Project on Accreditation and Assessment

This project took advantage of a unique moment when both regional and specialized accreditors were revising standards and their processes of accreditation. The goal of the project was to influence such revisions so that they placed greater emphasis on liberal learning outcomes and the demonstration by institutions of students' sophisticated intellectual capacities. Those involved in this project included representatives from all six regional accrediting associations, four specialized accreditors (engineering, education, business, and nursing), one national accreditor, the accrediting coordinator (the Council on Higher Education Accreditation), and seven higher education associations. Some of the PAA members also held faculty or administrative positions on campuses.

The project achieved agreement among all of its members on:

• the mission of a twenty-first century liberal education,
• the desired outcomes from a liberal education,
• curricular design principles that can help students reach these desired outcomes, and
• criteria for good practice in assessment of such outcomes.

The report from the project, Taking Responsibility for the Quality of the Baccalaureate Degree, expands on these concepts.

Project Staff:
John Nichols, Senior Fellow
nichols@saintjoe.edu