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Executive Education Certificates

About the Executive Education Certificate in Assessment in Higher Education

Effectively assessing outcomes and program effectiveness is a critical skill in higher education today, and the Assessment Certificate is a convenient, cost-efficient, and expeditious way to build, expand or update assessment knowledge and skills.

The curriculum provides current higher education professionals with knowledge, skills, and coaching support to facilitate assessment in the workplace.

Participants are introduced to the steps in the assessment cycle, including:
  • Project planning
  • Writing outcomes and objectives
  • Gathering evidence
  • Interpreting data
  • Writing results and taking action

Fall 2024-Winter 2025 Session Schedule and Curriculum

Session 1: Friday, October 4, 2024—Introduction (2.5 hours)

Session 1 will include an overview of the program curriculum and expectations, a discussion of why we assess and considerations, such as politics and organizational culture, that can influence assessment efforts.

Session 2: Friday, October 18, 2024—Developing a Project Plan (2.5 hours)

During Session 2 participants will dive into project planning, discussing important steps and considerations when developing a quality assessment project. Participants will also begin to build their assessment project plan.

Session 3: Friday, November 1, 2024—Writing Learning Outcomes and Objectives (2.5 hours)

Session 3 will address the importance of choosing relevant outcomes and objectives, how to write measurable and meaningful outcomes and objectives, and how to write good prompts.

Session 4: Friday, November 15, 2024—Data Equity/Overview of Data Collection Methods (2.5 hours)

Session 4 will provide an overview of principles and practices related to data equity as it relates to data projects, especially projects related to people. Also included will be an introduction to assessment methods.

Weeks of November 18-22, 2024, and December 2-6, 2024—1-on-1 Coaching (1 hour)

The first round of one-hour coaching sessions will be scheduled with assigned coaches. During the session, participants will discuss culminating project proposals, draft outcomes, and other assessment-related questions.

Session 5: Friday, January 10, 2025—Qualitative Methods and Data Analysis (2.5 hours)

Session 5 will discuss considerations for when to collect qualitative data, diverse types of data, steps to collecting data and an overview of how to analyze qualitative data.

Session 6: Friday, January 24, 2025—Quantitative Methods and Data Analysis (2.5 hours)

Like Session 5, Session 6 will discuss considerations for when to collect quantitative data, diverse types of data, steps to collecting data and an overview of how to analyze quantitative data.

Week of January 27-31, 2025—1-on-1 Coaching (1 hour)

The second round of one-hour coaching sessions will be scheduled with assigned coaches. During the session, participants will discuss project data methods, final steps for project implementation, and Culminating Project presentation expectations.

Session 7: Friday, February 7, 2025—Communicating and Visualizing Data Results (2.5 hours)

Session 7 will focus on several ways to communicate assessment results with different stakeholders and audiences. Data visualization is key to effective communication and considerations and examples will be shared to assist in decision-making.

Session 8: Friday, February 21, 2025—Culminating Project Presentations (3 hours)

Culminating Projects provide participants the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned and how they have applied learning through development of the project plan. Each participant will present a 10 minute Culminating Project, followed by 5 minutes of Q & A.
Participants who complete the Higher Education Assessment certificate will receive a certificate from the Higher Education and Policy Program at Northwestern University.

Sign up for an Info Session

Cost

2024-2025 Registration Fee No. of Seminars
Higher Education Assessment Certificate (non-credit) $8,000 (can be paid in two $4,000 installments: October 2024 and January 2025) 8

Target Audiences

  • Mid-level or Senior higher education professionals who have an advanced degree and seek expanded knowledge and skills in assessment, look to increase their capacity to assess programs, or wish to improve their professional abilities
  • Entry-level higher education professionals who want to build capacity in conducting assessments to better understand program effectiveness and student learning
  • Cohorts of professionals from the same institution who seek expert training in assessment to support assessment efforts, projects, or proposals on their own campus is encouraged

Instructors and Speakers

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Ellen Meents-DeCaigny

Project Coordinator and Instructor, Higher Education Administration and Policy, Northwestern University
About Ellen

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Lois Trautvetter

Professor and Program Director, Higher Education Administration and Policy, Northwestern University
About Lois

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Lisa Metzger-Mugg

Interim CEO, The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award USA
About Lisa

 

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Amit Prachand

Associate Vice President, Information and Analytics, Northwestern University
About Amit

 

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Rob Aaron

  • Executive Director, Student Affairs Assessment and Planning, Northwestern University
    About Rob

Contact Higher Education Administration and Policy

Our staff is available to provide in-person assistance Monday-Thursday 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Remote office hours are Friday 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. 

Phone Number 
847-491-7526

Email 
ms-highered@northwestern.edu

Physical Address 
1800 Sherman Avenue, Suite 7-300 
Evanston, IL 60208 
Northwestern University