Strengthening Our Culture of Assessment: Progress and Next Steps
A Message from Maggie Koozer,Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Deputy Academic Officer; Rita Breidenbach, Associate Provost for Faculty Development; Caroline Dionne, Associate Professor of History and Theory of Design Practice and Curatorial Studies; Paula Young, Interim Senior Vice Provost for Academic Planning and Administration
As part of our ongoing response to Middle States (MSCHE) accreditation requirements, we’ve made significant progress this semester in strengthening assessment practices across the university. Faculty participation has been central to these efforts, which are helping to shape a broader, long-term culture of assessment at all levels of our institution.
A key milestone was The New School Promise: A Forum on Teaching, Assessment, and Accountability, held on March 27. If you missed it, you can view the 40-minute recording and slides here. Featuring Ashley Finley, the event emphasized the vital role of assessment in shaping student learning, with insights from AAC&U’s VALUE rubrics and national employer data—both aligned with areas where our students already demonstrate strength. Well attended, it brought together a wide range of colleagues, including part-time and full-time faculty and staff, to reflect on teaching, learning, and how we define and measure student achievement. These conversations will directly inform future assessment planning. Faculty and staff who are interested in partnering in this work are encouraged to complete this brief survey.
We’ve also completed the first phase of our Middle States response, with 100% of programs and certificates submitting curriculum maps. The second phase—focused on each program assessing one program learning outcome—is now underway. Support will continue through workshops and faculty engagement opportunities. In partnership with the colleges, we are working at the institutional level to develop systematic and comprehensive long-term plans for assessing student learning across both academic and non-academic units.
Finally, acknowledging other assessment and accreditation efforts at The New School, we’d like to recognize the successful completion of the NAAB accreditation for the Master of Architecture program at Parsons. Many thanks to the faculty and staff whose efforts made this possible.
We look forward to building on this momentum together.
- Program Learning Outcome Assessment – due June 2, 2025
- College Long-Term Assessment Plans – due June 13, 2025
- Examples of Assessment Success can be uploaded here