Overlooked but Not Unimportant: Changes in the University Landscape and Assessment Results

Abstract

Much is made about the various challenges of assessment but little is made about the changing landscape of the American university system and whether such changes have made their way into assessment results. A case study based upon assessment work undertaken over a ten-year period is used to illustrate how outside factors may influence assessment results but may not be caught in regular assessment processes. Based upon the lessons of this case study, we suggest that assessment should not only present student-learning outcomes, but seek to interpret student learning outcomes in the context of educational change over time.