Professional Development Opportunities with IRA

Students in the library reading room at Howard University, 1946.
Alfred Eisenstaedt/LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock.

Howard University has a well-established legacy of collaboration in support of excellence in truth and service. Since Institutional Research and Assessment is an outward-facing unit, we strive to carry out that mission through purposeful engagement with the Howard University community to make the process of assessment applicable, transparent, and accessible. Additionally, we aim to offer Howard community members opportunities for professional development while engaging in the assessment process.

We invite Howard faculty, staff, students, and alumni to participate in the Howard Interdisciplinary Evaluation and Assessment Society (IDEAS) and the Summer Annual Assessment Academy (AAA).

IDEAS is an informal assessment committee that meets once quarterly to discuss the annual assessment process (HAAP) and evaluate its efficacy. IDEAS is intentionally designed to be interdisciplinary, creating a forum for multiple perspectives and voices on assessment challenges and best practices.

The Annual Assessment Academy is a month-long workshop that invites faculty and staff to offer peer review of one another's HAAP plans. The AAA encourages collaborative learning and peer support within the assessment process. Participants attest that the AAA peer review and peer feedback process has helped them craft more effective HAAP plans.