Outcomes Assessment in Higher Education: Views and Perspectives

Outcomes Assessment in Higher Education focuses on assessing institutional quality and effectiveness, and responds to the increasing demand for greater accountability at all levels of institutional activity. It provides material that anyone in higher education dealing with outcomes assessment will find useful. The book presents the perspective of assessment associations and regional accrediting bodies, faculty members who have prepared plans for implementation of outcomes assessment, and librarians engaged in such assessment. Examples provide practical guidance in determining assessment options and how to proceed in establishing and applying assessment programs. This unique book provides a broad, cross-disciplinary perspective on the discussion of educational quality as reflected through outcomes assessment. Regardless of their position or source of employment, the message of the various authors is the same: outcomes assessment is here to stay.

In a global economy where an undergraduate degree is just one step toward a professional career, and that degree has become ever more expensive, universities must prove they can meet their own and their markets' expectations. Deans, professors, administrators, accreditation professionals, consultants, and librarians contribute articles on institutional commitment to an assessment and accountability culture, theories of assessment, planning in the long term, tools such as teaching and learning rubrics, case studies, international perspectives, data gathering and reports, and the role of the university library in assessment. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

PETER HERNON is Professor, Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Boston. He is co-editor of Library & Information Science Research, founding editor of Government Information Quarterly, past editor of The Journal of Academic Librarianship , and an internationally acclaimed author of numerous books.

ROBERT E. DUGAN is Library Director, Mildred F. Sawyer Library, Suffolk University, Boston. During a 30-year career in librarianship, he has been a reference librarian, director of public libraries, head of statewide library development, a state librarian, an associate university librarian, and college library director. He has co-authored six books and more than 50 articles on topics such as information policy, technology, outcomes assessment, and library management and operations.