Nominations Sought for One University Assessment Awards

Academic Affairs and Institutional Effectiveness and Assessment (IEA) announce a call for nominations for Syracuse University’s One University Assessment Awards. Nominations will be accepted through Friday, March 11. [Update March 18, 2022: The call for nominations has been extended through April 1.]

The assessment awards recognize faculty, staff and students for their efforts to examine and enhance learning and campus operations and celebrate the meaningful and sustainable practices with which they engage to provide students with an unsurpassed learning experience.

“These awards celebrate the outstanding work that is going on across our campus in the area of assessment,” says Chris Johnson, associate provost for academic affairs. “It always amazes me to see the interesting and innovative ways our faculty and staff are using assessment to improve academic programs, the student experience and business operations.”

The 2022 One University Assessment Celebration will be held Friday, April 29, at 1 p.m. in the lobby of the Heroy Geology Laboratory. Awards will be announced in the following four categories:

Assessment Champion

New this year, the Assessment Champion awards commend campus community members who advocate for meaningful assessment to enrich the student experience. Award recipients recognize the importance of collecting evidence and engaging in reflective practices and encourage those in their area to fully take part in the process. These individuals have shown commitment and made outstanding contributions to the University’s culture of improvement. Awards in this category are presented for:

• • Assessment Champion for Program/Unit Assessment
  • Assessment Champion for the Shared Competencies
  • Assessment Champion for Course Feedback

Outstanding Assessment

Distinguished programs and units are recognized for implementing a robust assessment and action plan to support decision-making. An effective plan includes clear statements of student learning outcomes and/or operational outcomes/objectives, strong measures that are directly linked to the statements, and specific criteria/targets for success. Faculty/staff engage in discussion about results to determine strengths and weaknesses seen in the evidence, and actions are implemented based on the findings. Equity-centered practices, such as partnering with students in different aspects of the assessment process, are incorporated into the plan. Academic programs in which faculty collaboratively developed a curriculum map clearly showing the alignment of student learning outcomes to the courses and experiences that make up the program can be considered for this award as well. Awards in this category are presented for:

• • Outstanding Assessment in Academic Programs Within Each School/College
  • Outstanding Assessment in Co-Curricular Programs/Units
  • Outstanding Assessment in Functional Units

Best Engagement Strategies

Syracuse University’s assessment framework calls various stakeholders to participate in collaborative, sustainable and meaningful reflection. Academic, co-curricular and functional areas are encouraged to include stakeholders at multiple levels to enhance student learning and operational success. In this category, programs/units are recognized for engaging faculty, staff and students associated with the program/unit in the assessment process. Awards in this category are presented for:

• • Best Faculty Engagement Strategies
  • Best Staff Engagement Strategies
  • Best Student Engagement Strategies

Best Use of Results

Using data to inform decision-making is central to Syracuse University’s process of conducting student learning outcomes and operational assessment. Based on results, faculty/staff members identify and implement actions to improve student learning and the campus environment. The impact of actions over time is considered with subsequent adjustments made as needed. Awards in this category are presented for:

• • Best Use of Results in Academic Programs
  • Best Use of Results in Co-Curricular Programs/Units
  • Best Use of Results in Functional Units

Nomination Process

Academic Affairs and IEA welcome nominations for individuals, programs and units whose exceptional efforts have contributed to a culture of improvement at Syracuse University. Self-nominations or nominations by campus community members can be made.

All members of the University community are eligible for awards. Past recipients are eligible following the third year after receiving their award.

The deadline to submit nominations is Friday, March 11, at 11:59 p.m. The following information is requested via a Qualtrics form:

• Name, title, program/unit/department, and email address of the nominee(s)
• Name, campus affiliation, and email address of nominator (if not self-nominated)
• A description of why the nominee is deserving of the award, highlighting points outlined in the award category for which they are nominated.
• Up to three supporting documents of assessment effort or letters of support can be uploaded with the nomination.

Selection Process

Recipients will be selected by a subcommittee of the University’s Forum on Institutional Effectiveness (FIE). All nominees will be evaluated based on the nomination materials; information provided as part of the University’s annual progress report may be reviewed if available.

Award recipients will be recognized at the One University Assessment Celebration on Friday, April 29. The IEA assessment working team will contact award recipients via email to inform them of their award and invite them to participate in the event.

Learn More

Visit the website to learn more about award recipients recognized at the 2021 One University Virtual Assessment Celebration and the 2019 One University Assessment Poster Session.

If you have any questions, please contact the Assessment Working Team