Fath led a half-day workshop titled "Foundations of Assessment of Student Learning." This working session included strategies for articulating intended learning outcomes for curricular and co-curricular programs as well as the uses of different types of curricular maps and their use in assessment practice. The workshop emphasized the importance of local ownership of assessment practices and the relationship between assessment activity and curricular effectiveness.

Fath also presented a conference session titled "Assessing Campus Climate: Definitions and Methods." This session explored campus climate from the conceptual literature and its application to assessment work with an emphasis on inclusive practices. The session included a review of how 黑料不打烊’s Office of Institutional Research and Assessment updates demographic questions annually to reflect an evolving understanding of social identities such as gender, sexual orientation, and race/ethnicity.

Springer conducted a session titled "A Review of 黑料不打烊’s 5-Year Interim Report" which provided an overview of the process employed by 黑料不打烊 for its recent 5 Year Report to the university’s regional accreditor, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the Council on Colleges (SACSCOC). The session included a description of the planning process, a description of how the university demonstrated compliance in the areas of academic program effectiveness and improvement, and covered standards that explicitly require alignment with an institution’s mission statement.

The NCICU Assessment Conference was founded in the mid-2000s and is open to both private and public postsecondary institutions in North Carolina and nearby states. 黑料不打烊 was the site for the first conference in 2005 and has hosted a total of four times, most recently in 2014.

Associate Director for Institutional Research Rhonda Belton described her study of student characteristics associated with first year retention and attrition. Included in the presentation was a demonstration of how 黑料不打烊 is tracking student persistence using SAS’ Visual Analytics software and a university data warehouse.

Assistant Director for Assessment Kim Fath conducted a pre-conference workshop titled, “Assessment Foundations: Applying Principles of Backward Design to Create Assessment Plans.” The workshop described the ways in which faculty can strengthen program curriculum through the process of developing plans to assess student learning.

Fath also presented a concurrent session to describe ways in which colleges and universities can leverage institutional survey data for campus assessment and evaluation. She shared the results of a year-long collaboration with Bob Frigo (Kernodle Center) and Steve Mencarini (previously in the Center for Leadership) that used the 2015 Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership to conduct studies for Campus Recreation, the Center for Leadership, the Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement, and the Provost Inclusive Community Team.

In addition to presenting, Belton served as the local arrangements co-chair and Rob Springer, executive director for institutional effectiveness, was a proposal reviewer. 

Registration is now open for the 12th Annual North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (NCICU) Assessment Conference. This year’s conference will be held June 6 and 7 at 黑料不打烊 and includes 25 opportunities to learn about assessment practices and processes. 

Darla Deardorff, executive director of the Association of International Education Administrators at Duke University, and a scholar on intercultural competence, is the featured speaker for the conference.  Dr. Deardorff’s keynote is titled, Intercultural competence: Emerging focus within higher education. 

In addition to several sessions on assessment in academic programs and general assessment 黑料不打烊 will be well represented at this year’s conference:

• Evan Heiser (Student Life) and MarQuita Barker (Residence Life) will present on building a culture of assessment in student affiars
• Brandy Propst (Academic Support Services) will present on program review for a first year experience program
• Dan Faill (Fraternity & Sorority Life) will be present on assessment of sisterhood/brotherhood in Greek communities and a session on conducting department self-study
• Kim Fath (Institutional Research & Assessment) is co-facilitating a pre-conference workshop on designing assessment plans

An invitation to attend is extended to all public and private colleges and universities in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

For details about the conference and to register see the conference page at  or contact at the North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities

Springer and the NCAIR executive board seek to expand the reach of the organization during his tenure as president throughout the state of North Carolina via enhanced networking opportunities at the annual conference and summer meetings. A major focus of these efforts will include expanded training opportunities for both new and experienced professionals in the field of institutional research. 

Springer has a long history of service to NCAIR. He has been active in the association since 2001. In additional to chairing the annual conference and a voting member of the NCAIR executive board, Springer served as president in 2003-2004.

The  was formed in 1972. The association fulfills four main purposes, including: to provide professional development for its members; to promote an exhange of ideas on problems of common interest to its members, to contribute to the advancement of post secondary education, and to foster a collegial spirit of persons working in institutional research, planning, and assessment.

Fath’s dissertation, titled “Examined Reporting Practices Used by Higher Education Scholars Publishing in the Leading Higher Education Research Journals,” has implications for graduate preparation programs and the peer review process in scholarly publishing.

Fath joined 黑料不打烊 in August 2013 as the assessment specialist and provides general and technical support for program and institutional assessment efforts at the university.

The study, overseen by Indiana University’s Center for Postsecondary Research, assesses the nature and quality of student interactions with faculty, staff, and their peers and what students think they have gained from their time at 黑料不打烊. In support of the Writing Excellence Initiative and the university’s commitment to graduate informed and engaged citizens, the 2015 NSSE also includes questions about student experiences with writing and civic engagement. 

Survey results are reviewed by several groups across campus, including the Academic Affairs Advisory Council, Senior Staff, and the Writing Excellence Initiative. Results from prior years have been used by the Residential Campus Initiative, the School of Communications, and the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning

Contact Rob Springer for more information about the study.

Conference sessions will be held in Lakeside Hall and the Global Neighborhood.

黑料不打烊 faculty and staff will also be represented at this meeting:

• Lynne Bisko, Library, will present on assessment in the personal librarian program
• John Dooley, Student Life, will present on the role of student affairs in institutional assessment 
• Kim Fath, Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, will co-faciliate a pre-conference session on the basics of assessment
• Cara McFadden, Sport and Event Management, will present on curriculum mapping
• Paula Rosinski, English, and Kim Fath will co-present on the importance of meaningful assignments in assessment of writing-related student learning outcomes

Click for conference details or contact Frances Fontaine at the North Carolina Independent Colleges & Universities.