Featured Award
NASPA Silver Excellence Award (2018) for Assessment 101: An Interactive Workshop Designed to Increase Assessment Capacity Across Campus.
The NASPA Silver Excellence award was given to Madison Holzman, a 2018 graduate of the Assessment & Measurement program. In her role as a doctoral assistant, Madison was integral in the development of the curriculum and programming for our Assessment 101 workshop. Assessment 101 was developed as a spin-off from an Assessment Fellowship program that we offered for over a decade. Madison, along with fellow doctoral student Jessica Jacovidis ('17PhD) worked to develop the content that is now delivered by CARS annually to assessment practitioners around the world. The workshop modules contain examples of the assessment cycle that are inclusive of both academics and student affairs. As many student affairs programs have specific student learning outcomes, NASPA has acknowledged how this workshop serves as a tremendous resource to practitioners who want to learn about how to not only assess student programming, but also to use the results of those assessments to make evidence-based improvements.
Academic Program Assessment
Excellence in Assessment Designation (2017)
Presented to JMU for our sustained excellence by the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment.
Outstanding Institutional Practice in Student Learning Outcomes (2015)
Presented to JMU for their process of submitting, evaluating, and disseminating assessment reports by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)
Outstanding Institutional Practice in Student Learning Outcomes (2011)
Presented to the Social Work Program by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)
Student Affairs Assessment
NASPA Assessment, Evaluation and Research Knowledge Community Innovation Award (2019)
Presented to Andrea Pope and the Student Affairs Assessment Support (SASS) team, Caroline Prendergast and Morgan Crewe ('19MA), under the leadership of Sara Finney. The award was given for their educational program "Student Affairs Assessment 101", which is a special offering of our standard Assessment 101 workshop that has been adapted specifically for faculty and staff in student affairs, as well as the students in the College Student Personnel Administration (CSPA) graduate program at JMU.
NASPA Grand Gold Excellence Award (2012)
Presented to Assessment & Measurement doctoral students Matthew Swain (‘15PhD), and Jerusha Gerstner (‘15PhD) for their work on Implementation Fidelity with the Transfer Orientation program by NASPA, Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA).
Emerging Best Practices in Student Affairs Assessment Award for Student Learning & Development Outcomes (2009)
Presented to Orientation & the Center for Assessment & Research Studies for the Summer Springboard Orientation program by the American College Personnel Association (ACPA).
Emerging Best Practices in Student Affairs Assessment Award for Student Learning & Development Outcomes (2008)
Presented to Judicial Affairs & the Center for Assessment & Research Studies for their assessment of the Civic Learning program by the American College Personnel Association (ACPA).
Emerging Best Practices in Student Affairs Assessment Award (2007)
Presented to Judicial Affairs & the Center for Assessment & Research Studies for their assessment plan for the Civic Responsibility program by the American College Personnel Association (ACPA).
NASPA Grand Gold Excellence Award (2007)
Presented to Judicial Affairs Civic Learning program assessment by Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA).
General Education
Improving General Education: Effective Program Process (2009)
Presented to General Education Cluster 3 by the Association for General and Liberal Studies.
Award for Institutional Progress in Student Learning Outcomes (2006)
Presented to CARS and the General Education Program by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
Internal Awards
Annually, the Office of the Provost for Academic Affairs presents an award to one academic program for their work in assessment, emphasizing integration of assessment into learning improvement efforts during the previous year. The Center for Assessment and Research Studies (CARS) identifies one academic program to receive the Excellence in Learning Improvement award.
All academic programs are eligible for award consideration. There are no nominations for this award. CARS reviews annual assessment progress template reports and profiles for all degree-granting programs to identify the award recipient.
Contact: Joseph Kush
The Provost Award for Excellence in Learning Improvement recipients:
2025 Chemistry (B.S.)
2024 College Student Personnel Administration (M.Ed.)
2023 Engineering (B.S.)
2022 Nursing (MSN)
The Provost Award for Excellence in Assessment past recipients:
2021 Middle Education (MAT)
2020 Political Science (M.A.) Florence Program
2019 Physics (B.A. & B.S.)
2018 School of Music
2017 Computer Information Systems
2016 Geology (B.S.)
2015 Department of Nursing: MSN in Nursing
2014 Department of Communication Studies: Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science
2013 Department of Social Work: BSW program
2012 Department of Health Sciences: Health Studies
2011 Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management; Bachelor of Science
2010 Department of History; Bachelor of Arts
2009 Department of Integrated Science & Technology, Bachelor of Science
2008 Department of Nursing: Bachelor of Science
2007 Department of Social Work, Bachelor of Social Work
