Using the Results of Assessment: Lessons from the Wabash Study

Charles Blaich and Kathy Wise of the Wabash Center of Inquiry and the Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium (HEDS), directors of the influential Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education (2006-2012), will conduct an interactive workshop for faculty and staff on using the results of assessment based on their many years of experience working with faculty on collecting, understanding, and using assessment information.

They summarize some of their key findings in their 2011 occasional paper for the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA), “From Gathering to Using Assessment Results: Lessons from the Wabash Study,” available here.

Charles Blaich directs the Center of Inquiry at Wabash College and the Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium (HEDS). Blaich received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Connecticut. He taught in the psychology department at Eastern Illinois University and then moved to Wabash College in 1991. Blaich became the Director of the Center of Inquiry in 2003. Blaich collaborated with researchers at the University of Iowa, University of Michigan, Miami University, and ACT to design and implement the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education in 2005. Forty-nine colleges and universities ultimately participated in this longitudinal research project on the practices and conditions that support student learning. Blaich and his colleagues at the Center of Inquiry now work with faculty, staff, and students at hundreds of colleges and universities to use evidence to improve student learning. In 2011, Blaich became director of the Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium, a 130 institution collaborative that shares data to improve educational effectiveness. Blaich has been an author on over 20 higher education publications including, From Gathering to Using Assessment Results: Lessons from the Wabash National Study, Effects of Diversity Experiences on Critical Thinking Skills Over Four Years of College, and Knowing About vs. Knowing How.

Kathleen Wise is the associate director of the Center of Inquiry at Wabash College and the Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium (HEDS). Wise received her undergraduate degree from Yale University and her M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. After receiving her M.B.A., Wise worked as a senior financial analyst at Eli Lilly and Company. Wise joined the Center of Inquiry in 2004 and organized the implementation and institutional assessment components of the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education, a longitudinal national study of student learning with 49 institutions and over 17,000 students. Wise leads the Teagle Assessment Scholar Program. Over 60 scholars from colleges and universities across the country participate in this program to support the efforts of faculty, staff, and administrators to more effectively use evidence to improve student learning. Wise also helps lead the Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium, which includes 130 private institutions that openly share unmasked data to improve their educational effectiveness.  Wise has visited dozens of colleges and universities to evaluate programs, offices, and institutional assessment plans and her most recent publications are From Gathering to Using Assessment Results: Lessons from the Wabash National Study and Knowing About vs. Knowing How.

If you have any questions about this workshop, please contact Gillian Pierce, Director of Learning Assessment, or Kelly Connors, Administrative Coordinator.