Assessment Advisory Council

History of the Committee

In fall 1999, Provost Goldfarb convened the University-Wide Assessment Committee (UWAC) with the charge of assessment planning and coordination for Illinois State University. Throughout the 1999-2000 academic year, the committee focused on the definition, philosophy, practices, and recommendations for assessment at Illinois State. These actions were the basis for a proposed model to enrich a culture that already values, supports, and rewards assessment. The "White Paper" was presented to the provost in April 2000 and served as a dynamic framework for future activities on campus.

Through the years the committee has worked on many projects (and has gone through a couple of name changes), with campus-wide representation. Throughout the 2002-03 academic year, the members of the Assessment Coordinating Council (ACC) reviewed the original UWAC White Paper, with particular attention to the many campus-wide initiatives that have taken place since spring 2000, including the significant impact of the implementation of the strategic plan, Educating Illinois. In April of 2003 the ACC submitted to Illinois State's new Provost an "Update of Assessment-related Recommendations." The document represents the informed responses by the member of the ACC with regard to “status” and in some cases, “recommendations.”

One of the recommendations was to once again adjust the charge and membership of the assessment committee, calling for a larger representation of faculty from across campus and a more focused mission. Now called the "Assessment Advisory Council" (AAC), the group meets periodically throughout the year to review processes related to the assessment of student learning outcomes and various reports and utilization of assessment results to improve student learning. Based upon this continuous review, the AAC is to recommend additions, deletions, and modifications of these processes to advance the quality of student learning at Illinois State. The AAC provides recommendations to the staff of University Assessment Services in its service to the institution on related matters. The Council works to ensure that appropriate resources are provided for assessment activities.

Assessment Advisory Council Membership and Charge, 2003

2012-2013 Membership (and unit representing)

• Ryan Smith, Director, University Assessment Services (Chair)
• Amee Adkins, Associate Dean, College of Education (College of Education)
• Cooper Cutting, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology (College of Arts and Sciences)
• John Davenport, Associate Dean, Dean of Students (Division of Student Affairs)
• Dan Elkins, Associate Professor, School of Kinesiology & Recreation (College of Applied Science and Technology)
• Robin Gould, Research Associate, Planning, Research, and Policy Analysis (Planning, Research, and Policy Analysis)
• Derek Herrmann, Coordinator, University Assessment Services (University Assessment Services)
• Timothy Longfellow, Chairperson, Department of Marketing (Chairs'/Directors' Council)
• John Lust, Professor, Department of Management & Quantitative Methods, and Interim Director of Assurance of Learning (College of Business)
• Jean MacDonald, Associate Professor, Milner Library (University Libraries)
• Catherine Miller, Associate Dean, Mennonite College of Nursing (Mennonite College of Nursing)
• Sally Parry, Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, and Director of General Education (Council on General Education)
• Dan Wilson, Professor, Department of Technology (Ad hoc member)
• Shari Zeck, Associate Dean, College of Fine Arts (College of Fine Arts)