Conferences Issue

Abstract

Welcome to the next installment of the Journal of Assessment in Higher Education.  I’m pleased to share with you the culmination of efforts to showcase the wide range of content shared at the past two annual assessment conferences. 

The University of Florida Assessment in Higher Education Conference offered a wide range of sessions from presenters in 2024 and 2025. Volume 4, Number 1 opens with submitted materials from those who presented sessions at the conference and submitted materials to be included in the Journal of Assessment in Higher Education.

Professional development about assessment includes a broad range of topics in general, and it carries forth in this issue of JAHE. It includes thought pieces in the form of a keynote address or essay style; examples of “how to” and useful tools from across the nation; discussion of the use of artificial intelligence throughout the teaching, learning and assessment process; and general reflection on how to best assess student learning in higher education. In some cases, simply the slides from the presentation are shared and others have been revised into a traditional narrative format after being delivered verbally to a crowd.

As we move forward with plans for future professional development around assessment in higher education, it is easy to see how quickly the landscape is changing. The U.S. Department of Education, national accreditors, and new accrediting bodies are considering different ways to measure student success. Discussions about the role of higher education and whether it is worth the investment are dominating the public discourse.

This edition of JAHE should prove to be a good look at what is happening today on college campuses around the topic of assessment in higher education. Two years’ worth of conference proceedings show that institutions approach assessment differently, but all to support continuous improvement for the benefit of college students.

We would like to acknowledge the work of current and past collaborators who supported different stages of this publication.

Dr. Laura Spears, George A. Smathers Libraries

Dr. Timothy Brophy, College of the Arts

Dr. Cheryl Gater, Office of the Provost

Dr. Marshall Hanning, College of the Arts

Dr. Lissette Tolentino, University of Central Florida College of Medicine

Ms. Kat Nguyen, George A. Smathers Libraries

Ms. Ashley Garrett, Office of the Provost, Accreditation, Assessment and Curriculum

Ms. Madison Henry, Office of the Provost, Accreditation, Assessment and Curriculum

Dr. Maria Leite, Office of the Provost, Accreditation, Assessment and Curriculum