3 ways disruption makes assessment more relevant

Disruption seems like too benign a word to describe the experience of students and institutions this spring in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Watermark recently held a panel conversation with Bliss Adkinson, Associate Director for Academic Affairs and SACSCOC Liaison, University of Northern Alabama; Tracey Floto, Executive Director of Assessment and Accreditation, Trine University; and Susan Brooks, Assistant Professor of Teaching in Education and Team Leader for the Intervention Specialist Program, University of Findlay about how they’re approaching assessment in light of changes caused by the pandemic.

Special thanks to Natasha Jankowski, Executive Director of the National Institute of Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA), for leading this great conversation about teaching and learning, reflection and action, and demonstrating the true spirit of continuous improvement.

Here are three ways the panelists identified to make assessment more relevant — and even more effective — in the wake of the recent crisis.

Assessment as a faculty support (and opportunity for reflection)

Panelists and attendees acknowledged the tremendous strain on faculty caused by the abrupt shift to emergency online teaching, including supporting students through this difficult time and balancing remote work in their own lives. Given these realities, how much can or should institutions expect from faculty in terms of capturing assessment data?

In her role at NILOA, Jankowski has been involved in many conversations as institutions grapple with managing assessment. “We are seeing a variety of changes to reporting forms to encompass a more reflective component or only a reflection focus in a report,” Jankowski said. “We’ve also seen outreach to better understand what type of learning data faculty need to feel prepared for the summer or fall term.” This ensures assessment serves as a faculty support rather than just a task to complete.

“Some faculty have indicated they are really overwhelmed,” panel attendee Candace shared. She noted that her institution is “using the HEDS surveys to see large-scale responses to what has been helpful for learning and to see how we are doing institutionally.” Additionally, they are allowing some grace with spring assessments, allowing faculty in some departments and certain accredited schools to determine which learning outcomes collection and assessment they do now. As a result, some are moving forward as usual while others are deferring some activities. Most of all, the institution is encouraging units to identify successful and unsuccessful strategies in the various remote environments, then documenting those discussions and determining how they will use that information.

“This is not just an issue of how do we do assessment, but it’s also ‘how do we learn, how do we work, and how do these things fit together’? There’s been a shift not just in modality — it was a life-wide change for our learners, for our faculty, and for ourselves,” Jankowski said. The role of assessment is “supportive, helping us make sense of and plan for [COVID impacts on teaching and learning].”

Assessment as a way to get answers to urgent questions

Before COVID struck, Trine University’s online division spent this academic year striving to improve its ADA compliance, which gave the rest of the institution a leg up in managing the challenges of remote learning when COVID struck. For example, “Trine Online was already thinking about students who are colorblind, and how that affects their ability to do online work,” Floto noted. Those insights have helped inform the university’s efforts to improve the online experience for students.

Jankowski acknowledged the real-time tension between compliance and improvement that is playing out in COVID-challenged institutions. While accreditation reporting requirements remain a constant, “There’s a very real understanding that assessment data is being used to think about future planning and being responsive to students’ needs,” Jankowski said. In the context of COVID, institutions are gaining a better understanding of equity issues, as well as what has and hasn’t worked for students in the shift to remote learning. All of this information will help them prepare for summer and fall.

“Our top priorities in assessment have been students’ technology needs and the capacity for learning in a remote environment,” noted Scott, an attendee. “This has allowed us to adapt and more forward with goal planning for future semesters.”

Patty, another attendee, agreed. “Internet access has been an issue,” for her institution’s students, she noted. “Some students had computers that were not compatible with our LMS with their internet access. Rural areas have a very different capacity than what is common for non-rural areas.”

Trine also modified its course evaluation surveys in order to capture qualitative data. “We decided that a numeric value of ‘how successful was the teacher in this course’ wasn’t going to give us the information that we needed,” Floto said. The institution opted to ask two open-ended questions: What did the professor do well in the course? And what could the professor do to improve the course? The survey garnered surprisingly useful results. “We’re hearing from faculty that they do feel like the responses have been more substantive,” Floto noted. Rather than “this class stinks” or “this professor is wonderful,” students have given specific examples of what worked and what didn’t.

Floto noted that students had the opportunity to share what was important or meaningful to them: “In some cases, students answered with things that happened at the beginning of the semester, so we didn’t lose that data by focusing on just the transition to online work.”

Through the surveys, Trine discovered that COVID-19 challenged their fully online students as well as those who started the semester in seated classes. “We have students who are parents who are working from home and finding that they’re now also teachers of their children during online learning for them,” rather than doing their own course work when their children were at school, Floto said. In addition, “They might not have had connectivity issues in the past, but have them now,” Floto said. “Maybe their plan for completing their online courses was to work during lunchtime at work,” rather than using their connectivity at home, so COVID disrupted their usual ability to complete coursework.

Assessment as a driver of true continuous improvement

When participant Michelle asked, “Is anyone else using this as an opportunity to take a breath and rethink how assessment happens in your programs, particularly for programs that struggle with meaningful assessment?” panelists were quick to agree.

NILOA is seeing “an increase in opportunity for reflective assignments and assessments to have people really think about where they are in their learning process, what they’re learning,” Jankowski noted. “We’re also seeing a huge range of innovation and adaptability on the part of faculty in response to, ‘Well, I can’t just have everyone record a video for an oral communication. I need to think about something else.’ And in some ways it’s a really nice fundamental return to assessment basics. What do we want people to learn? What’s our main learning outcome and what does it look like in a variety of ways to demonstrate that?”

While the University of Northern Alabama is continuing its assessment strategies so it doesn’t have a gap in accreditation reporting, they have had many conversations about how to more effectively use assessment to improve student learning, beginning with what they called “rapid improvement events.”

“We got on a Zoom call for a couple of hours and really talked with the faculty of the department. We said, ‘Okay, let’s map this out and see if we can streamline some of your assessment processes.’ [Then we] improved processes to make sure we do what we need to be doing to give us information that we need to improve, but that we’re not doing a whole bunch of extra work,” Adkinson said. “It’s a great opportunity to really look at your processes, at how and why you’re assessing and be reflective about that.”

In addition, Northern Alabama decided to continue its usual practice of meeting with liaisons from each program near the end of the academic year to give them feedback on their assessment. “We found a way to do that, just work in a 30 to 60 minute conversation with them to really look at their processes. April is when we start that, and it gives us an opportunity to connect and communicate,” Adkinson said.

As a smaller institution, University of Findlay doesn’t have an office of institutional effectiveness. “It becomes a little more challenging, because everyone is sort of a worker bee,” Brooks said. “So we’re looking at how faculty and governance committees coordinate this information. Our role has been more collegial, [focused on] collaboration,” Brooks said. “We have worked to streamline and keep lines of communication open and transparent, helping each other without getting in each other’s way.”

At Trine, Floto’s team reached out to faculty to offer support, including sending faculty an “outcome survey” asking them to “Take a look at what your outcomes are. Can you still meet those with the transition you’ve had to make? How are you going to assess those outcomes?” Floto said. “We didn’t need a big explanation. We just needed them to really think through the process.” When the data came back, if there were issues that faculty identified or outcomes that couldn’t be addressed, they were able to work with deans and chairs to come up with a way so that students still had access to that learning.”

Though Trine recognized the need to continue its accreditation work, “One of the big priorities coming from [COVID disruption] is, What worked? What worked well and what didn’t work so well, and how we can use that information going forward?” Floto said. “We’re going to have a new normal, and we don’t know exactly what that’s going to look like. The ‘new normal’ could just be ever-evolving.”

To hear more from our panelists and participants about assessment in the wake of COVID, read about the decisions these institutions made to keep calm and collect on, or watch the on-demand recording.

MORE HELPFUL ARTICLES
Blog

Evaluation 101: What higher education institutions should consider when evaluating professors

Read Blog →
Blog

11 tips for choosing an educational intelligence software partner

Read Blog →
Blog

3 tips to improve your online teaching

Read Blog →
Blog

3 ways disruption makes assessment more relevant

Read Blog →
Blog

4 best practices for sustaining institutional effectiveness in a crisis

Read Blog →
Blog

4 questions every campus should ask about assessment

Read Blog →
Blog

4 ways to improve student engagement

Read Blog →
Blog

4 ways to make curriculum mapping easier

Read Blog →
Blog

4 ways to simplify the accreditation process

Read Blog →
Blog

10 best practices for higher education data security

Read Blog →
Blog

5 criteria for effective goal management

Read Blog →
Blog

Assessment Planning with Watermark Outcomes Assessment Projects

Read Blog →
Blog

Assessment innovation at community colleges: a NILOA-led conversation

Read Blog →
Blog

Assessment: how to write clear outcomes

Read Blog →
Blog

Watermark’s responsible use of AI statement

Read Blog →
Blog

Accelerating faculty activity reporting

Read Blog →
Blog

Increasing course evaluation response rates at your institution

Read Blog →
Blog

7 tips To avoid survey fatigue

Read Blog →
Blog

How AI will transform higher education

Read Blog →
Blog

6 lessons from educational insights to increase student engagement

Read Blog →
Blog

7 ways a survey solution connects you with students and each other

Read Blog →
Blog

6 keys to effective communication with students

Read Blog →
Blog

How curriculum mapping helps students learn more

Read Blog →
Blog

Conducting a curriculum gap analysis

Read Blog →
Blog

10 ways ePortfolios support distance learning

Read Blog →
Blog

6 reasons to use Faculty Success (formerly Digital Measures) to power faculty web profiles

Read Blog →
Blog

6 things peer reviewers wish you knew about HLC accreditation

Read Blog →
Blog

6 tips for conducting effective academic program reviews

Read Blog →
Blog

7 best practices for engaging faculty in activity reporting with Walden University

Read Blog →
Blog

Using Student Data for the Improvement of Student and Institutional Success

Read Blog →
Blog

How emerging technology can help you fulfill the promise of assessment

Read Blog →
Blog

How faculty profiles can help track progression toward tenure

Read Blog →
Blog

How having labor market data can help colleges and universities

Read Blog →
Blog

Using Watermark Student Learning & Licensure for colleges of education

Read Blog →
Blog

Using Watermark Student Learning & Licensure for colleges of social work and counseling

Read Blog →
Blog

Using Student Learning & Licensure To Support Faculty and Students With edTPA Templates

Read Blog →
Blog

How to use data to improve campus learning

Read Blog →
Blog

How technology can improve how you’re building, managing, and supporting the faculty and academic affairs staff

Read Blog →
Blog

Using technology to make assessment more meaningful and sustainable

Read Blog →
Blog

Using Technology to Support Prospective Students

Read Blog →
Blog

ePortfolios for students: digital portfolio tips & tricks for success

Read Blog →
Blog

How to ensure education equity in the age of AI

Read Blog →
Blog

How higher ed can benefit from open data

Read Blog →
Blog

How Howard University Makes Use of Technology for a Competitive Edge

Read Blog →
Blog

The analysis of assessment professional roles and activities

Read Blog →
Blog

A foundational guide for mentoring students

Read Blog →
Blog

How Often Do You Need To Submit an Accreditation Self-Study?

Read Blog →
Blog

What is educational impact?

Read Blog →
Blog

How academic program reviews help ensure curriculum relevance and future readiness

Read Blog →
Blog

Effective data-sharing strategies for assessment professionals

Read Blog →
Blog

The secret to student success at community college

Read Blog →
Blog

A comprehensive guide to conducting academic program reviews in higher education

Read Blog →
Blog

How Online Course Evaluations Help Improve Instructional Course Quality

Read Blog →
Blog

How to align your campus around your strategic goals

Read Blog →
Blog

How our tools can assist with assessment

Read Blog →
Blog

An overview of SACSCOC accreditation

Read Blog →
Blog

How to assess internship readiness of students

Read Blog →
Blog

Insight-Inspired Progress at Engage 2022

Read Blog →
Blog

Watermark Insights vs. EAB

Read Blog →
Blog

How To Use Faculty Evaluation Data

Read Blog →
Blog

Watermark vs. Element451

Read Blog →
Blog

How predictive analytics helps improve student enrollment

Read Blog →
Blog

Watermark vs. Starfish

Read Blog →
Blog

The Key to Achieving Equity in Education

Read Blog →
Blog

How to empower students with edtech solutions

Read Blog →
Blog

Identifying and Supporting Gifted Students

Read Blog →
Blog

Watermark Partners With Concourse Syllabus to Offer a Comprehensive Syllabus Management Solution

Read Blog →
Blog

How to implement data-driven decision-making in higher education

Read Blog →
Blog

Watermark Shares: The Teachers Who Inspired Us

Read Blog →
Blog

Watermark’s focus on creating accessible systems

Read Blog →
Blog

How to Leverage Curriculum Mapping to Meet Your Institution’s Needs

Read Blog →
Blog

How to prevent summer melt this year

Read Blog →
Blog

What are IT leaders saying about tech transformation in higher ed?

Read Blog →
Blog

Empowering faculty collaboration and engagement: Tools and techniques for success

Read Blog →
Blog

How program review committees can use labor market data to improve student outcomes

Read Blog →
Blog

Looking to Become Faculty? What Doctoral Students & Postdocs Should Know

Read Blog →
Blog

End-of-course survey 101

Read Blog →
Blog

Program effectiveness survey questions

Read Blog →
Blog

What Is a Course Evaluation?

Read Blog →
Blog

What is Equity in Education?

Read Blog →
Blog

Promoting a Growth Mindset for Student Success

Read Blog →
Blog

The new faculty member’s guide to accreditation

Read Blog →
Blog

What is planning and self-study software used for in higher education?

Read Blog →
Blog

What makes direct and indirect assessment so difficult?

Read Blog →
Blog

The Intrinsic Purpose of Student Surveys

Read Blog →
Blog

The Importance of Co-Curricular Programs in Student Success

Read Blog →
Blog

The Outcomes of Success Coaching

Read Blog →
Blog

How to put your institution’s data to work to make planning easier

Read Blog →
Blog

What’s Your “Why?” Understanding the Value of Outcomes Reporting

Read Blog →
Blog

The Positive Impact of Success Coaching on Community College Students

Read Blog →
Blog

The Importance of Assessment in Higher Education

Read Blog →
Blog

Identifying and Implementing Graduate Student Retention Strategies

Read Blog →
Blog

How can higher education reignite a passion for learning?

Read Blog →
Blog

Quality Assurance, Self-Study, and Assessment Technology at Community Colleges: A NILOA-Led Conversation

Read Blog →
Blog

“A radical rethink”: How CV imports transform faculty activity reporting

Read Blog →
Blog

The Secret to SACSCOC Accreditation Success

Read Blog →
Blog

Why data is the catalyst for personalizing education

Read Blog →
Blog

The Top 6 Challenges College Students Face

Read Blog →
Blog

Higher Education Act Reauthorization: What Colleges and Universities Need To Know

Read Blog →
Blog

An Overview of Regional vs. National Accreditation

Read Blog →
Blog

Overcoming the Unique Challenge of Assessment at Community College

Read Blog →
Blog

The Why Behind Curriculum Mapping

Read Blog →
Blog

Responsible AI adoption for higher education instructors

Read Blog →
Blog

Is Retention More Profitable Than Enrollment?

Read Blog →
Blog

Rubric-Based Assessments: Usage and Benefits

Read Blog →
Blog

The Growing Importance of College Course Reviews

Read Blog →
Blog

Engage Conference Throughout the Years

Read Blog →
Blog

Why Faculty Diversity Matters

Read Blog →
Blog

SACSCOC Accreditation: 8 Things Peer Reviewers Want You to Know

Read Blog →
Blog

Three Building Blocks of Essential Course Content

Read Blog →
Blog

Engaging in Service as a Faculty Member or Administrator

Read Blog →
Blog

Setting goals for faculty annual reviews

Read Blog →
Blog

How to improve the assessment process by simplifying process management

Read Blog →
Blog

Why Is Student Success So Important for Higher Education?

Read Blog →
Blog

Three Integration Essentials to Improve Your Course Evaluation Process

Read Blog →
Blog

How to enhance your curriculum to meet current labor market needs

Read Blog →
Blog

Tips for Professors: Strategies to Foster Equity in the Classroom

Read Blog →
Blog

Why It’s a Great Time for New Tech in Higher Ed

Read Blog →
Blog

Why Mentoring Matters

Read Blog →
Blog

Why Predictive Analytics Is Crucial for Maximizing College Retention Efforts

Read Blog →
Blog

How to ensure student support from prospect to enrollee

Read Blog →
Blog

Harnessing data analytics to enhance faculty performance and development

Read Blog →
Blog

The Role of a Student Success Administrator in Higher Education

Read Blog →
Blog

Course Evaluations: Are We Asking Questions about Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging?

Read Blog →
Blog

The Evolution of Higher Education

Read Blog →
Blog

Exploring the “Why” Behind Change Resistance in Higher Education

Read Blog →
Blog

Factors That Influence Student Engagement in Higher Education

Read Blog →
Blog

Using Watermark to help faculty close the loop on assessment

Read Blog →
Blog

Building bridges: Strengthening the faculty-student connection for academic success

Read Blog →
Blog

Faculty tips for surviving the end of the semester

Read Blog →
Blog

Finding Solutions: Closing the Gender Enrollment and Retention Gap in Higher Education

Read Blog →
Blog

For efficient accreditation reporting, a culture shift is necessary

Read Blog →
Blog

From professor to product architect: Brian Robinson

Read Blog →
Blog

How To Prepare for End-of-Course Evaluations

Read Blog →
Blog

Getting faculty on board with assessment

Read Blog →
Blog

Get the Important Answers With an All-in-One Course Evaluation Solution

Read Blog →
Blog

Going Above & Beyond: Measuring Faculty Activity During a Crisis

Read Blog →
Blog

Preparing for the Growing Role of Student Affairs 

Read Blog →
Blog

Guided Academic Pathways: Student Success Starts With a Plan

Read Blog →
Blog

High-impact practices in higher education

Read Blog →
Blog

Removing data silos in higher ed with technology

Read Blog →
Blog

How to create a culture of continuous improvement at your college

Read Blog →
Blog

Data management strategies for higher education

Read Blog →
Blog

How higher education can be more environmentally sustainable

Read Blog →
Blog

Cost containment guide: How higher ed tech can help

Read Blog →
Blog

How Student Success Technology Can Help Institutions With Declining Enrollment

Read Blog →
Blog

Accreditation challenges – and how top institutions are solving them

Read Blog →
Blog

A map for your accreditation journey

Read Blog →
Blog

The accreditation process for two-year schools

Read Blog →
Blog

How to Assess Career Readiness in College Students

Read Blog →
Blog

Long-Term Adjuncts: What You Should Know

Read Blog →
Blog

Advancing assessment practices with Watermark Planning & Self-Study

Read Blog →
Blog

9 assessment trends to watch for in 2024

Read Blog →
Blog

Assessing the Reliability of Student Feedback in Higher Education

Read Blog →
Blog

Assessment trends: how to evolve your assessment strategy

Read Blog →
Blog

Watermark releases initial results of study aimed at closing the higher education equity gap for minority males

Read Blog →
Blog

How to Become a Higher Education Administrator

Read Blog →
Blog

Benefits of ePortfolios for technical colleges

Read Blog →
Blog

How to Build a Culture of Assessment in Higher Education

Read Blog →
Blog

Leveraging Watermark – Blackboard integration: Powerful insights throughout your assessment cycle

Read Blog →
Blog

Tips for success coaching young men

Read Blog →
Blog

9 tips to improve student satisfaction in higher education

Read Blog →
Blog

Three Things You Need for a (Productive) Data-Informed Discussion

Read Blog →
Blog

Tips for Faculty When Writing a Letter of Recommendation

Read Blog →
Blog

Tips for mastering the CAEP accreditation process

Read Blog →
Blog

Why You Should Care About the Performance of Other Educational Institutions

Read Blog →
Blog

How to Improve Faculty Engagement for Student Success

Read Blog →
Blog

How to Choose a Higher Education Assessment Software

Read Blog →
Blog

Tips for Engaging Underperforming Students

Read Blog →
Blog

Why You Should Consolidate Your Tech Stack

Read Blog →
Blog

8 Strategies When Starting a New Academic Position

Read Blog →
Blog

Inspiring students to perform their best

Read Blog →
Blog

Improving institutional effectiveness with Watermark Planning & Self-Study

Read Blog →
Blog

How to connect programs to occupations with curriculum mapping

Read Blog →
Blog

How to keep students engaged over summer break

Read Blog →
Blog

Women in STEM: Stacy Becker Helps Keep Watermark Products Accessible

Read Blog →
Blog

COVID conversations: 5 dos and don’ts for adjusting your course evaluation strategy

Read Blog →
Blog

How to improve parent engagement with data

Read Blog →
Blog

COVID-related resources for higher education

Read Blog →
Blog

5 Tips for Faculty When Writing a Letter of Recommendation

Read Blog →
Blog

Dr. Linda Ludwig mentors Watermark clients; she’s walked in their shoes

Read Blog →
Blog

Top 5 Challenges for Student Retention

Read Blog →
Blog

Student success: 12 higher ed trends for 2024

Read Blog →
Blog

How to improve student academic planning

Read Blog →
Blog

You Say Tomato, I Say Tomato: Are Student Performance and Student Learning Outcomes the Same Thing?

Read Blog →
Blog

Student Success Best Practices: The Perfect Combination

Read Blog →
Blog

Your Strategy for Assessment During COVID: Keep Calm & Collect On

Read Blog →
Blog

Characteristics of a Student Prepared for College

Read Blog →
Blog

10 ways to go beyond orientation for student success

Read Blog →
Blog

Improving Student Retention at Technical Schools

Read Blog →
Blog

How to conquer 5 common assessment challenges

Read Blog →
Blog

Student Success: Fostering a Growth Mindset

Read Blog →
Blog

Success Coaching for a Personalized Student Advising Experience

Read Blog →
Blog

Improve Student Retention With Predictive Analytics

Read Blog →
Blog

The Importance of Success Coaching in Higher Ed

Read Blog →
Blog

How Higher Ed Institutions Can Invest in Supporting Spanish-Speaking Students & Families

Read Blog →
Blog

Improving Community College Relevance

Read Blog →
Blog

Top 5 Reasons to Use Digital Tools for Key Campus Processes

Read Blog →
Blog

Supporting First-Generation Students: The 22 Rules of Success

Read Blog →
Blog

The use of labor market data to respond to declining enrollment

Read Blog →
Blog

The evolution of faculty workload management: Trends and technologies

Read Blog →
Blog

7 labor market insights IE and IR teams can use to evaluate program effectiveness

Read Blog →
Blog

10 ways to support students struggling with classes

Read Blog →
Blog

Using ePortfolios in end-of-semester assessments

Read Blog →
Blog

How College Leaders Can Use Labor Market Data

Read Blog →
Blog

Taking Advantage of Course Feedback in Higher Ed

Read Blog →
Blog

Higher ed technology management guide

Read Blog →
Blog

Using ePortfolios in higher education

Read Blog →
Blog

Taking course evaluation reporting to the next level

Read Blog →
Blog

Using Data to Personalize Students’ Coursework

Read Blog →
Blog

How to Create the Best Course Evaluations

Read Blog →
Blog

The Importance of Technology Due Diligence for Higher Education Software

Read Blog →
Blog

How technology can amplify your educational impact

Read Blog →
Blog

The 5 Stages of Student Success

Read Blog →
Blog

The Benefits of Course Evaluation in Higher Education

Read Blog →
Blog

The Brilliant Underachiever: Coaching Bright Students Who Struggle

Read Blog →
Blog

Using campus data to support student success and steer the institution

Read Blog →
Blog

The four crucial steps to ensure a successful technology implementation

Read Blog →
Blog

The Future of Data Convergence on Campuses

Read Blog →
Blog

How Assessment Foundations Can Help Community Colleges

Read Blog →
Blog

How to ensure adult learning success

Read Blog →
Blog

The Impact of Cognitive Bias on Student Surveys

Read Blog →
Blog

The Importance of Accessible Technology in Higher Education

Read Blog →
Blog

Integrating Artificial & Human Intelligence for Student Success

Read Blog →
Blog

Developing Rapport With Students: Why It’s Important & How to Do It

Read Blog →
Blog

Is aging technology holding back your university?

Read Blog →
Blog

4 Issues Impacting College Administrators

Read Blog →
Blog

How to cultivate a positive faculty culture at your higher ed institution

Read Blog →
Blog

How To Define Student Success

Read Blog →
Blog

How To Do a Course Evaluation

Read Blog →
Blog

Dropout prevention and alternatives for at-risk college students

Read Blog →
Blog

Best practices in faculty recruitment

Read Blog →
Blog

Tips for professors: best practices for online teaching

Read Blog →
Blog

How to Engage Faculty in Assessment

Read Blog →
Blog

Boosting alumni engagement opportunities

Read Blog →
Blog

Closing the loop — applying data-informed insights

Read Blog →
Blog

How colleges and universities adapt to changing job markets

Read Blog →
Blog

How To Find the Best Professors

Read Blog →
Blog

Why flexibility is important for student success

Read Blog →
Blog

We are the champions: Building a case for new tech

Read Blog →
Blog

Unlocking your potential: Could you benefit from a certification?

Read Blog →
Blog

How to Find Success Coaches for Your College

Read Blog →
Blog

How to improve student success with community-based learning

Read Blog →
Blog

How to Develop Key Performance Indicators for Community Colleges

Read Blog →
Blog

Why community colleges are our best hope for closing the equity gap

Read Blog →
Blog

Making a Difference in Student Wellness

Read Blog →
Blog

How to keep faculty data reliable and up-to-date

Read Blog →
Blog

Making technology implementation a success

Read Blog →
Blog

Ways community colleges can define, measure, and improve student success

Read Blog →
Blog

How to identify and manage valuable course improvements with Planning & Self-Study software

Read Blog →
Blog

How to know when it’s time for new higher ed technology

Read Blog →
Blog

Maximizing the Impact of Course Evaluations During COVID

Read Blog →
Blog

Microcredentials and How ePortfolios Can Highlight Them

Read Blog →
Blog

How to use SIS data at your school

Read Blog →
Blog

Minority Male Success Initiative (MMSI): A Catalyst for Change

Read Blog →
Blog

What Year Is Most Critical for College Student Success?

Read Blog →
Blog

How to use LMS data to support curriculum development

Read Blog →
Blog

MSCHE Accreditation: 7 Things Peer Reviewers Wish You Knew

Read Blog →
Blog

Use ePortfolios to give students a leg up in job searches

Read Blog →
Blog

The Power of Non-Academic Outcomes

Read Blog →
Blog

Where Are They Now? An Update on our 2020 Watermark Scholars

Read Blog →
Blog

The “who” and “what” of university administration

Read Blog →
Blog

Understanding the Support Needs of Community College Students

Read Blog →
Blog

Faculty Search Committees: What Are They and What Do They Do?

Read Blog →
Blog

How to make assessment simpler

Read Blog →
Blog

Turning Process Into Progress: Using Technology to Drive Institutional Improvement

Read Blog →
Blog

Keeping up with 2024 higher ed trends?

Read Blog →
Blog

How to Prepare for a Virtual Assessment Site Visit

Read Blog →
Blog

Transforming the Student Co-Curricular Experience of Community Colleges

Read Blog →
Blog

Tracking Progress With Student Learning & Licensure

Read Blog →
Blog

Online Course Feedback 101: From the Physical to the Digital Classroom

Read Blog →
Blog

How to prepare for an accreditation peer review visit

Read Blog →
Blog

Overcoming financial obstacles with help from higher education institutions

Read Blog →
Blog

Preparing for Life on Sabbatical

Read Blog →
Blog

Partnering With NCCCS to Help Students Succeed

Read Blog →
Blog

How to reduce faculty workload using technology

Read Blog →
Blog

Positive Change During Challenging Times: How Six Leaders Transformed Higher Education During the Pandemic

Read Blog →
Blog

How to Support Grad Students

Read Blog →
Blog

Best Practices to Reengage Community College Dropouts

Read Blog →
Blog

How to support students struggling with time management

Read Blog →
Blog

How to switch accreditors as a higher ed institution

Read Blog →
Blog

How Your College Can Support Veterans

Read Blog →
Blog

Predictive and Prescriptive Analytics’ Role in Fighting College Attrition

Read Blog →
Blog

How to prepare for a successful CAEP accreditation

Read Blog →
Blog

Top Course Evaluation Questions

Read Blog →
Blog

Top Things to Consider When Hiring a Student Success Coach

Read Blog →
Blog

Continuing education evaluation guide

Read Blog →
Blog

Identifying at-risk students through the course registration process

Read Blog →
Blog

Creating equity solutions

Read Blog →
Blog

5 Creative ways to use end-of-semester assessment data

Read Blog →
Blog

11 community college trends for 2023

Read Blog →
Blog

The importance of data transparency for higher ed success

Read Blog →
Blog

Higher education institutional outcomes – defining a proficiency scale

Read Blog →
Blog

How to democratize data at your institution to improve student outcomes

Read Blog →
Blog

Demonstrating faculty influence on student success with Radford University

Read Blog →
Blog

Developing proactive advising techniques

Read Blog →
Blog

The differences between direct and indirect measurement

Read Blog →
Blog

Discover the secrets of faculty “buy-in”

Read Blog →
Blog

Does the classroom environment matter?

Read Blog →
Blog

Collecting Feedback With Watermark Course Evaluations & Surveys

Read Blog →
Blog

Barriers to using assessment results and how to overcome them

Read Blog →
Blog

Engaging faculty in the new school year

Read Blog →
Blog

How to use institutional data to spot students likely to transfer

Read Blog →
Blog

Top reasons why students transfer and what your institution can do

Read Blog →
Blog

Supporting working-class students: 7 ways to show support

Read Blog →
Blog

How to support incoming transfer student success

Read Blog →
Watermark vs. Civitas
Blog

Watermark vs. Civitas

Read Blog →
Building soft skills for future careers: Integrating professional development into your curriculum