The Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education Holds Fourth Annual Conference

LEXINGTON, Ky., May 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education (AALHE), a professional association for assessment practitioners at colleges, universities and higher education support organizations, will hold its fourth annual conference June 2−4, 2014, at the Hotel Albuquerque in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This year's theme is "Emergent Dialogues in Assessment." Conference participants will explore the role of higher education's assessment practitioners in evaluating and developing strategies that answer the central, critical question of how graduates can function and succeed in the world after graduation.

"We are in the middle of a transition within higher education as a result of fundamental changes in student demographics and the way higher education institutions operate," said Dr. Eric Riedel, president of AALHE and chief academic officer of Walden University. "There is a greater need for higher education to become increasingly more flexible and accountable to support the growing adult student populations, the more diverse student bodies with more diverse needs as well as the effects of an increasingly challenging economic environment."

To help address this evolving landscape, this year's conference will feature an opening keynote from Dr. Pamela Tate, president and CEO of the Council for Adult & Experiential Learning (CAEL), who will discuss disruptions in the assessment of quality learning. On June 3, Dr. Robert Mundhenk, co-founder and past president of AALHE and visiting scholar for the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association, will give a plenary address about how assessment can help reshape higher education. To close out the conference on June 4, Dr. Donna Sundre, executive director for the Center for Assessment & Research Studies at James Madison University, will give a plenary address about making a commitment to quality and assessment as scholarship. Other sessions throughout the conference will cover topics such as translating learning into credit, direct assessment programs and emergent learning environments.

It is the goal of AALHE to provide resources and a forum to support assessment practitioners' professional development and the open discussion of issues, strategies, policies and processes associated with higher education's use of assessment as a tool to improve student learning and institutional effectiveness in fostering student success. For more information or to register for the conference, visit AALHE.org.

About the Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education
The Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education (AALHE) is an organization of practitioners interested in using effective assessment practice to document and improve student learning. As such, it aims to serve the needs of those in higher education for whom assessment is a tool to help them understand learning and develop processes for improving it. AALHE is housed at the University of Kentucky, which provides generous technical and staff support, but the organization remains an independently incorporated, member-funded, nonprofit entity recognized by the State of Kentucky. For more information, visit AALHE.org.

SOURCE Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education