executive Director, Pat Hutchings, NILOA Senior Scholar, Tami Eggleston, McKendree University, and Shontell Stanford, Morehouse School of Medicine. The webinar discusses best practices for designing assignments for online learning, including tips for maintaining equity, quality, and applicability (view presentation slides). NILOA also developed a guiding document to conduct Assignment Charrettes in a Time of COVID-19. We encourage you continue the conversation on social media using the hashtags #NILOAwebinar, #AssessmentBook, and #AssessmentMusic.
Second Community Check-in and Updates
April 2, 2020
NILOA will host weekly webinars every Thursday at 3:00pm EST through the end of April. This recording is of the 2nd webinar from April 2, 2020, led by Dr. Natasha Jankowski, NILOA Executive Director. She discusses faculty evaluations, student surveys, messaging assessment reports, and assessing online in the time of COVID19 (view presentation slides). A new NILOA Viewpoint, discusses some of the issues that should be considered in making changes to how we grade students and using pass/fail. We encourage you continue the conversation on social media using the hashtags #NILOAwebinar, #AssessmentBook, and #AssessmentMusic. More information on the webinar series.
First Community Check-in and Updates
March 26, 2020
NILOA will host weekly webinars every Thursday at 3:00pm EST through the end of April. This recording is of the first webinar from March 26, 2020, led by Dr. Natasha Jankowski, NILOA Executive Director. She introduces a handful of resources, as well as advice, to help the field of assessment, and higher education writ large, to navigate the current transition to online as the field responds to the COVID19 pandemic (see presentation slides). The webinar focuses on providing a space for people to come together and decompress, share concerns, and experiences. We encourage you continue the conversation on social media using the hashtags #NILOAwebinar and #AssessmentMusic. More information on the webinar series.
New to Assessment?
Assignment Library
Browse our interactive, online library of high-quality, peer-reviewed assignments.
Transparency Framework
The NILOA Transparency Framework helps institutions evaluate the extent to which they are making evidence of student accomplishment discoverable and meaningful to various audiences in an online format.
