How do we demonstrate the value of a college degree? With meaningful evidence.
IAA: AAC&U's Newest Institute
Designed to advance meaningful assessment and evaluation practices that support learning and student success through programmatic and/or institutional improvement, the AAC&U Institute on Authentic Assessment, or IAA, equips colleges and universities to use assessment as a tool for learning, improvement, and institutional change. Moving beyond compliance and disconnected data, IAA emphasizes evidence-based, collaborative approaches that strengthen the curriculum and cocurriculum.
Participants develop and advance assessment initiatives at the departmental, programmatic, and institutional levels. Whether you are reimagining general education, enhancing your cocurriculum with high-impact practices, exploring new measures and metrics for student success, or leading an accreditation-based change effort, the IAA curriculum offers empirically grounded tools, frameworks, and methods to move beyond “checking boxes” and toward telling a meaningful, evidence-supported story of student learning and success.
Who Should Attend?
The AAC&U Institute on Authentic Assessment (IAA) is a team-based experience for institutions, systems, and consortia seeking to reconceptualize assessment practices in ways that better support learning and student success. Participants may be at any stage of their assessment journey, from those beginning to implement authentic assessment practices to those refining established systems and frameworks.
Teams should be interdisciplinary and cross-functional and may include senior leaders with administrative and/or budgetary authority; faculty members; student affairs and co-curricular professionals; educational or faculty developers; assessment professionals; and, when appropriate, students.
IAA is particularly valuable for institutions that
- have received feedback or recommendations related to assessment, evaluation, and/or institutional effectiveness through professional or regional accreditation processes;
- are creating new or revising existing academic and/or co-curricular programs;
- are reimagining general education curricula and need to update their approach to assessment;
- are responding to accountability mandates requiring the development of assessment and evaluation protocols;
- seek to provide comprehensive professional or faculty development for colleagues new to assessment work;
- aim to more meaningfully link assessment with pedagogy, including the scholarship of teaching and learning;
- want to integrate AAC&U’s VALUE rubrics (original or modified) into programmatic or institutional assessment in ways aligned with institutional culture and context; and
- are interested in exploring a wide range of quantitative and qualitative assessment and evaluation methods.
What You'll Gain
With guidance from national experts and experienced practitioners, your team will
- develop or refine a comprehensive action plan for implementing authentic assessment practices on your campus;
- explore strategies for integrating VALUE rubrics and other authentic assessment tools into existing curricula;
- consider practical approaches to faculty development and change management related to assessment initiatives;
- rethink how assessment can be authentically aligned with student learning, classroom practice, and institutional improvement; and
- collaborate with peer institutions and assessment experts, building relationships and support that extend beyond the institute.
Dates to Remember
Through May 31, 2026
Rolling Admissions
Institute Opens
Institute Concludes
Beyond the Institute
The impact of the AAC&U Institute on Authentic Assessment (IAA) extends well beyond the live sessions in June. Participants gain access to an online community of practice where teams can exchange ideas, share resources, and remain connected with peers engaged in similar work across higher education.
These ongoing connections support teams as they refine their action plans, make informed decisions, and sustain momentum after the institute concludes. By participating in IAA, you join a growing network of colleagues and experts committed to advancing authentic assessment grounded in the what, the who, and the how of teaching and learning in higher education.
Questions?
If you have any questions, please email Jessica Chittum, Assistant Vice President for Curricular and Pedagogical Innovation (jchittum@aacu.org).