ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses why such assessment is necessary and important to higher education by defining outcomes-based assessment, differentiating it from both research and evaluation. It argues for the need to establish a shared conceptual framework and highlights ways to enhance trust and increase collaboration and discusses the importance of making assessment a top-down priority; incorporating it into testing, advising, and remediation efforts; using it in response to employer demands; and incentivizing student success. Community and two-year colleges are currently faced with many challenges including erosion of public confidence resulting in increased demands for accountability by internal and external stakeholders, shrinking capital and human resources, and larger and more diverse numbers of students choosing postsecondary education. Student learning and development are at the center of any college or university mission and, therefore, serve as the guiding principles of the majority of academic and student affairs work.
