Academic Affairs Statement

Provost Diane Stearns

Setting goals and monitoring achievement serve to benchmark academic improvement, so assessment is a driving force behind Tarleton’s mission of “an academically challenging education experience” with learning grounded in real-world experience and effective teaching, research, scholarship, and service. Faculty-driven curricula, goal-setting, and student-learning assessment lead to fulfillment of our mission.

Governing Bodies

U.S. Department of Education

In September 2006, a Commission appointed by Margaret Spellings, the U.S. Secretary of Education, published a report on higher education entitled A Test of Leadership: Charting the Future of U.S. Higher Education. Included among the recommendations was a suggestion for institutions of higher education to increase the transparency and accountability of programs by providing comparable evidence of institutional performance.

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SACSCOC – Commission on Colleges

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges has embraced the concept of continuous quality improvement. In accordance with SACSCOC’s Section 8 – Student Achievement comprehensive standard, Tarleton embraces effective assessment processes that allow for the direct evaluation of student learning. These processes are designed to provide meaningful data that allows Tarleton faculty and staff to design thoughtful action plans for student learning improvement. 

THECB & TAMU System

In the state of Texas, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and The Texas A&M University system have adopted accountability measures designed to assure monitoring and advances in the areas of quality improvement. These measures are monitored on an annual basis.