Leading Improvements in Higher Education with Stephen Hundley

This episode discusses the role program review plays in strengthening higher education quality. Our guest is Marilee Bresciani Ludvik. Marilee currently serves as the Director of Academic Effectiveness at the University of San Diego, and she has written extensively about program review’s role in assessment and improvement. Links to publications mentioned during this episode: Outcomes-Based Program Review Closing Achievement Gaps In- and Outside the Classroom With Alignment to Predictive Analytics and Performance Metrics https://www.routledge.com/Outcomes-Based-Program-Review-Closing-Achievement-Gaps-In--and-Outside-the-Classroom-With-Alignment-to-Predictive-Analytics-and-Performance-Metrics/BrescianiLudvik/p/book/9781620362303 Assessment Update Article, “Rethinking Academic Program Review: A Data-Informed Approach” https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/au.30445 This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: January 2026. Host: Stephen Hundley. Producers: Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman. Original music: Caleb Keith. This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

In this episode, we have a conversation with an assessment leader who adapts The Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award to higher education through a framework known as "Champion for Excellence." Our guest is Bridget Dewees, who serves as Senior Officer for Institutional Effectiveness at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. Links to resources mentioned in this episode: Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce): https://www.nist.gov/baldrige/baldrige-award HBCU-CEEQA (Collaborative for Excellence in Educational Quality Assurance): https://hbcu-ceeqa.org/ This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: March 2026. Host: Stephen Hundley. Producers: Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman. Original music: Caleb Keith. This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

This episode describes an updated higher education assessment framework known by the acronym ACCELERATE, and we will ‘unpack’ each letter of this acronym during this podcast episode. Our guests are Divya Bheda, Daniel Kaczmarek, and Constance Tucker, each of whom is an assessment professional in their respective institutional context. Importantly, these three guests are also representing the larger group involved in developing the ACCELERATE framework. Link to an article describing the ACCELERATE framework: https://aalhe.scholasticahq.com/article/145101-accelerate-assessment-principles-for-best-practice This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: December 2025. Host: Stephen Hundley. Producers: Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman. Original music: Caleb Keith. This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

In this episode, we discuss the concepts of program theory and implementation fidelity, including their influences on teaching, learning, assessment, and improvement. Our guest is Sara Finney. Sara is Professor of Graduate Psychology at James Madison University, where she also serves as Associate Director for Student Affairs Assessment in the Center for Assessment and Research Studies. This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: November 2025. Host: Stephen Hundley. Producers: Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman. Original music: Caleb Keith. This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

This episode features two leaders from the International Academy of Process Educators. Our guests are Josh Morrison and Tris Utschig. Josh is Director of Academic Retention Programs at the University of Indianapolis. Tris is Director for Scholarly Teaching and Professor of Nuclear Engineering at Kennesaw State University. Link to resource mentioned in this episode: International Academy of Process Educators https://www.processeducation.org/ This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: September 2025. Host: Stephen Hundley. Producers: Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman. Original music: Caleb Keith. This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

In this episode, we have a conversation with colleagues from the Consortium of Organizations for Student Affairs Assessment, or COSAA, which is a collaborative effort across key student affairs assessment organizations. Our guests are Shaun Boren, Renée Delgado-Riley, Paul Holliday-Millard, and Sarah LaFrance. In addition to serving as student affairs assessment professionals within their own institutional contexts, our guests are also national leaders involved in the organizations operating under the umbrella of COSAA. Link to resources mentioned in this episode: ACPA’s Commission for Assessment and Evaluation https://myacpa.org/groups/cae/ Consortium of Organizations for Student Affairs Assessment (COSAA) https://studentaffairsassessment.org/entries/blog/announcing-the-formation-of-the-consortium NASPA’s Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Knowledge Community https://www.naspa.org/division/assessment-evaluation-and-research Student Affairs Assessment Leaders (SAAL) https://studentaffairsassessment.org/ This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: September 2025. Host: Stephen Hundley. Producers: Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman. Original music: Caleb Keith. This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

As we kickoff season 6 of the podcast, we feature co-authors of Foundations of Assessment: From Theory to Practice, a recently released book from Routledge. Our guests are Joe Levy and Natasha Jankowski. Joe is Associate Vice Provost of Accreditation and Quality Improvement at Excelsior University. Natasha is Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Link to resources mentioned in this episode: Foundations of Assessment: From Theory to Practice https://www.routledge.com/Foundations-of-Assessment-From-Theory-to-Practice/Levy-Jankowski/p/book/9781032581569 This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: September 2025. Host: Stephen Hundley. Producers: Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman. Original music: Caleb Keith. This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

In this episode, we have a conversation with co-editors of a new book, published by Routledge, entitled, “Maximizing the Impact of Assessment in Higher Education: Closing the Loop with Change Management.” Our guests are Cindy Cogswell and Gavin Henning. Cindy is Director of Data Strategy at New York University. Gavin is Professor and Director of Higher Education Administration Graduate Programs, along with serving as Director of the Center for Innovation in Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship, at New England College. Link to publication referenced in this episode: Maximizing the Impact of Assessment in Higher Education: Closing the Loop with Change Management: https://www.routledge.com/Maximizing-the-Impact-of-Assessment-in-Higher-Education-Closing-the-Loop-with-Change-Management/Cogswell-Henning/p/book/9781032649085 This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: July 2025. Host: Stephen Hundley. Producers: Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman. Original music: Caleb Keith. This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

This is the third of a special 3-part series of our podcast, and in this episode—which is Part 3—we will focus on disseminating scholarly results in various outlets. Part 1 focused on being a consumer of scholarship, and Part 2 focused on engaging in the scholarly process. Parts 1 and 2 were featured in Season 5, Episodes 9 and 10, respectively, of this podcast. Our guests for this episode are Bill Heinrich, Sarah Lacy, John Moore, and Marti Snyder, each of whom represents a scholar-practitioner perspective related to teaching, learning, assessment, and improvement. Links to publications related to this episode: Assessment Update: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15360725 Experiential Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: https://journals.calstate.edu/elthe Journal of Student Affairs Inquiry, Improvement, and Impact: https://journals.indianapolis.iu.edu/index.php/jsaiii Research & Practice in Assessment: https://www.rpajournal.com/ This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: February 2025. Host: Stephen Hundley. Producers: Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman. Original music: Caleb Keith. This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

This is the second of a special 3-part series of our podcast, and in this episode—which is Part 2—we will focus on engaging in the scholarly process. Part 1, which was featured in Season 5, Episode 9, focused on being a consumer of scholarship. In part 3, which will be featured in Season 5, Episode 11, we will learn about disseminating scholarly results in various outlets. Our guests for this episode are Jerry Daday, Erica Eckert, Sara Evans, and Amy Johnson, each of whom represents a scholar-practitioner perspective related to teaching, learning, assessment, and improvement. Links to publications related to this episode: Assessment Update: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15360725 Experiential Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: https://journals.calstate.edu/elthe Journal of Student Affairs Inquiry, Improvement, and Impact: https://journals.indianapolis.iu.edu/index.php/jsaiii Research & Practice in Assessment: https://www.rpajournal.com/ This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: February 2025. Host: Stephen Hundley. Producers: Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman. Original music: Caleb Keith. This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

This is the first of a special 3-part series of our podcast, and in this episode—which is Part 1—we will focus on being a consumer of scholarship. In Part 2, we will learn about engaging in the scholarly process, and, finally, in Part 3, we will discuss disseminating scholarly results in various outlets. Parts 2 and 3 will be featured in Season 5, Episodes 10 and 11, respectively, of this podcast. Our guests for this episode are Katie Busby, Nick Curtis, Ken O’Donnell, and Heather Strine-Patterson, each of whom serves as an editor of a publication devoted to teaching, learning, assessment, and improvement. Links to publications related to this episode: Assessment Update: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15360725 Experiential Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: https://journals.calstate.edu/elthe Journal of Student Affairs Inquiry, Improvement, and Impact: https://journals.indianapolis.iu.edu/index.php/jsaiii Research & Practice in Assessment: https://www.rpajournal.com/ This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: February 2025. Host: Stephen Hundley. Producers: Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman. Original music: Caleb Keith. This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

This episode focuses on legal issues confronting faculty members across the higher education sector. Our guest is Kent Kauffman. Kent is Associate Professor of Business Law at Purdue University Fort Wayne. He is also author of the recently published book entitled, “Navigating Choppy Waters: Key Legal Issues College Faculty Need to Know.” Link to resource mentioned in this episode: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538197288/Navigating-Choppy-Waters-Key-Legal-Issues-College-Faculty-Need-to-Know This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: April 2025. Host: Stephen Hundley. Producers: Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman. Original music: Caleb Keith. This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

In this episode, we have a conversation about continuous improvement in higher education. Our guest is Will Miller. Will serves as Associate Vice President for Continuous Improvement and Institutional Performance at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, where he and his colleagues also host the annual Continuous Improvement Summit, which is open to the broader higher education community. Links to resources mentioned during this episode: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University: https://erau.edu/ Continuous Improvement Summit, hosted by Embry-Riddle: https://erau.edu/continuous-improvement/continuous-improvement-summit This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: March 2025. Host: Stephen Hundley. Producers: Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman. Original music: Caleb Keith. This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

This episode features colleagues discussing results from a recent study they conducted entitled “A Portrait of the Assessment Professional in the United States.” Our guests are Ruth Slotnick and Mark Nicholas. Ruth is Director of Assessment at Bridgewater State University, and Mark is Vice President for the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE). This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: February 2025. Host: Stephen Hundley. Producers: Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman. Original music: Caleb Keith. This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

In this episode, we discuss issues of faculty job satisfaction and retention in collegiate contexts. Our guest is Todd Benson. Todd is Executive Director and Principal Investigator with the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education, or COACHE as it is known, which is based in the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University. Link to resource mentioned in this episode: Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE): coache.gse.harvard.edu/ This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: February 2025. Host: Stephen Hundley. Producers: Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman. Original music: Caleb Keith. This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

This episode features a conversation with a higher education assessment leader involved in championing Student Learning Outcomes, or SLOs as they are also known. Our guest is Jarek Janio, who, in addition to being a faculty member at Santa Ana College, is also one of the founders of the California Outcomes & Assessment Coordinator Hub, otherwise known as COACHes, which provides plentiful resources for those involved in working with SLOs. Link to resource mentioned in this episode: California Outcomes & Assessment Coordinator Hub (COACHes): https://coaches.institute/ This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: December 2024. Host: Stephen Hundley. Producers: Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman. Original music: Caleb Keith. This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

This episode features a conversation with a colleague from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, or NACE as it is also known. Our guest is Mary Gatta, who serves as Director of Research and Public Policy at NACE. Link to resources mentioned in this episode: National Association of Colleges and Employers: https://www.naceweb.org/ This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: November 2024. Host: Stephen Hundley. Producers: Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman. Original music: Caleb Keith. This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

In this episode, we have a conversation with colleagues involved in producing Assessment 101 in Higher Education: The Fundamentals and How to Apply Them, the debut title in the Assessment and Improvement in Higher Education book series from Routledge. Our guests are Alex Andrews, Keston Fulcher, and Megan Good. Alex is an Editor for higher education at Routledge. Keston is a Professor of Graduate Psychology and an Improvement Strategist at James Madison University. Megan is an Assistant Professor of Graduate Psychology and Executive Director of the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University Links to resources mentioned in this episode: Assessment 101 in Higher Education: The Fundamentals and How to Apply Them: https://assessmentinstitute.indianapolis.iu.edu/books/assessment-101.html Assessment and Improvement in Higher Education Book Series: https://assessmentinstitute.indianapolis.iu.edu/books/book-series.html Routledge: https://www.routledge.com/ This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: October 2024. Host: Stephen Hundley. Producers: Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman. Original music: Caleb Keith. This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

This episode features contributors to a special issue of Assessment Update focused on the future of High-Impact Practices, also known as HIPs. Our guests are Catherine Chan, Jerry Daday, and Jillian Kinzie. Catherine is assistant vice provost for high impact practices in the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Educational Achievement at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Jerry is professor of sociology and executive associate dean in the Institute for Engaged Learning at Indiana University Indianapolis. Jillian is associate director for the National Survey of Student Engagement in the Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana University Bloomington. Links to resources mentioned in this episode: American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U): https://www.aacu.org/ Assessment Update: https://assessmentinstitute.indianapolis.iu.edu/au/index.html Institute for Engaged Learning at Indiana University Indianapolis: https://getengaged.indianapolis.iu.edu/ National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE): nsse.indiana.edu/ This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: August 2024. Host: Stephen Hundley. Producers: Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman. Original music: Caleb Keith. This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.