Washington, DC -The Council for Higher Education Accreditation has announced the winners of the 2012 CHEA Award for Outstanding Institutional Practice in Student Learning Outcomes: Georgia Institute of Technology, Rio Salado College and University of California, Merced..
The Georgia Institute of Technology has a student enrollment of 21,000. Georgia Tech integrates international knowledge and experiences into most undergraduates' academic majors.Rio Salado College is a member of the Maricopa (Arizona) Community College District. With a student enrollment of 52,000, Rio Salado has a strong focus on increasing the number of adult learners who find success in higher education. The University of California, Merced is the tenth and newest University of California campus. With a student enrollment of 5,200, UC Merced has established student learning outcomes across all undergraduate programs, along with annual assessment plans and an infrastructure to encourage and monitor periodic assessment.
The CHEA Award was established in 2005 to recognize institutions that have been exceptional in developing and applying evidence of student learning outcomes to improve higher education quality and accountability. A committee selected from higher education institutions, accrediting organizations and the public judged the entries on the basis of four award criteria: 1) articulation and evidence of outcomes, 2) success with regard to outcomes, 3) information to the public about outcomes and 4) use of outcomes for educational improvement.
"The award committee was strongly impressed with the strength and creativity of the work of these institutions. They provide excellent examples of effective approaches to the use of student learning outcomes," said CHEA President Judith Eaton.
Representatives from the institutions will receive the award at the 2012 CHEA Annual Conference, at a ceremony to be held on January 24 at the Capital Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC.
Source: CHEA
