CHICAGO – Leaders at four colleges are building a data-driven culture of learning on their campuses using advanced tools and techniques they developed through the Higher Learning Commission’s venerable Assessment Academy, which will soon mark 20 years.

Institutions in South Dakota, Minnesota, Arkansas and Nebraska are the latest to embrace assessment as a means for improving student achievement, using concepts and skills taught by the Assessment Academy, a leader in higher-education assessment training that turns 20 in 2026.

“For nearly two decades, the Assessment Academy has been training higher education leaders all over the country to be experts in identifying ways to measure student learning in their college experience,” said HLC President Barbara Gellman-Danley.

To date, the Assessment Academy has approximately 350 graduates.

“They know well how to develop and implement best assessment practices for the benefit of their own communities and the students they serve. This newest group of graduates certainly will share in this distinction,” she said.

Those who graduated in October from the four-year program are:

• Lake Area Techical College, Watertown, South Dakota
• Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, Rochester, Minnesota
• Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas, Helena, Ark.
• Wayne State College, Wayne, Nebraska

Teams from the four institutions identified best practices and techniques for engaging their communities in the student learning assessment process. In general, the practices were aimed at building a culture and commitment to using assessment as a means for improving learning and outcomes for the long term across the entire institution.

Each of the teams designed an initiative to address their institution’s most pressing student-learning needs.

Among highlights:

• Lake Area Technical College implemented a new software system to coordinate assessment and curriculum mapping. The institution also embedded assessment in many institutional practices, enhancing faculty engagement and sharing of assessment rubrics.
• Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science developed integrated dashboards linking multiple academic units across three of the college’s schools. The ultimate goal is for the schools to use a standardized course evaluation, which is currently being piloted.
• Phillips Community College upgraded Assessment Days and Rowdy PALS (mentoring) programs to include faculty professional development. The aim is to boost engagement and program sustainability. A new software system for assessment and curriculum mapping also was implemented.
• Wayne State College developed a multi-step cyclical assessment process that closes the loop on evaluating student learning success to include, and normalize, reflection and improvement as part of the overall process.

To learn more about HLC’s Assessment Academy, visit hlcommission.org/assessment-academy.