11th ANNUAL CONFERENCE

April 17-18th, 2023

Marriott Hotel, Albany, NY

Assessment: Back to the Future 

Conference Schedule

Keynote Speakers

Dr. Mamta Saxena 

Exploring the future of Assessment: Risks, possibilities, targets, and vision

The political, social, and economic turmoil in the past few years, both national and international, has raised many questions about the value of higher education. Academic institutions experienced seismic changes due to the pandemic and social unrest. Faculty, students, researchers, accreditors, and administrators reacted to these changes and to the technological disruptions with uncertainty. Assessment professionals are questioning not only the role of assessment in student learning and continuous improvement but also the approaches and methodologies. This plenary session provides space to explore the risks and the possibilities for the future of assessment. Together we will reflect upon the impact of COVID, changes in legislation, and the arrival of artificial intelligence. We will examine the debates around the forms and functions of assessment with a lens of accessibility, equity, and authenticity on topics ranging from ChatGPT and gamification to alternative forms of grading and students’ voice in assessment.

Dr. Saxena is the Assistant Dean of Academic Quality and Assessment at the College of Professional Studies at Northeastern University. Before joining Northeastern, she led the instructional design team at Southern New Hampshire University for their online programs. Prior to this, she worked in corporate and academic settings to implement innovative instructional design and assessment approaches, both in India and in the U.S. Dr. Saxena earned a PhD in instructional design for online learning from Capella University, and MED in curriculum and instruction program from Lesley University. She has taught and published on the topics of globalized e-learning, assessment, and equity. Her research interests include equitable design, teaching, and assessment practices, modular design, and learning analytics.

Dr. Peter Nwosu

Advancing Our Institutional Mission in a Post-pandemic Environment: Toward A Holistic Institutional Effectiveness Framework

This keynote explores the centrality of a robust assessment planning and institutional effectiveness framework in advancing our shared interests of strengthening American higher education in a post-pandemic environment. The keynote describes the essential structure that undergirds this framework, such as establishing and codifying clear guiding principles for assessment, including an institutional effectiveness plan, implementing a simplified and uniform assessment process, building a community of practice, and implementing an electronic platform for documenting and reporting outcomes. The keynote calls on institutional leaders and practitioners to focus on strengthening this essential structure for assessment and institutional effectiveness in ways that further enhance the quality of learning represented in the degrees their institutions offer, increase graduation rates, shape a better and brighter future for students from all backgrounds, and enhance America’s competitiveness in a changing global marketplace.

Dr. Peter Nwosu (the “N” is silent), American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow and Fulbright Scholar, started his tenure in 2019 as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Success at the Herbert H. Lehman College, a Hispanic and Minority Serving Institution and a senior college of the 25-member colleges of the City University of New York (CUNY), the nation’s largest urban public university system. Prior to this role, he served as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Clark Atlanta University (CAU), Atlanta, Georgia, a private Historically Black College and University, and Associate Vice President for Academic Programs and Accreditation Liaison Officer at California State University, Fullerton, a Hispanic Serving Institution. A passionate advocate for access to high quality education for our nation’s increasingly diverse student body, and a systems thinker and strategic planner with a strong belief in the power of collaboration and shared governance, he has led strategic initiatives to foster institutional effectiveness, advance student success outcomes, and enhance these institutions’ national reputation and visibility as engines of upward mobility and community engagement. For more information on Peter click here.

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