Assessment Strategy at Northwestern
At Northwestern, assessing student learning is a comprehensive and values-driven process that enhances the university's educational experiences. Rooted in a commitment to student-centered, equitable, and authentic practices, our approach to assessment seeks to understand and improve how students learn in ways that are meaningful to all members of the learning community.
Our responsive approach enables us to customize assessment practices to address the unique needs, strengths, and questions of our diverse student body and programs, allowing for tailored methods that foster growth.
The assessment process is a lifelong, continuous cycle of improvement, dedicated to understanding learning and creating positive change. This process is coupled with an empathetic approach, where trust, listening, and nonjudgmental support guide how we engage with instructors and students, ensuring that assessment is both supportive and empowering.
Ultimately, the evidence collected through this process reflects our values and approach to student learning for a range of stakeholders—administrators, instructors, students, families, employers, and accrediting bodies—showcasing our commitment to cultivating an assessment culture that is Student-Centered, Equitable, Authentic, Responsive, Lifelong, and Empathetic.
Northwestern's Assessment Priorities
At Northwestern, the assessment of student learning is a collaborative effort led by individual schools and divisions, with strong support from senior administration. Our institutional strategy for assessment is designed to encompass both academic and co-curricular areas, recognizing the diverse assessment priorities and decentralized infrastructure across the University.
Building on past successes and driven by Northwestern’s commitment to continually enhancing student learning, the Assessment and Accreditation Council has identified three key priorities that guide our approach to assessment of student learning. These priorities shape the University’s efforts as we prepare for our next comprehensive evaluation for reaffirmation of accreditation in 2024-25.
Key Assessment-Related Goals for Northwestern
Based on Northwestern's strategic assessment framework, our institutional commitment to deepening students' learning, and the findings of the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), Northwestern should:
Note: Years 5–10 represent Northwestern's timeline related to the cycle for reaffirmation of accreditation through HLC.
These three priorities are sequential; building the capacity to execute this work must occur in the earlier stages to observe impact in the later stages. To focus institution-wide efforts, the Assessment and Accreditation Council emphasizes assessment across broader units, including majors, minors, certificates, graduate and professional degrees, and co-curricular programs. This approach has the potential for a wide-reaching impact.
First, systematized program-level assessment provides evidence that can inform decisions about entire academic and co-curricular programs, as well as smaller-scale offerings such as courses and programming. By aligning broader program-level learning outcomes, we clarify how different elements of the program support student learning. This allows assessment findings to inform programs' decisions about which courses or learning opportunities should be created, refined, or phased out.
Second, program-level assessment provides valuable insights into how well learning is unfolding within a program by highlighting where learning outcomes are introduced, reinforced, and mastered. Mapping curricular and co-curricular opportunities helps programs identify specific moments to collect evidence of student learning at key milestones, such as the beginning, midpoint, or conclusion of a program.
Visit our assessment process section to learn more about (re)defining, measuring, and mapping learning outcomes to the curriculum and how we collect and use assessment data to drive curricular change.
Contact Us
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Lina Eskew, Senior Assistant Director of Equitable Assessment at lina.eskew@northwestern.edu.