At CARS, we collaborate with institutions to address their unique needs in learning outcomes assessment and improvement.

Over the decades, we have heard consistent themes from educators about assessment and improvement.  Do any of the following concerns sound familiar to you?

• The quality of our assessment is inconsistent across programs; how can we communicate and manage this process better?
• We are conducting assessment on our campus, but we rarely see “use of results.”
• Our faculty and staff are resistant to assessment.
• Our faculty and staff don’t know the basics of the assessment process.
• We have great ideas for huge changes in our curriculum (e.g., program or general education) but most of these projects fall flat.
• It seems like upper administration, middle administration, and faculty aren’t on the same page with respect to large-scale learning projects (e.g., QEP).
• I don’t have anybody to talk to about assessment practices on my campus.

In 2023, we introduced our Bespoke Consultation arm to help institutions, teams and individuals work through such concerns.

A 1-day Assessment 101 Workshop: for Academic programs OR Administrative UNITS delivered to you. By the end of the workshop attendees know the basic assessment steps, can distinguish among bad, developing, good, and excellent assessment reports, and have created their own assessment plan for one student learning or administrative outcome. We have also offered workshops on learning improvement, developing tests and rubrics just to mention a few.

A 2- or 3-day audit of an institution’s assessment process: This offering includes review of materials, focus groups / interviews, and a report with recommendations regarding how to make your assessment process more effective.

An institutional strategy: We have worked with institutions to think through a process of helping their administrators, faculty, and staff function more effectively with assessment and improvement.  This level of consultation can range from weeks to multiple years.

1-Day “Assessment 101” Workshop
Delivered on-site or virtually, this workshop can be tailored to academic programs or administrative units. By the end, participants will:

• Articulate the basic steps of assessment,
• Differentiate between weak and strong assessment reports, and
• Develop their own assessment plan for a learning or administrative outcome.
• Additional workshop topics include learning improvement, test and rubric development, and more.

2–3 Day Assessment Audit
This offering includes a review of existing assessment materials, focus groups or interviews with stakeholders, and a final report with actionable recommendations to improve the effectiveness of your assessment process.

Long-Term Strategic Consultation
We partner with institutions to develop strategies that empower faculty, staff, and administrators to work more effectively toward assessment and improvement goals. This support can last from several weeks to multiple years, based on your institution’s needs.

Dr. Keston Fulcher leads the Bespoke Consultation arm. Under his leadership the Center for Assessment and Research Studies won several notable national awards for quality assessment and improvement. He has co-authored two books and dozens of articles, received the Improvement Influencer Award, facilitated numerous workshops, and delivered keynote speeches around the globe.

Our areas of expertise:

• Assessment Consulting
• Large-Scale Learning Improvement Projects
• Assessment Projects
• Customized Faculty Professional Development

Ready to get started? Schedule a complimentary 30-minute Zoom consultation to explore how we can support your assessment and improvement goals.

Consultation Form