In my six years at Salem State College, I have heard much anxiety about assessment not only from colleagues in the Department of Biology but also from colleagues further afield in our college. I do not mean to be flippant by using my aversion to dentists as an analogy, but I really do believe that a clear understanding of the assessment of learning objectives will significantly benefit the long-term health of what our students are learning and of our own long-term health as teachers.

[Read more →]

By Anita V. M. Shea Dean (Retired), School of Arts and Sciences Until 1997, undergraduate research activities in the School of Arts and Sciences were based mainly in selected departments relying on a nucleus of committed faculty or on an occasional grant. In general, those efforts were neither publicly acknowledged nor supported in concept by the college [...]

[Read more →]