Reporting lines follow best practices in order to ask honest questions, acquire good answers, separate assessment from teaching evaluation, and protect individual members of the faculty. The specific leadership, facilities, and personal approaches employed by Richard Baker, Coordinator of Assessment, and John Cosgrove, Director of Institutional Research, were applauded without exception. The assessment plan places clear responsibility for assessment operations in the jurisdiction of the Coordinator, Richard Baker. His role, importance, and power have very wide agreement at all levels. His ability to work constructively with Institutional Research and his preference to eschew power in favor of stewardship, persuasion, and invitation were acknowledged as strengths.
Venues exist for excellent communication and publicity on the subject of assessment.
This communication includes at least one noteworthy campus newsletter with regular informative articles and feedback on assessment. There is considerable funding for educating members of the college community about assessment and for carrying it out, especially through centrally held faculty development money. Additional development money is available in individual campus budgets which may or may not have assessment as a specific line item. As mentioned above, money is part of that structure. Often presentations and discussions are led by external as well as internal experts.