Assessment Academy Experience
Four-Year Academy Experience and Membership
The Assessment Academy consists of in-person events, on-campus activities, online project updates and virtual consultations that will help you design and implement a customized project to improve student learning through assessment.
Program Structure
Orientation: HLC presents an in-depth overview of the Academy, how it works, and the expectations and opportunities for being a team member.
Context Questions: The team provides contextual information about the institution, including background on its assessment efforts and ongoing needs.
Roundtable: HLC provides an overview of promising practices for developing assessment strategies and evidence for improving student learning. The team also receives guidance on building and sustaining the long-term Academy Project.
Project Update and Response—Planning: The team documents its preliminary project plan as defined at the Roundtable, highlighting desired outcomes and strategies to achieve them, and receives feedback from the Mentor and Scholar.
First Year Mentor Check-In: A virtual meeting between the Academy team and its assigned Mentor to discuss the status of the team's project six months after its launch.
Project Update and Response—Development: The team details launching its Academy Project during the first year and any refinements to its project’s scope. The team receives feedback.
Project Update and Response—Implementation: The team describes the project’s initial implementation and what it has discovered about student learning and receives feedback.
Project Update and Response—Reflection: The team reflects on its accomplishments thus far, defines opportunities for continued improvement and receives feedback.
Midpoint Roundtable: Teams share progress, seek advice from other participants and receive in-person guidance to keep the Academy Project moving forward.
Project Update and Response—Refinement: The team documents the refinement of its project scope and action plans for the final two years of the program and receives feedback.
Third-Year Consultation: The Mentor consults virtually with the team to review progress, offer suggestions about implementing strategies and provide recommendations to meet goals.
Project Update and Response—Evaluation: The team begins to critically evaluate its progress and receives feedback.
Project Update and Response—Expansion: The team considers remaining tasks and opportunities for using the Academy Project as a catalyst for further improvement and receives feedback.
Results Forum: Teams share their findings and successes and receive guidance on developing a sustainability plan to continue building on the progress made in the Academy.
Impact Report and Response: The team documents its progress and achievements from the program. The report also outlines a sustainability plan and receives feedback from its assigned mentor and Scholar on its overall project and its plans to continue improvement efforts beyond the Academy.
SparQ
SparQ is HLC's online platform for project management, resource sharing, discussion and discovery, where participants can be inspired by new ideas and build a community of shared learning. In SparQ, teams build a record of their progress, track improvements and document analysis. Teams also receive Mentor and Scholar feedback through SparQ.
Additionally, team members can take part in topic-based discussion groups with fellow Academy members and receive additional guidance from leaders through Q&A forums.
Academy Teams
Institutions participate by creating teams to attend Academy events and carry out the on-campus activities. A team is made up of five to eight individuals and should include members of the faculty, staff and administration. HLC gives guidance on selecting members and team leaders during orientation.
Each team is assigned a Mentor and a Scholar who provide support for the duration of the Academy experience.
HLC Annual Conference
Institutions taking part in the Student Success Academy are encouraged to participate in HLC’s Annual Conference. Time is reserved during the General Program for graduates to showcase their Academy work and discuss common concerns with other Academy members.