The Higher Education Assessment Certificate is 100% online and highly interactive. By the end of the program, you will be able to:

• Discuss policy issues in higher education and how policy affects assessment practice in colleges and universities.
• Develop professional assessment skills, including instrument design and consultation, through applied projects and experiences.
• Participate in all phases of the assessment process working on an assessment-related experience at his or her home institution.
• Develop, select, and critique higher education assessment instruments guided by modern validity theory.
• Identify the appropriate measurement tools and statistical analyses needed for common assessment situations.
• Develop communication skills necessary for assessment practice including: interpersonal, consultation, and professional etiquette.

Participants with previous assessment experience or who have completed JMU’s Assessment 101 workshop can now complete the program in nine credits as opposed to 12 credits, saving participants and institutions on tuition costs.

Psychology 603 Assessing Student Learning I

This course covers issues in assessment instrument creation in higher education. Issues associated with assessment instrument design will be covered throughout the course, expanding on concepts covered in Assessing Student Learning I such as reliability and validity. Students will examine the appropriateness of instrument selection, adaptation and development within everyday assessment practice. The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing will be discussed, including how such standards guide ethical and equitable assessment practice.

Psychology 813 Assessing Student Learning II

This course covers issues in assessment instrument creation in higher education. Issues associated with assessment instrument design will be covered throughout the course, expanding on concepts covered in Assessing Student Learning I such as reliability and validity. Students will examine the appropriateness of instrument selection, adaptation and development within everyday assessment practice. The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing will be discussed, including how such standards guide ethical and equitable assessment practice

Psychology 854 Assessment Practitioner as Consultant

This course provides guided opportunities for supervised application of sets of assessment skills and competencies with the development of professional self as an assessment practitioner. The course integrates current and emerging trends in assessment that impact practice and consultation, including learning improvement, the role of students in assessment practice and inclusive excellence in assessment practice. Prerequisite(s): Higher Education Assessment Graduate Certificate program students and permission of instructor.

Courses are offered during JMU's regular semester schedule. For the dates of upcoming semesters, click JMU's Academic Calendar.