Contact: James Carskadon

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State University is now one of just 20 institutions nationwide to hold the national Excellence in Assessment designation for its use of assessment results to guide institutional decision-making and improve student performance.

The designation was announced recently by program sponsors. MSU is the first Southeastern Conference university to be recognized as part of the Excellence in Assessment program, which was launched in 2015 to honor institutions that successfully integrate assessment practices across campus.

The sponsors of the program are the Voluntary System of Accountability, a public college and university transparency initiative led by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, in partnership with the Association of American Colleges and Universities and the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment. For more, see http://www.learningoutcomesassessment.org/eiadesignation.html.

MSU’s Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness is responsible for facilitating the development and implementation of assessment programs and emphasizes continuous improvement in fulfilling the university’s overall teaching, research and service mission. The office is led by Assistant Vice President and Director Tim Chamblee.

“It is quite an honor for Mississippi State to receive this recognition,” Chamblee said. “It is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of Tracey Baham, associate director of Institutional Research and Effectiveness, and assessment coordinators Kayla Pineda and Ed Dechert.  These three individuals work tirelessly to assist academic departments and administrative offices with the assessment process.”

The Excellence in Assessment program noted that MSU “continues to implement effective evidence-based practice into its current assessment process. Using a bottom-up approach to improve teaching practice and administrative services, Mississippi State University has done considerable work to embed assessment throughout the campus.”

Other institutions earning the Excellence in Assessment designation this year are Bowie State University, Harper College, Northern Arizona University and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.