Beyond the Rhetoric: Evaluation Practices in Higher Education

North American higher education institutions have been developing their own systems of learning outcomes assessment that are not part of the public rhetoric on higher education. Evaluators have new opportunities in higher education and evaluator–faculty partnerships are a key to their success. Evaluator knowledge of the institution-specific context and evaluator cultural competence can help evaluators overcome faculty resistance and design appropriate assessment systems. In higher education, the evaluators’ roles include documenting and facilitating use of results, leveraging technology and existing data, negotiating what becomes public information, and coauthoring with faculty.